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The Immigrant and America

In Europe, nations are paying countries in Africa to hold back immigrants. To not let them pass.
And still they pass.
Here in America they get through. Not all but a good number.
But the newcomers are often seen as a source of distress.
Trump said the other day that they were ‘polluting’ America’s blood.
And yet, his current wife and mother of his youngest son is an immigrant.
He left that out.
In fact, his first wife and mother of his first three children was an immigrant also.
He didn’t forget that, he just didn’t think it was necessary to mention.
Of course, there are different classes of immigrants.
I’m reminded of a statement made by a white man from one of our northern states who said, ‘Why can’t we get immigrants from Scandinavia?’ or something like that.
So, yes, there’s a clearly racial issue that complicates the matter of immigration. Here and in Europe. Anywhere.
As Trump implied, it has to do with racial purity.
If you’re dark you’re impure.
That didn’t stop the boards of Google, Microsoft and Adobe, huge multinational companies, from appointing immigrants to lead them. Dark ones, too.
And it didn’t because they found value beneath the skin of those folks.
And those folks had to have a lot of value to get those jobs, because there surely were a lot of lily white people lining up to get the gig.
On the other hand, I can definitely see how a settled community does not want to see itself disrupted by having to accommodate a newcomer. But a country like Italy, which pays Libya money to keep immigrants from getting in boats to cross the Mediterranean, could use a little disruption in their ways of thinking because they’re not doing that well.
Yesterday, I saw a photo of a line of Italians waiting to get a taxi ride and they put up with it. Here in the US you just call Uber or Lyft. So something is wrong in Italy that they’re coming up short of ideas to generate economic opportunity.
Maybe some of the dark colored people trying to get in may have a clue as to how to improve things. You just never know where good ideas may come from.
I believe that something gets ossified and stunted when a nation becomes obsessed with keeping people of different colors and shapes from coming into the country.
And just like disruption is important to rejuvenate an economy, by bringing in new ways of doing things, socially, the disruption of letting in other people opens new ways to relate to each other.
In America, the South, which relied heavily on slave labor, lost the productivity war against the North in the years leading up to the Civil War. Industry was far more developed in northern states. They still had racism, but they were more open. And that made the difference.
Countries that have lots of their people leaving them are failed states in one way or another.
So it makes sense to try and help them out so they can keep their population. But adventurous folks will always try to go beyond their borders to see what they can do.
Not all immigrants will be a plus to the receiving country. But the majority will.
And the world will keep changing as it must.
To avoid rigidities.
To keep challenging ourselves.
To open our minds.
To grow.
When countries don’t do that they get leaders with limited imagination.
They get people like Viktor Orban in Hungary, or Trump here in America.
Or Putin in Russia.

Grieving the Loss of White America

In an hour or two, the second Republican debate will take place.
I won’t see it but will take a look at the highlights from it in the newspapers.
I hear that Trump won’t show up. Again. Apparently he was planning to meet with auto industry strikers instead. Good luck.
He’ll need it because he’s getting bad advice, while making a mistake in believing the polls that put him ahead of Biden.
In today’s debate no one will say that the rage that Trump is stirring in his followers is a sign of the grieving of the loss of White America. They won’t say it because they’re afraid of the added rage it will ignite. But that’s the core issue driving his followers.
Lamentably for them, America is turning Brown and there’s no stopping it.
The other day Trump said that, once in office, he’d order the ‘greatest mass deportation’ the nation had seen. Right. In his dreams.
Too bad that White America has fallen for a man without the capacity to deal with their grief.
Had he been able to, after he was elected in 2016, he could’ve started the greatest education effort the nation has ever seen.
But he didn’t do that. Instead he settled for building a Wall in our southern border and the lowering of taxes for the already wealthy. He took the easy choices.
His followers would’ve been much better off if he had been honest with them. Sat down and said, ‘folks, I will do everything in my power, to help you become the most skilled workers you can become. So you won’t have to fear anybody, no matter what their color, because you will have developed the ability to continually adapt and the unquenchable thirst for self improvement.’ All of which entails a good bit of hard work.
But he couldn’t say that because self improvement is a foreign – yes, foreign – concept to him.
When he looks at himself in the mirror he sees a finished product, and a ‘terrific’ one, while the majority of us have to keep trying every day to improve our abilities.
Take the Russo-Ukrainian war as an example. It is a complex affair that has caused immense pain, but Trump comes up with the notion that he can settle the conflict in one day.
Yes, he said it.
If you believe that, then you likely were tempted to join the rioters that stormed the Capitol building on January 6th 2021, and truly believed you could change the will of the American electorate. If you resisted the urge to join, congratulations, you preserved your freedom.
I you did take part, you now must face the stark reality that you were duped.
There will be no one to pardon you because Trump will not win the next election. He will not even be the presidential candidate for the Republican party because sober, level headed party members, know that something is deeply wrong with the party and that reelecting Trump is a big step back for our nation.
Those level headed party members are not the ones making the most noise these days, but come election day they will march straight up to the poll booth and cast their voice for the future of the nation, not for a man who’s lacking the depth to tell his followers, ‘develop your abilities and rise to be the best you can be. And you will embrace other peoples because doing so enrich us and broadens our humanity’.

