It was just yesterday that I made mention of a law being bandied about in Russia’s Parliament that would make it illegal to promote what they call a “child-free ideology . . . that threatens the country’s traditional values” — the purpose being to promote a baby boom and reverse the disturbing decline in Russia’s population.

And — given the eight-hour time difference between my location (U.S. Eastern time) and Moscow — it may have been at the very same time that the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, was giving its speedy approval to that bill.

Now, that doesn’t mean it’s been passed yet. There are still two more readings required in the Duma, plus “vetting” by the upper house, before it gets sent to President Putin for signature. But, given that this bill was his idea in the first place, we can reasonably assume that no time will be wasted in passing it to his desk, where it will immediately be signed into law.

Putin speaks. Parliament acts. And BAM! It’s done.

That law, by the way, is an abomination — another individual right subjected to Putin’s heavy-handed, authoritarian control. And to justify it, he purports that it is necessary because of “Western efforts to weaken Russia by encouraging population decline.” [Associated Press, October 17, 2024.]

Yup — it’s all our fault for being too liberal.

In keeping with Putin’s “Year of the Family” hooplah, the bill has been presented by one of its authors, Elvira Aitkulova, as intended to “cleanse the information space from destructive content . . . [and] create a favorable information environment for our families.” In other words: censorship. And before submitting the bill to a vote — which, by the way, received unanimous approval — she added, “This is a strategic bill for the sake of a strong, productive and healthy future.” [Id.]

The Speaker of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that the bill is a part of the country’s efforts to protect its “traditional values,” and — in answer to critics who fear it would impinge on citizens’ freedom of expression — that “we are defending children, families and our values.”

And that was that. The women of Russia are now urged to get busy producing at least three, and as many as eight, offspring. And don’t speak out against it . . . or else.

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So that’s how it’s done, in Russia. There’s a war raging in Ukraine, economic fallout from Western sanctions, and Islamists staging terror attacks at odd moments. But if the boss wants women turned into baby-making machines, then that is where Parliament must turn its attention. And so they do.

But why? How does this magically happen? What are their justifications? Their incentives?

Well, if they behave as expected, they can hope for rapid career advancement, perhaps a sudden cash windfall, or assurance that a past misdeed will be overlooked. And if not . . . actually, it’s probably best not to speculate on the worst that can happen. Just look at the history of the sorts of misfortunes that have befallen Putin’s adversaries.

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Now, in the U.S. Congress, we have wheeling and dealing, special interests, party rivalries, filibustering, and all sorts of nonsense that can cause agonizing delays in getting important legislation passed through both houses. Hell, they can’t even agree on a budget for the fiscal year that is already 18 days old!

Is that frustrating to the nation’s people? You bet it is. It’s beyond frustrating — it can adversely affect people’s employment, their financial situations, or their very health. It’s an imperfect system that could use tweaking. But is there a better alternative without going to the extreme of amending the Constitution? I suppose it’s possible . . . and if there is, I’d like to know about it.

But one thing I do know is that it’s not the Russian way. No single individual should have the power to rule over an entire nation. Even the best of people can be corrupted by power and money, or by a delusional belief in their own infallibility. And when the person in command is corrupt to begin with, you have a recipe for disaster.

We Americans need our system of checks and balances. We need our Senators and Congresspersons arguing the fine points of proposed bills before voting on them. And we need our separate branches of government overseeing each other.

There will be individuals within the system who are less than perfect. But the system as a whole has worked for nearly 250 years, and it has become a model for most of the rest of the world. It may need a few bandaids, but it’s not in need of major surgery.

Personally, I’ll take slow and frustrating over fast and dictatorial, any time.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/18/24