Delusional
That’s the only word to describe polling results of American views on the conflict in Ukraine, and America’s role. The results tend to reflect the typically American view that wars are events that happen far away and don’t affect us in the US. Therefore there’s no point in wasting time getting informed with all the historical, cultural, and economic issues that form the background to what’s going on.
Check this out:
NEW: Americans Opposed to Boots on the Ground in Ukraine, Poll Finds
A first glance at the title suggests good news—and, of course, in a sense it is. But, what a quick read tells us is that Americans are largely out of touch with this supremely important conflict—one which is leading to what appears to be the inevitable economic implosion of Europe. The implications for Americans are enormous, yet clearly few people are paying much attention.
Here are the main points from the poll (conducted by YouGov in connection with Concerned Veterans for America).
Americans remain supportive of efforts to economically and financially punish Russia.
Americans by and large have come to believe that virtue signaling has no real world consequences. How else to explain supporting efforts to “punish” a nuclear power by bringing it to its knees economically, “reducing the ruble to rubble.” What kind of rational calculations could possibly be behind this view?
A plurality of respondents said the United States should not put boots on the ground to assist the Ukrainians.
That’s the good news, but it’s predictable. Americans by and large don’t view themselves as war mongers and don’t want their or their neighbors young to go off and get killed for a country most couldn’t locate on a map. In other words, this is an easy opinion that isn’t based on a helluva lot of thought. It amounts to, Punish Russia, hurt the Russian people, but lets not put our young people at risk. In the real world those positions aren’t readily separable—Russia gets a voice in, a response to, Americans actions that harm its interest.
The American people, when given information about America’s pre-existing commitments to Ukraine, believe the U.S. should rein in its military assistance.
That says it all. Lack of information. Despite the globalization of our economy, our status as an imperial hegemon that wages war constantly on a worldwide scale, Americans by and large pay little attention to such matters.
48 percent opposed “sending US troops to Ukraine
20 percent were in favor
What a bizarrely delusional idea. Do these people have any clue of what that would involve? Not just logistically, but what the consequences of starting a war with a nuclear power could be?
31 percent neither supported nor opposed such a move.
51 percent of respondents claimed the U.S. should continue “increasing economic and diplomatic sanctions on Russia,”
only 14 percent were opposed.
Such a small percentage of people who seem to have given these momentous issues some serious thought. What’s most troubling, of course, is that none of our institutions that should be responsible for informing the public show any interest in doing so—the media, the government, educational institutions. They’re all in the grip of magical ideological thinking.
William Arkin wrote in Newsweek once about this. I saved a quote but cant find a link to his work.
:...the American way of war has become to make war as invisible as possible, not just because counterterrorism demands some special degree of secrecy, but also because operating in secret—at least secret from the American public—lets the government and the military continue without interference. Neither Congress nor the public has particularly clamored for transparency or an audit, and the national security establishment assumes that the American public doesn't want to know, which is to say that it doesn't want to be bothered by war because it largely doesn't have a stake in what happens and nor is it prepared to sacrifice anyway."
In my experience, the "other side" of the story as represented by Tom Luongo is not getting wide dissemination. If it were to be more widely publicized, I would be willing to bet that most people wouldn't bother to understand it due to the complexity of the topic and as it is occurring 'over there'. You would think the pending collapse of Europe would register more than it has however, especially since it will have huge implications for us...