Ive been reading about the Russian revolution, and its truly fascinating, but its hard not to see some similarities between how Russians felt about their government in the early 1900s and how the US people feel now.
Russia in the 1900s was struggling with a declining economy and a deteriorating sense of Nationalism. Russia had just lost its whole navy to the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War, and was getting their butts handed to them by the Germans in WW1. They also experienced an immense shortage of resources, and had massive job and food shortages as well. This created a sense of anxiety that would ultimately form extreme right and left political groups. Flash Forward to today in America, we are in a massive debt and most people are weary of the over a decade long war that has been going on in the Middle East. It seems the great amount of nationalism that was seen from 2001-2005 has turned into fatigue. We ourselves have formed far left and right groups.
Prior to the Russian revolution the Marxists and the intelligentsia tried to influence the Russian revolution decades and decades before, but were unable to stir up the working and peasant enough to take them seriously. Most of them were viewed as odd balls and crazies, just like any candidate before this election would've if they spouted off anything that Trump or Sanders would've said or proposed. But by 1916 they changed from being oddballs to being visionaries and heroes. Kinda like today. The revolution needed very vocal leaders like Lenin, Trotsky, and members of the Petrograd Soviet. Looking at our popular candidates in this year's election, I find it extremely odd that the majority of the students,workers, and less wealthy people are still flocking to the most radical candidates on both sides at this point of the game. And those were the same people who started the February Revolution of 1917.
While we can argue on if trump really believes in what he says, it is still alarming that so many people are accepting his message. Sanders is teetering on making this a socialist or communist state, but this worries only people on the right. But it seems people feel that the government either is doing way too much or way too little to the extent that they are turning to the radical voices. It feels like there is a strong anxiety on both the left and right if and when drastic change is going to happen and how much it could potentially affect their livelihood.
Im not saying we are on the verge of revolution, but I find it alarming that we are seriously debating between Trump and Sanders the week before the Iowa Caucus.
Russia in the 1900s was struggling with a declining economy and a deteriorating sense of Nationalism. Russia had just lost its whole navy to the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War, and was getting their butts handed to them by the Germans in WW1. They also experienced an immense shortage of resources, and had massive job and food shortages as well. This created a sense of anxiety that would ultimately form extreme right and left political groups. Flash Forward to today in America, we are in a massive debt and most people are weary of the over a decade long war that has been going on in the Middle East. It seems the great amount of nationalism that was seen from 2001-2005 has turned into fatigue. We ourselves have formed far left and right groups.
Prior to the Russian revolution the Marxists and the intelligentsia tried to influence the Russian revolution decades and decades before, but were unable to stir up the working and peasant enough to take them seriously. Most of them were viewed as odd balls and crazies, just like any candidate before this election would've if they spouted off anything that Trump or Sanders would've said or proposed. But by 1916 they changed from being oddballs to being visionaries and heroes. Kinda like today. The revolution needed very vocal leaders like Lenin, Trotsky, and members of the Petrograd Soviet. Looking at our popular candidates in this year's election, I find it extremely odd that the majority of the students,workers, and less wealthy people are still flocking to the most radical candidates on both sides at this point of the game. And those were the same people who started the February Revolution of 1917.
While we can argue on if trump really believes in what he says, it is still alarming that so many people are accepting his message. Sanders is teetering on making this a socialist or communist state, but this worries only people on the right. But it seems people feel that the government either is doing way too much or way too little to the extent that they are turning to the radical voices. It feels like there is a strong anxiety on both the left and right if and when drastic change is going to happen and how much it could potentially affect their livelihood.
Im not saying we are on the verge of revolution, but I find it alarming that we are seriously debating between Trump and Sanders the week before the Iowa Caucus.