Aging and Performance

Aging and Performance by Oscar Valdes 8/31/2023

Yesterday, Senator McConnell had another episode of going blank before the cameras as he answered questions from reporters. It’s happened in public at least once before.
During the spell, his brain stops taking in information or putting it out.
Surely he’s had expert medical attention already, undergone state of the art testing, and given the best advice.
And yet the senator – now 81 – has chosen to carry on with his duties. His term ends in January 2027.
I worry that he may have a stroke in front of the cameras. Worry that the stress the job carries will work against him and precipitate the stroke.
But they’re all adults in his team and they’ve weighed the pros and cons.
And then, maybe, the senator loves what he does so much, that he doesn’t want to give it up.
The advances in medicine keep extending our lives and we want even more of them.
And why not?
Who can speak with assurance that after our last heartbeat we’ll enter a different stage of being. If you’ve worked that out, good luck.
Senator Feinstein – at 90 – has had her share of ailments, too, and there she is, hanging on to her job. She’s up for reelection soon – her term ends in January 2025 – so the voters will have a say on the matter.
So why does she hang on to the job? Maybe she really loves what she does also.
Which brings me to President Biden, who’s now 80 and turns 81 on November 20.
He’s at risk of having any of the ailments that have afflicted McConnell and Feinstein.
But his body may prove stronger and he may have no significant illnesses, and instead sail through the remainder of this term and the next one without any major issues.
And that is what I wish for him and for our nation because he, definitely, loves what he is doing.
Biden has done a good job and will likely repeat his performance.
So let us be ready for the inevitable failings of age and ready for them to happen in prime time, when he’s in front of the cameras or in the middle of a world summit or in a G7 conference.
And not be ashamed of their occurrence.
Advanced age raises the unpredictability factor for all of us. But that doesn’t mean we should go into hiding.
The tremendous stress that comes with the job of president does not make it any easier.
I voted for Biden and will vote for him again.
We should not deny another human being, man or woman, their wish to push themselves as far as they want. Biden wants to be President again and he will likely get reelected. We should celebrate his desire.
Let us just be ready for that moment when infirmity will come. And accept it with serenity and wisdom, thanking the person who’s chosen to push themselves to their limits, for their courage.
Much is made about retirement. But do people who love what they do, retire? Did Picasso stop painting? No. They’re having too much fun.
Mind you, if you’re a ball player, you retire because you can’t run the bases anymore.
Some jobs have requirements that advancing age will not meet.
I don’t think Biden is in that category.
If we can do what we love, please, let’s do it.
And put off retirement until the after life. If you’ve worked that out to your satisfaction.

Also in medium.com

oscarvaldes.medium.com

What Happened to Russians?

