But I think it speaks volumes about American privilege, the fact that many of us can conceive of no more grave responsibility than to stand up against our political oppressors. Many of the people I’ve met in the developing world would, I feel, be skeptical. [...] In a country where politics is a volatile and dangerous game, what is more important: to fulfill your responsibility to support your family, or to go dabbling in political pursuits that could get you killed?
I think you just touched on a large part of what makes me reluctant to get involved politically, and it may come from this exact attitude, as espoused by my Russian parents. (I had to do a lot of convincing to get them to register to vote.)
And there’s another thing, too - one that did even more to break my poor American brain when I discovered it was true. Many people genuinely like and appreciate their dictators.
China is a shining example of this. In many places, the lives of Chinese people have improved significantly over the past several decades. Notably, there is now a growing middle class - and a correspondingly shrinking interest in political protests. Who wants to topple the system when it's actively benefiting you?
Yeah, I guess China is probably the shining example of this phenomenon, right? I'm sure it's helped along by the fact that, with their embrace of capitalism, China's dictators have turned the country into a wild success. When the average Chinese person considers how the state has affected their lives, I bet they see a mountain of positive changes... and I also bet that the bulk of them, unless they've been victimized by corrupt local officials, would find it hard to name a way in which they have been negatively affected by their dictators. The balance would be tipped if the average Chinese person had access to free media and to the information their government suppresses... but I'm not convinced it'd tip all that much. (Correct me if I'm wrong about any of that, because I am not really hip on China or Chinese society.)
I read an article once about teenagers in China and their attitude toward their authoritarian system of government. You know what dictatorship was for these kids? The Great Firewall. That was pretty much it. Find the right proxy server, and poof, no more dictatorship. Dictatorship for them was a game, a challenge, an oafish and easily circumvented set of restrictions that they couldn't even conceive could put them in danger. (I hereby resolve to use the word oafish at every opportunity.)
By the way, check out the comments on the other blog too - gnomygnomy, who's in Ufa right now, has brought up nostalgia for the Soviet Union as another perfect example.
I think you just touched on a large part of what makes me reluctant to get involved politically, and it may come from this exact attitude, as espoused by my Russian parents. (I had to do a lot of convincing to get them to register to vote.)
And there’s another thing, too - one that did even more to break my poor American brain when I discovered it was true. Many people genuinely like and appreciate their dictators.
China is a shining example of this. In many places, the lives of Chinese people have improved significantly over the past several decades. Notably, there is now a growing middle class - and a correspondingly shrinking interest in political protests. Who wants to topple the system when it's actively benefiting you?
Reply
I read an article once about teenagers in China and their attitude toward their authoritarian system of government. You know what dictatorship was for these kids? The Great Firewall. That was pretty much it. Find the right proxy server, and poof, no more dictatorship. Dictatorship for them was a game, a challenge, an oafish and easily circumvented set of restrictions that they couldn't even conceive could put them in danger. (I hereby resolve to use the word oafish at every opportunity.)
By the way, check out the comments on the other blog too - gnomygnomy, who's in Ufa right now, has brought up nostalgia for the Soviet Union as another perfect example.
Reply
Leave a comment