“Trust but verify” was one of Ronald Reagan’s favorite phrases, said to be based on a Russian proverb- but apparently not a very common one Reagan didn’t really understand what it meant, I think. The Russians weren’t that impressed. Gorbachev quoted Emerson to him.
Reagan thought that he could trust the Russians since they tended to keep their promises. The problem was that the US tends to break agreements, so to get the Russians to agree he had offer “verification”, which didn’t really mean much because the US in those days was the dominant military power
Oddly enough, this proverb does not assume “trust” but distrust. Reagan thought that he was being friendly and positive, “Hey, we’re friends, I “trust you but let’s keep it that way” .
Put no faith in words; subject everything to the closest scrutiny,, Lenin
Healthy distrust makes a good basis for cooperation. Stalin.
Why do you need to “verify”? Because you don’t trust someone!
As when you start hacking your wife or husband’s email. “I trust you but…”
Americans love this word “trust”. We use it all the time. Mostly because we are so unreliable - and everybody lies.
A: "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
B: "Of course I do—trust me!
"A: "This won't really make me look younger, will it?"
B: "Oh, it absolutely will. Trust me!" (Borrowed that from a dictionary!)
When someone says, “trust me!” or “believe me!, don’t—they are often as not lying.
Nowadays, the Trumpians are telling the Russians “trust us – we want peace!” Like Bush looking in Putin’s eyes and seeing his soul.
Should the Russians believe them?
The Empire of Lies
Not. The US has been at war continuously since its inceptions, with only a few years off — I’am not sure what for— maybe national defecation.
Did George Washington cut down the apple tree? Yes.
But he didn’t mention that he also cut down the whole damn orchard. American tell little truths to distract from big truths they don’t want you to know. It’s a form of deception.
But because it tells these little truths, , it can pretend to be honest even if it omits the stuff you really need to know
We expect that from politicians and lawyers, of course, . But who did those people learn it from — YOU!
“I didn’t have sex with that woman”. Bill Clinton and millions of others,.
Not vaginal sex anyway. But…you get the point.
In the West everybody lies. And not just about sex! Up to 80% of CVs are said to be falsified to some degree in the US, compared to 5% in Japan.
The Media lie constantly— the NYT, WaPo, FT, Bloomberg, and of course every advertiser. AltMedia ends being not an “alternative’ window on reality but the only one you can see through—although what you can see from that one, tiny hole in the wall is a question. The Mainstream is a TV screen—a programmed production, with a sponsor.
Liar, liar pants on fire.
Teachers lie. Churches lie, Your government. Most of the Internet. Your friends lie. Your kids too. Lovers.
Your view of the world — your Weltanschauung, as the Germans say — is manufactured for you. It’s simulative.
Little wonder the West sees Russia the way it does,
History= historical fiction.
One of the biggest sources of false perspective is history.
Previously, I mentioned Stalinism, Maoism, and Putinism, which manipulate and distort what we are taught about the past to create reflexive fear and hate, and mobilize our emotions.
Funny thing about that.
Most of Stalin’s “crimes” were committed in Russia — against Russians. But Stalin still has a following there. He is not the Russian Anti-Christ as he is for Americans, although Putin is now runner up for that position.
Mao is still revered in China, although his mistakes are well known.
Putin has an over 80% approval rating—maybe because he has achieved many of Stalin’s goals without killing anyone. Reversing Yeltsin era privatization for example. He is regarded as a straight shooter, a honest man— a leader rather than a politician,
Yes, the Western press called the recent vote, a “sham election”, which is the only kind they know.
Oddy enough Xi is popular because he is seen as accomplishing Mao’s goals, without those mistakes I mentioned.
Mao set the Cultural Revolution in motion to purge the CPC violently — Xi purged the CPC peacefully and made it more representative with a million more members and created “consultative democracy”.
Still, the Western world view is framed by what is seen as “history” —stories about about what might have happened in another universe.
And, of course, only Americans have a “democracy”.
A pity that in China the “people” are listened to. It upsets the narrative and we must ignore it.
In the US, only money talks. Only money listens.
Yet, for all that, Western lies are being exposed one at a time, little by little, and the Western dissimulative belief system is fraying, weakening, and skepticism accelerating.
“Trust but verify” . In science, we call this “falsifiability”.
Much of what you think you know is false— if you put it to the test. Next time, you parrot an historical “fact”, check.
Two Special Articles Coming Soon!
I once read an interesting story about the beginning of World War II. At the beginning of the Barbarossa Plan (Nazi attack on the Soviet Union), Nazi Stukas bombed the Brest-Litovsk railway station, from where the railway trains loaded with Soviet ore were to leave for the Third Reich in accordance with the agreements concluded between the two states.
The head of the railway station quickly called Moscow to say that the Nazis were attacking, how could I send the freight trains to our enemy like this ? Stalin was called, who listened to the desperate railway worker and stoically replied, Comrade, you have only one task: to implement the contract under all circumstances, let the trains go !
By the way, I had business relations with the Soviets, back in 1990, they always kept what they promised !
'Americans love this word “trust”. We use it all the time. Mostly because we are so unreliable - and everybody lies'.
Exactly! My favourite is when someone concludes a statement with "Fact!" All that does is tell me they are actually quite unsure of their ground.
Dmitri Orlov made a similar observation once in a Web interview.
"Americans tend to keep talking about freedom and democracy, in much the same way as people who are infested by lice keep talking about cleanliness".