What happened to all the literature they’ve written?
What happened to all the great music they’ve composed?
What happened to all the science they’ve produced?
Does it all take a back seat to the whims of a murderous man like Putin?
A man who, every morning, makes a choice as to the number of missiles he will shoot into Ukraine – never mind whether they strike soldiers or civilians – he just needs to fire them.
Russians, where are you hiding?
The killing of Ukrainians is being done in your name, so you should do something about it.
Any act of resistance counts.
Refusing to join the army is a worthy contribution. You may end up in prison but Putin is not going to last long.
These days, owing to Ukrainians’ daring and ingenuity, missiles are travelling in the other direction also, hitting targets inside Russia’s borders.
And no, Ukrainians will not sit down to discuss an end to the war until all their territories are returned.
Proud people that they are, they spelled it out to China the other day.
This war is not going to last forever. And it will end with a Ukrainian victory.
And a Russia steeped in shame.
But there’s still time for Russians to rise and reclaim their nation.
Still time for Russians to stand up and choose to embrace the value of liberty and freedom of choice, the right to dissent, to elect their leaders.
Russians, what has happened to you?
Where are you hiding?
Yes, fear is a powerful force, but so is love, so is courage, so is daring, so is decency, so is respect for other human beings.
We can’t let fear rule our lives.
Somehow it happened to you. You fell asleep, ignored your history of achievements and let a tyrant direct your lives, just like Xi Jinping is doing in China.
A life lived in fear is not a life lived. It’s a life forsaken.
Go look at yourself in the mirror, ask yourself, am I doing what I should do for myself, for my Russia, for the real Russia, the proud Russia, the Russia that has made enormous contributions to humanity?
If you don’t feel anger, then Putin has taken over your life.
If you don’t feel rage, then you’ve let Putin intimidate you and put into your mind that Ukrainians are demons, inferior human beings, and so must be eliminated.
If you don’t feel horrified then you have let that miserable, murderous human being called Putin, make cruel choices in your name.
And you let it happen.
It was you who didn’t think. You who didn’t remember your literature, you who didn’t hear the beauty in the music your own brothers and sisters have produced over the centuries. You who have failed.
Wake up! There’s still time. Do something about it!

For my regular posts see oscarvaldes.medium.com

The Nations Undecided in the War

Most are developing nations.
And just as they are developing economically, they are developing their ability to take a moral stance.
Put another way, they need more time to grow up. To mature.
Notable examples are India and Turkiye (Turkey). Turkiye is even a member of NATO and yet they have not agreed to the sanctions imposed by the West, preferring to play both sides.
It is reasonable to infer that these undecided nations are afraid of upsetting Russia and China.
I am sure all kinds of excuses are conjured up to justify their positions.
Of course, the war is far from decided and either party could win.
The West could get all tangled up with doubt and not deliver the weapons Ukraine needs to fight back and push the Russians out.
With the lethal assistance of China, Putin could double up on the missiles he fires daily on Ukraine and gain an edge that will help defeat them.
So far, though, even with all our delays and indecisiveness, enough armaments have got through for the world to witness a remarkable fight. Ukraine, the underdog, bloodying the nose of the big bully next door.
The undecided nations have seen this enormous display of valor but have not been persuaded to side with Ukraine. This is remarkable. It is because developing nations are themselves underdogs.
There is no certainty, whatsoever, that India or Turkiye will ever fulfill their potential as nations. It is all a dream at this point. Instead of moving forward they may get stuck and regress instead. India may never become what China is now. Turkiye may keep electing autocrats like Erdogan, again and again.
A distinctive feature about Ukraine is that here is a nation which has had all manner of difficulties in governance and then, to everyone’s surprise, when the bully next door, loaded with nuclear weapons, chooses to rum them over, they stand up and fight like no one has fought in decades.
And yet, despite all that courage, the majority of developing nations cannot make Ukraine’s struggle their own.
This is not good. Not to stand up for your brothers and sisters.
It reveals a lack of moral strength and a weak historical perspective.
Zelensky should be telling the undecided, ‘where’s your courage? Our fight should be your fight. How come you’re not stepping up and owning it? You don’t have to send us anything, not even a toothbrush, but you can do a great deal by standing up in the United Nations and decrying the absurdity of seeing a big bully trample on the little guy next door.
If you can’t do that, then you have your priorities wrong. And you’re letting yourself be intimidated by both Russia and China.’
Zelensky should say that, or something close to it.
Denounce the undecided. Expose them. Call them timid. Remind them that their evolution to developed nation is not assured with their present behavior.
Zelensky ought to speak loudly on this matter for the good of the undecided and the good of the world.
The outcome of this conflict is not assured.
A deranged Putin may yet fire his nuclear weapons. And as he descends into madness and goes deeper into his orgy of death, when he gets ready to push the button, he may not consult a list to differentiate between the nations for and against the war. After he’s fired on the ‘evil’ West, he will likely keep firing at random… his appetite for killing insatiable.
Undecided nations of the world, find your courage now.
History remembers timidity and has another word to describe it.

