Sometimes the confluence of events happen so perfectly which serve to demonstrate your concepts better than any amount of words or essays can make. Case in point, I was talking to a friend recently and I was asked, "what is it like in Russia?" For the reader who may not know, I was originally born in the Soviet Union before immigrating LEGALLY to America. The answer to the question used to be really complicated, until quite recently and now my standard reply has simply become;
Russia today is exactly how America was in the 1980's and America today is exactly like the Soviet Union was in the 1980's. The roles have reversed.
Russia is a Christian nation
A mostly homogenous nation
It has a Flat tax
There is freedom of speech and freedom of the press (I will get to this in a bit)
Russia is sustainable economically
Russia is stable politically
Conversely
America is a Nation without Values (what does it mean to be "American these days?")
America is a tribalist nation with the European Majority now a minority
America has a Byzantine Tax code
America has no freedom of speech and no freedom of press (I will get to this in a bit)
America is not sustainable economically
America is not stable politically (as can be witnessed by the insistence to over-throw a Democratically Elected President)
You dear reader, may at first be shocked at my bold comparison of Russia being much more free than America and that's because you have been brainwashed by American-centric propaganda media. The constant negative press-coverage regarding Russia is designed to take the spot-light and attention away from the problems that are happening at home. You may not have voted for President Donald Trump, however, what nobody can deny is that the "powers" that control Education, Internet, Media and Political Offices have a simple narrative since 2016, "If you support Drumpf or don't toe the liberal-leaning political line you will be found guilty--without trial and without jury.
Just a quick synopsis off the top of my head of what this looks like;
- Alex Jones purged from social media
- Dick's Sporting Goods refusing to sell firearms
- Chick-fil-A boycotted because they support the Political Right
- Comedians like Norm McDonald are forced to apologize for fear of losing his career because he stated the obvious, "I'm happy the #MeToo movement has slowed down a little bit..It used to be, "One hundred women can't be lying." And then it became, "One woman can't lie." And that became, "I believe all women." And then you're like, "What?" Like, that Chris Hardwick guy I really thought got the blunt end of the stick there.""
- US Media covering up Muslim Pedophilia Rape Gangs
- 90% hostile US Media coverage towards Republicans
- Purging of Conservatives on Twitter and Facebook
- Soldiers fired because they made an "Ok" hand sign
- The poop-pocalypse in California
- The Nike Kaepernick Ad Campaign, "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."
The Nike ad, is actually the inspiration and the catalyst for this article. A friend on Facebook posted an article supporting Nike's decision to reward a cop-hating, failed quarterback (presumably) millions of dollars for their 30th Anniversary "Believe in something" campaign. Clearly, I have a bias regarding Kaepernick, however in our Facebook discussion my argument wasn't about him and rather about Nike's clear failure in presenting a good ideology. While others may see "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything" as an inspirational idiom, I see it as a brand encouraging radicalism. If you take a moment and think about it, that statement is an ideological fallacy. Does that mean then that if someone hates America enough they should hijack a plane and crash it into a building to make a point? I mean, they believe in America being evil, so according to Nike that's "A-Okay," correct?
I went on to further prove my point of how ridiculous this ad is by posting a photo of Hitler with the phrase, "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." See how absurd that statement all of a sudden becomes? Does Nike stand-by Nazi, Germany? Perhaps, perhaps not. What I do know is that Facebook stands behind that message because a few days later, I was banned from Facebook for 30 days because my post and comment made the Facebook community "feel unsafe." Now, I don't know if it was an algorithm bot that flagged it or if someone personally flagged it. What I do know is that I wasn't allowed to contest the unfair banning and now my free speech is censored from the biggest social platform on the internet. See how media censorship works in America? It's exactly how it worked in the Soviet Union, the difference is officers would show up to your front door and take you away to some central command office for a "review of your behavior" instead.
This little event, while minuscule, in a grand scale of American social politics has big consequences and has me concerned. You see, if one side of the political spectrum refuses to even have a dialogue with you, how can we ever as a country have unity again? If one side of the political spectrum refuses to acknowledge a democratically held election, how can we ever trust future elections again?
The much lauded Nike ad is the polar opposite of what Michael Jordan once said, when pressed on his political stances, "Republicans buy shoes too." Nike is encouraging radicalism, resentment and dis-unity. Sacrifice everything...your reputation, your friends, and yes, even the future of your country if you disagree with someone...
What is the longevity of a nation that pushes this type of ideology? What is the longevity of a nation that continues to censor speech that they disagree with? You decide. For the next 30 days I'm going to read Francis Fukuyama's book, "The End of History and the Last Man"
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