What can I say? Nice one, again!

[quote]
The open societies of the
West did not feel a strong urge to
promote open societies in the former
Soviet empire. On the contrary, the
prevailing view was that people ought
to be left to look after their own
affairs. The end of the Cold War
brought a response very different from
that at the end of the Second World
War. The idea of a new Marshall Plan
could not even be mooted. When I
proposed such an idea at a conference
in Potsdam (in what was then still East
Germany), in the spring of 1989, I was
literally laughed at.

The collapse of communism laid the
groundwork for a universal open
society, but the Western democracies
failed to rise to the occasion. The new
regimes that are emerging in the
former Soviet Union and the former
Yugoslavia bear little resemblance to
open societies. The Western alliance
seems to have lost its sense of
purpose, because it cannot define itself
in terms of a Communist menace. It
has shown little inclination to come to
the aid of those who have defended
the idea of an open society in Bosnia
or anywhere else.
[/quote]

I've seen Soros speak (media). We aren't listening. But a nice reminder that insight and reason aren't dead yet - just unPopular.
He's benevolent - and not even a despot. (Imagine if Billy and crew had been civilized and human?)



A.