2-18-2024 4:07pm

To Russia with Love

Beth Callahan Editor

Springboro's Guy Pasvogel, published author, shares his thoughts

This past week American journalist Tucker Carlson went to Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin. Depending on one’s opinion of this historic event, Mr. Carlson either set the journalism profession back twenty years or ahead light years.

The two hour and seven minute interview was guided by Mr. Carlson setting up topics of discussion and then giving Mr. Putin the floor to explain in detail his innermost thoughts and opinions on the subjects.

Some that criticized Mr. Carlson suggest that he gave Mr. Putin too much air time and sat there without much interuption, sitting like an obedient puppy dog.

I listened to the complete interview and am a firm believer that he did an outstanding job in getting to know a political figure that mainstream media has taught us to hate and despise over the years. I found Mr. Putin to be candid and sincere.

He expressed himself without notecards or teleprompters that we Americans have been exposed to in the last three years. He actually knows geographically that Mexico is on a different continent than Egypt and is quite versed on world events in the Middle East.

Yes, our governments have had our disagreements over the years during the Cold War era and the threat of Nuclear War. That is all the more reason to sit down with our adversary and try to negotiate an agreement that we all can live with. There is too much at stake if we do not.

During the interview he did not choose to offer an opinion on American politics directly but by his inferences you could see what he truly thinks about the American state of affairs in this election year.

For example, he stated that our handling of immigration on our southern border is run much more efficiently than our election integrity. To me that was a subtle bit of sarcasm as to what he thinks about our rigged elections.

Other topics discussed were treaties made and broken by the West about NATO expansion and reasons for going to war in Ukraine. He brought up attempts by Russia to negotiate a treaty to end the war (rebuffed by Ukraine and the West). Sanctions imposed on Russia were discussed that have inadvertently made Russia’s economy stronger and both NATO’s and the U.S. weaker.

There are many well-known journalism schools out there that teach college students HOW to write. I know that Northwestern University and the University of Missouri have two of the best.

There is, however, a big difference in knowing HOW to write and being told by your editor (New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Fox, just to name a few) on WHAT to write. Just when does REAL news become propaganda?

Kudos to independent journalist Tucker Carlson for taking the initiative to bypass mainstream media and travel to Russia for the Vladimir Putin interview. Those journalists criticizing Carlson are the REAL puppy dogs, rabid and foaming at the mouth that THEY did not get the opportunity.

If you feel so guided, I encourage you to listen to the Carlson-Putin interview in its entirety and to form your own opinion rather than to rely on American journalists spinning their take on what they want you to believe.