The American vice president shook European politicians: “The surest way to destruct democracy is..

dzienniknarodowy.pl 4 months ago

The Vice president of the United States, JD Vance, delivered a speech yesterday at the Munich safety Conference that caused shock among European leaders.

Policies were expected to focus on conventional safety issues, specified as threats from Russia or China. However, Vance criticised European governments for leaving fundamental democratic values, suppressing freedom of speech and ignoring citizens' will.

In his speech, Vance stated:

The threat that concerns me most about Europe is not Russia, not China, nor any another external actor. What worries me is the interior threat - the departure of Europe from its fundamental values, the values that we share with the United States.

The Vice president besides referred to the situation in Romania, where the results of the presidential election were annulled. He stressed that specified actions were shocking to American society:

“It struck me that the erstwhile European Commissioner had late appeared on tv and said delighted that the Romanian Government had just cancelled the full election. He warned that if things did not go as planned, the same could happen in Germany."

Vance besides criticised the policy of moderated content on social media in Europe, comparing EU Commissioners' actions to practices from the russian Union. He pointed out cases of punishing Christians protesting abortion or Islam in countries specified as Britain, Germany and Sweden. According to him, specified actions match “old profoundly rooted interests behind ugly words from the russian Union, specified as misinformation.”

The vice president's speech was met with harsh criticism from European leaders. The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, described them as “unacceptable”, and the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, stated that the United States “trying to make conflict” with Europe.

However, U.S. president Donald Trump praised his deputy's speech, calling it “very superb and well received”. He besides stressed that Europe must be careful due to the fact that “it loses freedom of speech and has large immigration problems.”

Vance's speech highlighted the increasing tensions between the American administration and European allies, especially in the context of differences in perception of democratic values and civilian liberties.

Text of the U.S. Vice President's full speech:

One of the things I wanted to talk about present is, of course, our common values. And you know, it's wonderful to be back in Germany. As you heard earlier, I was here last year as a United States Senator. I met the abroad Secretary David Lammy and joked that we both had different positions then. But now it's time for all our countries, all of us who were fortunate to have political power from our nations, to usage it wisely to improve their lives.

I want to say that I was fortunate to spend any time outside of the walls of this conference in the last 24 hours, and I was very impressed by the hospitality of people – even in the face of the shock of yesterday's appalling attack. I first went to Munich with my wife, who is here present with me, on a private trip. I have always loved this city and always loved its people.

I would just like to say that we are profoundly moved, and our thoughts and prayers are from Munich and all those affected by this evil that has fallen upon this beautiful community. We think of you, we pray for you, and we will support you in the coming days and weeks.

We are gathering at this conference to discuss safety issues. We usually talk about external threats in this context. I see many prominent military leaders here today. However, the Trump administration takes Europe's safety very seriously and believes that we can scope a reasonable agreement between Russia and Ukraine. We besides believe that Europe must take greater care of its defence in the coming years. But the threat that concerns me most about Europe is not Russia, not China, nor any another outside actor. What worries me is the interior threat - the departure of Europe from its fundamental values, the values that we share with the United States.

It struck me that the erstwhile European Commissioner had late appeared on tv and said delighted that the Romanian Government had just annulled the full election. He warned that if things didn't go as planned, the same could happen in Germany.

Such nonchalant statements shock American ears. For years we have heard that everything we fund and support is in the name of our common democratic values. Everything – from our policy towards Ukraine to digital censorship – is presented as a defence of democracy. But erstwhile we see the European courts cancel the elections and high-ranking officials endanger to do it again, we should ask whether we adhere to advanced standards. And I say “we” due to the fact that I firmly believe that we are on the same side.

We gotta do more than just talk about democratic values. We gotta live them. In the memory of many of you, the Cold War has divided Europe into defenders of democracy and much more tyrannical forces. Let us think – which side censored dissidents, closed churches, invalidated elections? Were they “the good ones”? surely not.