Vladimir and Me

M – Do you take time to be alone?
V – Sometimes. I’m a very busy man, with lots of things to do.
M – It’s a good habit to get into.
V – What’s your point?
M – It centers us. Still, we can be alone and get so busy we’re not centered.
V – What do you mean by centering?
M – Feeling close to ourselves… to our mortality… our aging… our physical degradation… the inevitability of our death… which leads to us affirming our lives… acting as if we matter.
V – We have to be busy and constructive with our lives, so we will be remembered.
M – We don’t know if we will be remembered… or how… we have no such control.
V – With all the advances in data storage, of course we will be remembered.
M – Even if we were, we won’t feel a thing from being remembered…
V – That’s different.
M – How so?

Pause as Vladimir reflects.

V – We have to trust that we will. Stalin is remembered. Hitler will never be forgotten. Ever.
M – What have you learned from them?
V – Determination. Once you set your sights on something, you never relent. Only death should keep you from your objective.
M – Did they contribute to humanity’s development?
V – Stalin saved Russia from destruction. I am here because of him.
M – You don’t think Russia would have produced another leader, if it needed to, to defend itself against German aggression?
V – Maybe… or maybe not.
M – Hitler made a horrible mistake invading Russia… but judging from the pool of talent Russia has… Russia would have pushed the Germans back… with or without Stalin. You were fighting for your life.
Just like Ukrainians are.
V – Ukrainians are fighting a proxy war… they are tools of the West… who’s trying to conquer Russia.
M – People who are tools would not fight with the determination Ukrainians are showing.
V – I am trying to save Ukrainians from the depraved West. They have lost their way. God has abandoned them.
M – God is with you?
V – Yes.
M – A modern day Crusade you’ve embarked on…?
V – Yes. For the good of humanity.

Pause

M – I think you’re filled with envy… that it has overtaken your judgment… and because you don’t allow for other people to counter your views… you do not revise your opinions.
Has anyone ever told you that you’re an envious man?
V – They wouldn’t dare.
M – That’s the disadvantage of dictatorship. I have no doubt that if Stalin had had courageous people around him objecting to his killing his adversaries… Russia would’ve been better off.
V – Stalin would have killed them, too. It was not a time to be soft.
M – You meant not a time to be fair…
V – I meant what I said.
Why do you say I’m envious?
M – Because nations smaller than you, with fewer natural resources, have developed more than Russia.
V – But they don’t have our nuclear weapons.
M – That is your curse. You hide behind them. And you hide Russia behind them.
The war you started with Ukraine is only making it harder for Russians to join in with the rest of the world. Your people could be making important contributions to the advancement of humanity… instead you’ve set your sights on the destruction of a people fighting for their freedom.
It will be hard for Russians to deal with the guilt of having embraced you in the destruction of Ukraine… like it has been hard for Germans to deal with the guilt over the killing of Jews.
V – You say I’m filled with envy… how do you get rid of it?
M – You don’t. You learn to manage it.
V – How?
M – You say to yourself, ‘I am envious. I covet what others have.’ Then you add, ‘but they have worked for it, or they have abilities I don’t have… or I have not yet developed…’ and you accept their difference… and this acceptance of the other leads you to affirm your own difference… to affirm your own talents… your own gifts. And if you are honest in doing so… then you can welcome others as they are, even if they are better than you at one thing or another… and when you truly accept that such a person or nation functions better than you or your nation… you say to them ‘thank you for striving to be your best… for all of us will benefit from it. In turn, my people and I will strive to do the same.’

Vladimir nods pensively.

M – Notice that I didn’t say anything about killing anyone. Nothing about destroying what others have achieved. Or bombing or maiming them.
The journey to conquer envy is a task for every human being, whether educated or not, rich or poor. It is a journey to self acceptance that will help us in our struggle to contribute our best effort to humanity… while we have the energy and wisdom.
V – For me to not be envious would mean accepting that the way I’ve governed has been a big mistake.
M – Yes.
V – I don’t think I can do that.
M – Then you’re choosing to not start on the journey to managing your envy.
Do you prefer instead to keep ordering the killing of Ukrainians, day after day?
All those lives you’ve ended had contributions to make… all of them… but because you’re choosing to not confront yourself and select another path… those contributions will not be made.
Every life ended in this war is a life not fulfilled… a treasure not discovered…
V – I know it will not end well… this war. Sometimes, I think I’ve created an inferno… with me tossing people into it… every day. Sometimes I even think I hear their cries… their anguish as they burn… and I fear that someone will emerge from that cauldron… come for me… and drag me into it.

