You may or may not have noticed I haven’t written a blog post for 2 weeks, except for the Saturday cartoon posts. Never fear — nothing is wrong.
Well, plenty is wrong out in the world right now, but that’s not what I meant. Beyond writing this blog, which I have been doing now for four years, I do have a full-time job that keeps me quite busy. And simply put, I had a project I was working on that required a lot of thinking, analyzing, and writing. I’ve been writing every night for a couple of weeks and just couldn’t find any extra brain power to write anything here.
But, I’m happy to say, that that is behind me and I’m back. And I’ve got a few things I’ve been wanting to say that’s gotten a bit backed up.
At the top of my mind, and so many of yours, I’m sure, is watching what is unfolding in Ukraine. Wars have a tendency to suck up all the oxygen and attention, and that sure seems like the case, even though I did break away from the coverage to check out Biden’s State of the Union address.
But I’ve been focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the incredible response of the Ukrainian people and their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has certainly met this moment in history face forward.
Ukraine, a former republic of the Soviet Union, gained independence in 1991 and recently has continued to chart a path closer to the West. So to see a relatively newer democracy get attacked by Putin, the ultimate autocrat, is alarming to say the least. And the swift response by nearly the entire world — a repudiation of an attack on a democracy — has been heartening to see. As heartening as it is terrible to be confronted with the terror and ugliness of war.
I see an echo of that conflict here in our country. Now while even the Republicans have gotten the message that being on Putin’s side is suddenly the wrong place to align with, we nevertheless see the struggle between autocracy and democracy right here. And as there’s very little I can do about Ukraine, other than to show my support, lobby my Congressfolk when Ukraine-specific measures come up, and make sure disinformation doesn’t spread, there is something I can do to promote democracy right here and now.
I will now get back to my normal posts about promoting democracy and sharing information about how we can all get involved with the midterms. Until my next post, I’d be curious to hear how you are reflecting on the conflict in Ukraine.
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No one should have to die for one man’s backward and delusional ideals. As horrified as the whole world is about Ukraine and for good reason, why is it that the Russians, who are human beings too, aren’t forcing Putin to stop? Everyone in Putin’s inner circle can’t be as cold blooded as he is. All that would need happen is for them to suddenly and unilaterally stop obeying to him and put him in jail. Will any of Russia be better for having taken Ukraine, or just Putin himself? The Russians are suffering now and will undoubtedly be forever judged for not taking action against their own. They can end this conflict by showing the same backbone that Mr. Zelenskyy shows now. They do that, and the world will unite behind Russia.
As for why aren’t everyday Russians rising up against the war, I’d point you to numerous articles that came out this weekend that by and large, they don’t know about the war. Putin has cracked down on all media in the country to the point at which his point of view is their point of view. As for Putin’s inner circle and why they don’t act, just look at Trump’s inner circle. No one pushes back until they’re out and can sell a book.
I agree with Michael. This war needs to be fought against on many fronts, including from the resistance of Russians themselves who do know what is going on, for example all the ones who work for companies shutting down operations there. I also think it is important to acknowledge my own biases in being very upset at a war against caucasian, while many bloody conflicts occur around the globe in Africa, South America and Asia without me paying any attention. I also realize that Ukrainian’s are human, and human animal has its imperfections and ugliness, as evidenced by racism against foreigners also trying to flee the war: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/05/ukraine-african-refugees-racism/
Please don’t think I am trying to minimize how horrible this war is, how incredibly devastating it is to the Ukranians, or how actively we should all be pressuring our government to do what it can to push Russia back to its own borders. I just think the world we live in is a very, very complex web full of very, very complex human animals. There are no simple truths.