A series of tweets by Elon Musk, which made everyone who even a little follows the situation in international politics in general and in Ukraine in particular, talk about them for several hours, caught me almost on the way ... to Elon Musk.
I flew to Orlando to cover another launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
On October 5, an international crew is to launch to the ISS on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
On board and the cosmonaut of "Roscosmos" - our Anna Kikina.
Of course, a poll about Elon Musk's peace plan, which includes a direct recognition that Crimea is primordially Russian (by the way, the results of the poll seem to have been greatly distorted by the attack of pro-Ukrainian bots), is no compliment to the beautiful native of Novosibirsk.
It's not about emotions.
The mask has always distinguished rationality.
Could the richest man in the world have succumbed to the current trends of Western "cancellation culture" and made sure that no Kikina was on board?
Surely, if only he wanted to.
But he chose a different path.
So with the proposals for Ukraine.
They look like a challenge and a betrayal only for a rabid pro-Ukrainian audience, which, having instantly forgotten all the good things (for example, the free Internet from Starlink, which the “pro-Russian” Musk continues to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine), has already begun to record the billionaire as idiots or agents of the Kremlin.
The answer of the founder of Tesla to one of these, who have lost their sense of the proportions of the world, looks exhaustive:
“You think I want to be popular.
I don't care about that.
But I care about the fact that millions of people will die in vain for almost the same result.
Furthermore.
If you understand and approach the matter with our yardstick, then Musk's theses are far from indisputable.
He, for example, demands to hold a referendum under the supervision of the UN in the territories that have become part of Russia just the other day.
The talk about the neutral status of Ukraine has long been a commonplace.
Who just did not lead it!
The problem is different.
It is wider and larger.
How did it happen that an extravagant visionary billionaire (at other times his speech was classified as “what kind of rich man is doing weird things here”) suddenly turns out to be a model of political moderation and sanity against the background of those who, it would seem, should be characteristic of this role within the official duties, and even just on duty.
That is, the leaders of Western countries, their diplomats, security officials.
Feel the depth of the contrast.
Just a few hours before Musk's tweets, General David Petraeus blew up the media field with his revelations about what was happening:
“The United States and its allies will destroy Russian troops and equipment in Ukraine if the Russian President uses nuclear weapons there.
The fleet on the Black Sea will also be destroyed, ”said the ex-head of the CIA.
An amazing world in which a professional intelligence officer, Ph.D., a graduate of Princeton and the West Point military academy, who started on the front lines of the Cold War in Germany, easily talks about scenarios that will inevitably lead humanity to death, and a businessman who dreams of flying to Mars, urges everyone to come down to Earth.
To save her.
However, Musk is not alone.
The fact that he is ready to act as a mediator-peacemaker, Donald Trump recently stated.
Of course, his words can also be attributed to the interest of a certain right-wing international in building bridges with Moscow, resolving everything and agreeing on the division of spheres of influence, but the matter is obviously different.
The main addressee of Musk's messages (as well as Trump's) is primarily the American audience.
The one that does not want a world war because of Ukraine.
That is, she is not ready for real sacrifices because of the obscure ideas that the liberal regional committee lowers every day according to the order.
That was the audience Musk was addressing.
And when he wrote that the current administration treats "the American public like fools", calling Biden a puppet.
And when he smashed Twitter, which he was going to buy, for suppressing freedom of speech.
And even when he did not advise Trump to run in two years because of his age.
What about Musk himself?
It is clear that the entry of the richest man on earth into such a high orbit is another test of his strength in the discharged layers of American politics, where vacuum and anxiety are increasingly reigning.
How will the congressional elections end?
Will the losers admit defeat or will it be repeated on January 6th?
Who will run for the Republican nomination in 2024 - Trump or DeSantis?
Will Biden make it to the same 2024 as the Democratic nominee?
It is not for nothing that in recent days stuffing has begun to appear about the return to the big leagues of American politics Hillary Clinton.
Like, she's eyeing the White House again.
Another question is what are the prospects.
Libertarianism (and Musk professes it in politics) advocates maximum freedom, both personal and public.
The billionaire is an ardent supporter of technological progress.
He believes that progress alone can make people happier.
Something similar was in the late Soviet Union - a passion for technology and science fiction, travel in the universe and even in time.
However, reality crossed out the hopes that the utopia would someday be realized.
Here and now, the country was finished off by what seemed inevitable perestroika.
And it is precisely with the Soviet perestroika that the processes now taking place in America are not compared by anyone.
Can Musk be called her foreman?
Probably, but only in the part that concerns the description of the degree of demolition intended for demolition.
Telling the United States (and now also Ukraine) in colloquial language that “You can’t live like this!”, Musk seems to be reading the readings of the instruments of a completely unbalanced aircraft, whose movement in the air is more and more like a free fall than a flight.
However, sometimes Captain Galaxy has to work as Captain Obvious.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.