And thank God they lost the cold war. They lost due to the fact that they did not appreciate and respect the extraordinary gifts of freedom – freedom to surprise, to make mistakes, to inventiveness, to build. It turns out that innovation or creativity cannot be ordered, just as people cannot be forced to think, feel or believe in a certain way. And we believe that these things are connected. Unfortunately, looking at Europe today, it is not always clear what happened to the winners of the Cold War.

If you run from your own constituents, America will do nothing for you.

I look at Brussels, where EU Commissioners inform citizens that they plan to shut down social media in a time of social unrest, as shortly as they see the content they consider to be "a hatred speech". Or the country in which police raid citizens suspected of publishing anti-feminist comments online as part of “the fight against misogyny”.

I look at Sweden, where 2 weeks ago the government sentenced a Christian activist for his engagement in the burning of the Quran, which led to the execution of his friend. As the justice coldly pointed out in this case, the Swedish government on freedom of expression does not, I quote, give a "free hand" to express everything without risking injury to a group that professes a given faith.

And most of all, I am afraid about our very dear ally – Britain, where leaving freedom of conscience strikes the fundamental spiritual rights of the British. A small over 2 years ago, the UK government accused Adam Smith Conner, a 51-year-old physiotherapist and army veteran, of a terrible crime of standing 50 metres from the abortion clinic and quiet prayer for 3 minutes—not blocking anyone, not talking to anyone, just silently praying. erstwhile the British services spotted him and demanded an explanation of what he was praying for, Adam simply responded—for his unborn son.

He and his ex-girlfriend had an abortion many years earlier. The officers, however, did not contact it. Adam was found guilty of violating the fresh buffer region law, which penalizes silent prayer and another actions that could affect the decision of a individual within 200 metres of the abortion facility. He was sentenced to pay thousands of pounds of judicial costs to the prosecution.

I want I could say that this was a case of one-time, absurd example of a miswritten law applied to 1 person. But unfortunately, no. Last October, just a fewer months ago, the Scottish government began sending letters to citizens surviving in alleged safe access zones, informing them that even private prayer in their own homes could constitute a violation of the law. Naturally, the government has besides encouraged the reporting of suspected neighbours to commit "thought crime" in the UK and throughout Europe.

I'm afraid freedom of speech is in retreat. And in the name of comedy, my friends, but besides in the name of truth, I will admit that sometimes the loudest voices of censorship do not come from Europe, but from my own country, where the erstwhile administration threatened and intimidated social media companies to censor alleged misinformation. Disinformation, specified as the explanation that coronavirus might have leaked from a laboratory in China. Our own government encouraged private companies to silence people who dared to say something that proved obvious.

That's why I come here present not only with observation, but besides with a proposal. Just as Biden's administration desperately tried to silence people for expressing their views, so Trump's administration will do the exact other – and I hope we can work together on this.

W Washington is the fresh sheriff. And under the leadership of Donald Trump, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight for your right to express them in public space.

Now we have reached the point where the situation has become so bad that in December of that year Romania simply nullified the results of the presidential election on the basis of dubious suspicions from the intelligence agency and the tremendous force from its continental neighbours. I realize the argument was that Russian misinformation affected Romanian elections. But I would like to ask my European friends for a small perspective. You might think it's inappropriate erstwhile Russia buys ads on social media to influence your choices – we surely think so. This can even be condemned internationally.

But if your democracy can be destroyed by a fewer 100 1000 dollars spent on digital advertising from a abroad country, then it was never besides strong.

Fortunately, I think your democracies are far little fragile than many people fear.

To believe in democracy means to realize that each of our citizens has wisdom and has a voice.

And I truly believe that allowing our citizens to express their views freely will make them even stronger. Which, of course, brings us back to Munich, where the organizers of this conference banned the participation of parliamentarians representing populist parties – both left and right sides of the political scene.

Again – we do not gotta agree with everything anyone says. But erstwhile political leaders represent a large part of society, we have a work at least to engage in dialog with them.

For many of us on the another side of the Atlantic, it is becoming more and more as if old rooted interests were hiding behind ugly, Soviet-era words specified as “disinformation” and “messaging”, simply due to the fact that they don't like the thought that individual with a different viewpoint can express a different opinion, and – do not let God – vote differently or, worse, win elections.