Does Putin Have an Achilles Heel?

Sun Unleashes Mid-level Flare by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

Putin speaks.

The world has not yet acknowledged how complete my domination has been.
From here, in Moscow, I can choose to kill every day. The number I want killed is entirely up to me. I can say, let me fire a missile into this town… no, let me hit the other town… or better yet, both towns. And no one can stop me. No one.
I wield absolute power.
In Washington, Biden scratches his head, every day, wondering how he could stop me. But nothing comes to him.
How have I acquired my power? By building my nuclear arsenal, steadily, improving it and making it clear I’m willing to use it… and by convincing my people that I know best.
How I managed to convince so many people will be studied by historians for years – how I stripped the majority of Russians of the will to be their own person.
And so the world is in awe of me… some may hate me… but they’re in awe of my power.
I can fire a missile or several, to Washington, to New York, to San Francisco, to London, to Paris, to Madrid… I can destroy Singapore… Tokyo… Manila… Mumbai… Delhi… and why spare South America… how about Buenos Aries… Rio… Santiago… Sao Paulo… then Melbourne… Sydney… and I can fire them at the same time.
I might even send one to the International Court of Justice in The Hague… take care of all those judges while they’re at work… Gordon Brown in England was blabbering the other day about charging me with crimes against humanity. He’d better watch his mouth.
And how I love to see the deference that world leaders show me… every single one of them… for when they come to me they come to see the king.
I look into their eyes carefully and notice how a handshake is not quite enough… that they’d rather bow to me… the deeper the bow the better… and I love it.
Even Xi Jinping… he knows he’s been helpful so that gives him some protection… but it’s up to me, isn’t it… up to me to spare him… for if I get pissed off I’ll bomb the crap out of China, too.
Nero… the emperor… got to see his Rome burn… it must have been exhilarating… but I can add it to my list and see the whole world burn.
I have been able to climb to this position because of my complete subjection of the Russian people. All of them. And those who brand themselves ultranationalists… I let them talk and be critical… but the day I find no use for them or get tired… I’ll round them up and eliminate them. Every single one of them.

He’s been sitting at his desk, now he swivels a little, crosses his legs.

Have I crossed the line?
Yes… I have. There’s no way back for me.
But no modern day leader can say what I can say today… I dominate the world.
I know it won’t last… nothing does… but I’m enjoying the thrill.
Still, I have choices… I can go down in flames with the entire world… exhaust my nuclear arsenal… fire all my missiles and bombs… kill as many as I possibly can… watch hundreds of millions of people destroyed by my fury… bring humanity to their knees… or I can take pity and spare some nations.

He nods to himself.

I know my end is approaching.
It’s been terribly exciting… festive… a carnival of death.
And yet… I’d like to be remembered, too… yes… no point in killing everybody. I know I will die in my fury but I’d like to be remembered… so I must spare some people so they can tell the story… if I have an Achilles heel, then that is it… that I don’t want to see history end.
I want the world to have a memory of me. I want to be studied and quoted and seen as so significant a force that from here on history will be divided into the before Putin era – bP – and the after Putin era – aP.
But can anyone stop me?

He pauses as he joins his hands in his lap.

Only the daring… the very bold… only the willing to sacrifice everything to save the world.
Save it… yes… from me.
I know there are people like that… men and women… now planning to strike the fatal blow…
I can feel it…
But I’d prefer that it be one of my own… a courageous Russian.

