Ferran de Vargas

Ha passat avui a la botiga del Barça de Sagrada Família. A recepció se'ns ha preguntat en quina llengua volíem ser atesos: "English, Spanish, French?" Hem respost: "Català." La reacció ha estat surrealista: "Ah! Son ustedes patriotas..." Patriotes per parlar la nostra llengua...

Allow me to share the perspective of average educated Chinese people toward Japan: 1. Japan is a society that "worships strength." 2. Japan is a highly hierarchical society with strong feudal characteristics, interpreting the world through the framework of rank and status. 3. Power, often military power, serves as the foundation for establishing hierarchical order in human societies. 4. Historically, Japan viewed China as the highest-ranking civilization. As part of the Sinosphere, Japan existed as a tributary or quasi-tributary state of China. 5. When Japan witnessed the decline of the Chinese Empire (the Qing Dynasty), it decisively turned to the West. This shift marked the Meiji Restoration and the policy of "Datsu-A Ron" (Leaving Asia, Joining Europe), adopting Western institutions and distancing itself from Chinese civilizational influence. 6. Japan further solidified its perceived position in the global civilizational hierarchy through victories in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. 7. Emulating European colonialism, Japan began viewing the invasion and colonising of other nations as a legitimate means to elevate its status—a reflection of the pre-20th century world order. 8. In the 1930s, Japan launched a war of aggression against China, aiming to colonize it, utilize its resources for growth, dominate Asia (through the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"), and challenge the West. 9. Believing its comprehensive strength had matured, Japan eventually initiated war against the United States and Western powers, with the attack on Pearl Harbor representing the peak of this ambition. 10. Japan was ultimately defeated not by America's formidable fleet and marines alone, but by two atomic bombs, despite its industrial inferiority to the U.S. 11. Following the atomic bombings, Japan surrendered. At that moment, it re-established its understanding of the global hierarchy: the United States, capable of deploying such devastating weapons, was the undisputed master. Japan would henceforth submit completely to the U.S., emulating—however superficially—its institutions, social structures, popular culture, values, and all facets of American life. This was not an abandonment of Japanese culture and tradition, but an effort to remake itself in America's image. Post-war Japan became, in essence, a "neutered dog." 12. Thus, a peculiar dynamic emerged. While other nations may view the U.S. as a hegemon or ally while retaining the right to criticize, Japan regards America as a suzerain and an object of worship, refraining from any criticism. Psychologically, this relationship is inherently unequal because Japan, as a hierarchical and strength-worshipping society, believes it must remain subordinate to the nation that defeated it in war. 13. This also explains why Japan appears to live in a world that is decades old. It clings to a unipolar worldview where America remains the undisputed leader—much like a low-ranking yakuza member maintaining loyalty to a fading gang boss. 14. What unsettles Japan most is the rise of China. Japan struggles to confront the very power and cultural suzerain it abandoned over a century ago. Only a struggle that reshapes this order can change that. 15. Either Japan must be defeated by China, or the U.S. must be defeated by China, or a new power relationship is established (hence not technically a "defeat"). This contest could take military, technological, economic, or cultural forms. 16. But Japan inevitably requires such a reconfiguration to rebuild its understanding of the world order, for this is how it comprehends the world. 17. For now, at least, Japan has only one object of worship: the United States. This is the reason behind the obsequious demeanor of politicians like Sanae Takaichi toward figures like Donald Trump

Ha passat avui a la botiga del Barça de Sagrada Família. A recepció se'ns ha preguntat en quina llengua volíem ser atesos: "English, Spanish, French?" Hem respost: "Català." La reacció ha estat surrealista: "Ah! Son ustedes patriotas..." Patriotes per parlar la nostra llengua...

An Iranian man left this comment on my YouTube channel. This is without a doubt the single best explanation of the reality facing Iranian people today👇 "As an Iranian, I can tell you the situation is no longer just political—it's existential. We are trapped between two collapsing structures: one internal, one external. On one hand, we face a deeply dysfunctional government, led by the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic’s unelected institutions. Decades of economic mismanagement, suppression of dissent, and brutal ideological control have alienated multiple generations. No one believes in reform anymore—because every attempt has either been co-opted or crushed. But here's the paradox: We are also terrified of regime collapse—because we've watched the aftermath of Western intervention in countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan. Each was promised freedom; each descended into chaos, civil war, or foreign occupation. So no, we don't trust the U.S. or Israel. Not because we support our regime—but because we know how imperial powers treat ‘liberated’ nations in the Middle East. Freedom, in their language, often means vacuum, fire, and permanent instability. Right now, many Iranians live with three truths at once: The Islamic Republic is morally and politically bankrupt. The alternatives offered by foreign actors are not liberation—they’re collapse. A bad government is survivable. No government is not. We are not silent because we agree. We are cautious because we’ve learned—too well—what happens when superpowers decide to "help." In a sentence: Iran is a nation held hostage by its own regime, but haunted by the fate of its neighbors. We are stuck in a house we hate, surrounded by fires we fear more."