This is simply a safety conference, and I am certain that you have all come here prepared to discuss how you intend to increase your defence spending in the coming years to accomplish certain objectives. And that's large due to the fact that president Trump made it clear that our European friends must play a greater function in the future of this continent. You do not like the word "burden sharing", but we believe that this is simply a key component in being in an alliance – Europe needs to make a greater effort, while America will focus on the regions of the planet that are in large danger.

But let me ask you a question: how can you even think about budget issues if we don't know precisely what to defend? I've had quite a few conversations with the people in this room, and I've heard a lot about what you gotta defend yourself against – and of course that's important. But what seems little clear to me, and I think that besides many European citizens, is the question of what precisely are you trying to defend? What is the affirmative imagination that drives this common safety pact that we all believe in?

I firmly believe that there is no safety if you are afraid of the voice, opinion and conscience of your own citizens. Europe faces many challenges. But the biggest crisis facing this continent present – a crisis that we all gotta solve together – is the crisis that we have created. If you are afraid of your own voters, America will do nothing for you. Just like you can do nothing for the Americans who chose me and president Trump. To accomplish anything crucial in the coming years, you request a democratic mandate.

Have we truly learned nothing from the fact that weak parking tickets lead to instability? However, many valuable things can be achieved if a democratic mandate is based on a greater consequence to citizens. If you want to enjoy a competitive economy, if you want to have inexpensive energy and safe supply chains, you must get a mandate to regulation – due to the fact that you will gotta make hard decisions to accomplish these objectives.

And of course we know that very well in America. A democratic mandate cannot be obtained by censoring political opponents or putting them in jail. Whether he is the leader of the opposition, a modest Christian female praying at her home, or a writer trying to study events. Nor can it be obtained by ignoring our own electorate on who should be part of our common society.

Of all the challenges facing our countries today, no is more urgent than mass migration. Today, almost 1 in 5 people surviving in this country come from abroad. That, of course, is the highest percent in history. The same is actual in the United States – besides the highest level in history. The number of immigrants who entered the European Union outside the EU doubled between 2021 and 2020. And of course, it's increased even more since then.

We all know the situation. She didn't come out of nowhere. It is the consequence of informed political decisions by politicians across the continent and beyond for a decade. Yesterday in this city we saw the terrible effects of these decisions. And I can't talk about it without reasoning about the victims – people who had a beautiful winter day in Munich turned into a tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and will stay with them. But why did this even happen?

It is simply a terrible story, but we have heard it besides many times in Europe and, unfortunately, besides many times in the United States. Asylum, frequently a young man aged 20 years, already known to police, drives his car into the crowd and breaks up the community. How long are we going to put up with this terrible tragedy before we change course and put our civilization together on a fresh path?

No European voter went to the polls to open the gates to millions of unverified immigrants. But you know what they voted for? In England, they voted for Brexit. And whether we agree or not, they voted. And across Europe, more and more people are choosing politicians who promise to end uncontrolled migration.

I personally agree with many of these concerns. But you don't gotta agree with me. All you gotta do is accept reality: people care about their homes, their dreams, their safety and their ability to keep themselves and their children.

And they're smart. That's 1 of the most crucial things I've learned in my short political career. Contrary to what you can hear a fewer more mountains in Davos, citizens of our nations do not think of themselves as “educated animals” or as interchangeable cogs in the global economy. No wonder they don't want to be treated like pawns or ignored by their leaders. Democracy is about settling these large issues at the ballot box.

I believe that ignoring citizens, their concerns – or worse, excluding the media, cancelling elections or eliminating people from the political process – does not defend anything. On the contrary, this is the surest way to destruct democracy.

Democracy is based on the sacred rule that the voice of people matters. There is no place for “security”. Either you support this regulation or you don't. Europeans, you have the floor. European leaders have a choice. And I believe we don't gotta fear the future.

Listen to your people, even erstwhile they surprise you. Even erstwhile you disagree with them. If you do this, you can look to the future with certainty and conviction, knowing that the nation is behind you.

This is the actual magic of democracy.

Thank you. God bless you.

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