Hell is (for) other people...

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, certain things are becoming obvious.

The first is that we armed all opposition to Assad in Syria; and most of those arms fell into ISIS/ISIL hands.
Secondly, that revolution inevitably opens up a power vacuum, and often this is filled with the most brutal factions getting control and power.
Thirdly, that some artificial post-colonial nation-states do not seem able to evolve into well-ordered democracies for various reasons: principally the starting conditions which have left minority groups vulnerable.
Fourthly, that some supposedly allied nations will take advantage of this situation to attack traditional enemies, often these enemies being the enemies of our enemies.

This is why I call myself a conservative. Managed evolution seems, to my mind, to be preferable to revolution every time.

When the Arab Spring started, we were all full of hope about the changes we anticipated were to happen in the Arab world. I too was hopeful, despite being wary of some of the elements opposed to Assad, or the Egyptian government. How do others on T_P feel about their support for the revolutions sweeping the Arab world in light of what has happened since?

In hindsight, IMHO, it looks as if we would have been better backing Assad: but I wonder, am I the only person thinking this?

In Blighty, Our Dear Leader® has resisted calls from all sides to behave like a concerned human being, and is instead focused upon what the 15-or-so years of demonising asylum seekers by politicians and the media has done to the notion of British Decency towards the unfortunate. He seems very representative of the Modern British Mindset.

I think I want to become a German. I also think that is the first time I have ever written that.

Hey ho.

Comments

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

The Germans have performed exceptionally on the "Being Good People" front as of late. First, I saw some football fans chanting and raising signs saying, "Refugees, welcome to Germany". And then, in several German cities the authorities begged their people to stop piling them with donated items for the refugees, explaining that "there is already too much stuff to distribute and we can't handle it". So yeah, I'd want to be a German too, if I weren't Icelandic. Because in turn, Icelanders have now launched a FB initiative, volunteering to host refugees in their homes. Granted, the Icelandic government had already started such a program, except the total number of refugees that the FB initiative is prepared to host, by far exceeds that of the government. The former number now exceeds 10% of the entire Icelandic population.

So maybe you could become Icelandic? :)

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

Iceland has been pretty damn cool for centuries now...mind you, a millennium ago...:)

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

It might have warmed up a bit lately. ;)

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

And to think that those footie fans used to be the nastiest hools until not so long ago... Times are truly a'changin'.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Both in hindsight and foresight, it was pretty clear how the Arab Spring would've developed, especially in places with tyrannical traditions like Egypt. I'm surprised that so many people are surprised.

Things have developed relatively well in Tunisia, though. So we shouldn't judge the entire thing as a whole, and hurry to put all these societies in the same pot.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

Isn't your Dear Leader a conservative too?

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

True, he's a post-Thatcherite conservative.

I'm more of a Macmillan type...and worse: the sort that regards most modern Tories as anathema.
I'm much more of a mixed economy Keynsian than even our present-day Labour Party. Never mind recognising the duties and responsibilities to other people less well-off than myself.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a typical Liberal.

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

Not really.
I have no problem with private schools, no problem with inherited wealth, and no problem with the institutions and traditions of my country. Also I believe in the sort of education and discipline therein which liberal modern folk regard as semi-fascist: but which I feel is a requirement for participating in a properly run polity. Also, unlike most Liberals, I think social cohesion, rather than rampant individualism, is important as a basis for a good nation-state.

I do not have the Whiggish Methodist inclination beloved of "Liberals", though I acknowledge that is has done some great good to the world, for example, in the abolition of slavery.