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[–]Sops0 points
2 points
2 points
(+2|-0)
ago
(edited ago)
Not entirely true. Look at North Korea, decades ago the country was full of true believers, people with unquestioning faith in everything the government told them and would report a neighbor or even a family member to the authorities for any decent. After the famine of the 1990s and the influx of foreign media that has changed, the state still has complete power but there are fewer true believers and the government has been forced to loosen its grip. People can now begin for the first time to speak their minds within small groups and even question authorities in public.
Frontline documentary most relevant part starts at 45:10 but the whole thing is definitely worth watching.
You can't go from a position where the state has that level of completely power to something more democratic overnight, these are small but significant steps. The fact that the Saudi government issued the warning means they know this and they are concerned.
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[–] Sops 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
Not entirely true. Look at North Korea, decades ago the country was full of true believers, people with unquestioning faith in everything the government told them and would report a neighbor or even a family member to the authorities for any decent. After the famine of the 1990s and the influx of foreign media that has changed, the state still has complete power but there are fewer true believers and the government has been forced to loosen its grip. People can now begin for the first time to speak their minds within small groups and even question authorities in public.
Frontline documentary most relevant part starts at 45:10 but the whole thing is definitely worth watching.
You can't go from a position where the state has that level of completely power to something more democratic overnight, these are small but significant steps. The fact that the Saudi government issued the warning means they know this and they are concerned.