"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." - French philosopher Blaise Pascal
Well, yes and no. It is rumored that, during the recent COVID isolation, Vladimir Putin often sat quietly in a room alone - brooding over old maps of the lost Russian empire and obsessing about Peter the Great. Apparently, possessing tremendous wealth and power was no longer enough. And after observing America’s septuagenarian presidents in action, the 69-year-old autocrat figured time was running short to secure his legacy. Therefore, the plan was activated to ‘Make Russia Great Again’ (and make Putin great forever). But sadly, once again we see what happens when megalomaniacs are in charge.
What makes a country ‘great’? Everyone knows that question is decided by the Olympics (or is it the FIFA World Cup?). When Putin’s plan A (doping Russian athletes) failed, it was on to plan B, an easy land grab to unite the fellow Slavs of Ukraine with Mother Russia. But when the Ukrainians spurned his bear hug, Putin switched to plan C … vulgar terrorism: murdering innocents and destroying cities. In the process, by taking a whack at the beehive that is democracy, Putin’s people are receiving a stinging rebuke. Now, as Russia morphs into Venezuela, Bond villain number one finds himself relegated to the lunch table with Bashar (al-Assad), Alexander (Lukashenko), and Kim (Jong-Un).
What’s so great about ‘great’ when good is usually good enough? Most citizens are satisfied with having a safe place to live, an occasional dinner with friends, and walking the dog in nice weather. Obsessing over a ‘great leader’ (unless there are daddy issues) is not a priority. And when you think about it, ‘great’ is a subjective term, typically having an expiration date. The Dutch, French, and Brits lost their empires long ago and seem to be doing just fine these days.
Aside from ‘great’, there are other measures of wellbeing. If freedom is your thing, the latest Freedom House scores are here. Examples:
Finland – 100
United States – 83 (pretty good, needs improvement)
Russia – 19 (be careful what you say)
If your preferred measure is happiness, the World Happiness Report rankings are here. Examples:
Finland – 1st (and they live next to Russia!)
United States – 16th (too much social media/cable news)
Russia – 80th (bad leaders/too much vodka/not enough vodka)
“Character is destiny.” – Heraclitus
MRGA? Mad Vlad’s obsession with greatness shows that he cares only about two things – himself and his legacy*. If the KGB thug turned mafia godfather truly cared about his people, he could have just gone next door and asked the Finns how they do it. But Putin wants that marble statue of Vlad the Great in the Kremlin. Doesn’t he know there are no monuments to Hitler in the Reichstag? The situation in Ukraine is a reminder: whether you value freedom, happiness, or greatness, systems matter … character too.
*Please read my note on legacies here.
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