Return of the Rodina
The terrorist have really stepped in it this time with the school massacre. The American Digest points out an unspoken phrase used in Putin's statements today and it would appear that the rules have changed.
Well, the Muslims always wanted a holy war, now they've got one. Welcome to the party, pal.
Putin's list is chilling, the tone grave, and the measures he announces graver still. But beneath his words and within his tone we hear a word unspoken. We hear history begin to echo as Russia is stirred and what we hear is the call "Rodina" -- "Motherland."
The last century heard that call when Nazi Germany became insane enough to invade what was then the Soviet Union. Rodina rose and the end of that story was the destruction of Berlin and the beginning of the Cold War.
"Rodina" -- the massing of Russians behind the nearly holy cause of protecting and defending "the motherland," is not a term any Russian would use today. It carries too many memories of Stalin and the Soviets. But the emotion behind it remains. And the echo of what the United States discovered about terrorism three years ago and what Russia has concluded yesterday is distinct. What it portends is even clearer. The Alliance is back.
The old Alliance of World War II's drive to destroy fascism is rising along with Rodina. The United States, Britain and its coalition. Now Russia. Others will come in their time and as they discover the terrible truth about this enemy on their own soil.
Well, the Muslims always wanted a holy war, now they've got one. Welcome to the party, pal.
posted by bkm at 6:09 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for the link. That's a good point about 'holy war,' I should have thought of that connection.
…welcome to the party, pal.
I was working in the Philippines on a long-term contract on 9/11. Because of the time difference, for me, the attacks occurred around 10 PM.
I’m sure on the following morning everybody at work was well aware of what happened. I was the only American working for my employer. Initially none of my coworkers wanted to discuss the attacks in my presence. I don’t blame them; they probably believed that discussing it would cause me to lose face.
I didn’t want to discuss it either because—in my view—any comments were pointless. I was confident that there was going to be far-reaching repercussions from this one; I just didn’t know what they were going to be. I also was confident that the U.S. was going to make somebody regret they ever did this. I don’t even think I knew the phrase al Qaeda at that time.
Eventually, late in the morning, a group of three co-workers asked me in that indirect Filipino fashion “what did I think about what happened?” My answer was: “I don’t know who did this, but to them I say this: ‘Welcome to the Super Bowl; I hope you know how to play’”.
So now our pals the Russians—who collaborated with France’s interference on the UN Security Council—are the beneficiaries of some major blowback. Good. There’s some cosmic justice there somewhere. Now maybe they will join our coalition in Iraq and help with the pacification of Iran and Syria.
I don’t think they can do more good than harm in Afghanistan, however. They’ve wore their welcome out their the last time.
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