Human dysfunction tends to run in patterns. And this blog has noted several times the similarities in the types of dysfunction that characterizes Russia in the age of Putin and the United States in the age of Trump. So my curiosity was piqued today when I checked the stats for this blog and discovered that I had gotten a lot of hits from Russia over the last 24 hours. "Someone over there," thought I, "must be very interested in my most recent blog post. Or maybe they just have a general interest in my blogging! Who could it be, and why???"
I could think of only two reasons why people in Russia might be interested in what I have to say. Either those reading my stuff are members of the FSB who have put a price on my head, or there are ordinary, everyday Russians who are facing the same deadly dysfunction which has characterized the United States under Trump. Because I am a very little fish in a very big pond, I concluded that it must be the latter.
So I Googled "wildfires russia 2020" and came up with the following interesting hits:
- "Wildfires in Siberia have burned down an area larger than Greece," CBS News
- "Another Intense Summer of Fires in Siberia," NASA Earth Observatory
- "Russia's Wildfires Double in Size Within Week", TASS (via the Moscow Times)
- "Nearly 300 wildfires in Siberia amid record warm weather," phys.org
To the ordinary people in Russia who want to just live and let live - to those who are not interested in building an empire or trashing people who are not white and not Russian - I extend my sympathy to you this fire season. I hope moreover that I can provide some consolation to you, knowing that "the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished in your brotherhood that is in the world," as the Good Book says. We have our climate arsonist to deal with, and unfortunately you have yours as well.
And to those in the United States and elsewhere who continue to drink Trump-flavored Kool-Aid, let's do Russia a favor. Trump blames the overwhelming severity of wildfires in the United States on "poor forest management," suggesting that we ought to send people into our wildlands to rake up leaves. Let's send Trump to Siberia to do some raking. Just make sure he doesn't have any matches.