I Changed My Mind. Run, Biden

I am now in favor of Biden running for reelection in 2024.
Did he stumble going up the stairs to his plane recently? So what?
Does he stammer on occasion? So what?
Does he miss a beat sometimes? So what?
As I write this I hear Beethoven conducted by Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic orchestra
in the background and to mind comes poet Dylan Thomas’ exhortation to his father, ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light’.
That’s right, Joe Biden, rage, rage!
Take on the Republican adversary and give them a good fight.
You’re doing a good job so keep at it.
The war effort would not be where it is now were it not for your push.
Although I strongly believe you need to be bolder and confront Putin to stop firing missiles from behind his borders to kill Ukrainians and destroy their country.
Should you take this step the war will come to an end sooner. It could be the turning point. Please think about it carefully.
Advancing age does create problems for all of us but every one of us is different and there are men and women older than you making important contributions to humankind.
I’m reminded of a researcher in England whose name I don’t recall, who had celebrated her 100th year and still walked down the hill from where she lived on the way to her lab. Every day.
So ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light!’
You are clear in the perception that our nation stands now at a critical juncture in history.
The two largest totalitarian regimes in the world, deniers and abusers of man’s eternal quest for freedom of expression, have joined forces to trample on the West.
They must be stopped. Until such time as when their people will awaken.
Maybe we should drop millions of copies of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ from balloons overhead on China and Russia so they can start pulling out of their existential mud.
But while we wait for them to breathe the air of freedom and dare challenge their oppressors, here in America we have plenty of work to do to correct long held injustices.
We can do it.
Your leadership comes filled with hope and an openness to dialogue. That many Republicans are still under the spell of Trump and Trump alike figures is part of what our nation has to deal with.
But keep pushing hard to do what you think needs to be done. If you’re wrong, we’ll tell you.
And if you fall ill as you press on with your term and the next, well, then our medical teams will step in to restore you to full competency. And if your time is past, then Harris will kick in.
Meanwhile, go forth young man, young at heart, young in your mind, striving to fight off the bullies and dictators seeking to keep humanity on its knees.
Stay open to criticism. If you’re not well enough to continue doing your job then tell us. We need that honesty from you. But who knows when that will be?
Defy the odds, keep pushing, striving to do your best.
‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light!’
And ‘run, Biden, run!’

Putin and his Conscience

In his temporary lodging, Putin awakens in the middle of the night.
Something was stirring in his mind that interrupted his sleep.
He sits up on the side of the bed.
He switches on the light on the nightstand. It’s 2:05 am.
It’s the first night he spends at this location. It’s secure, with plenty of surveillance.
Yesterday at midday, just before he had lunch, he got a call from his personal secret service.
A possible assassination attempt had been intercepted. He was given some details with more to come as the investigation proceeded.
It has happened before but he feels confident his people are providing excellent protection.
And yet, it’s hard to relax.
‘Hi’
He’s stunned for an instant but recognizes the tone of the voice and sighs with relief.
‘You again…’
‘Yes… me…’
The disembodied voice has no discernible source. It’s just there, all over the room.
Putin looks around the room, slowly.
‘What should I call you?’ he asks.
‘Whatever you wish.’
‘My conscience?’
‘You could say that…’
‘What’s the point?’
‘To help you think.’
‘Ah, that.’ Putin smiles.
‘You’ve said you needed space… that you felt hemmed in by the West… so Ukraine should be yours…’
‘That’s right. Not just my space but Russia’s. I’m doing it for Russia.’
‘I’m familiar with the argument… but as I examine things… it seems to me what you are really needing is enlargement of your mental space.’
‘Aha.’ Putin chuckles.
‘Looks to me like you’re cramped inside your mind…’
‘Cramped?’
‘Yes. For instance, in your way of thinking, sexual orientation is of only one kind… you have to be straight or you fall outside the law.’
‘That’s right.’
‘It doesn’t seem unnatural to you?’
‘Not at all. Russia is the future of mankind and perversions are not allowed.’
‘Wow. It is amazing how you can be so certain about matters so complicated and which stir so much debate in other societies…’
‘Decadent societies. Here in Russia, we strive for purity.’
‘Purity… hmm… that’s a troublesome word, isn’t it? I mean, Hitler used it and then led so many people to their deaths… caused so much disruption… so much pain… so much loss.’
‘You don’t think we can be pure?’
‘No. We’re all tainted, impure… a mix of generosity and hatred… a blend of the sublime and the vile… we’re human…’
‘I don’t want that for my Russia…’
‘… and, surprisingly… the more aware we are of our sometimes sharp contradictions… the more of a chance we have to control our excesses… the more of a chance we have to temper our actions… to perchance find understanding… even kindness.’
‘I’m a great believer in the Russian Orthodox Church and what Patriarch Kirill has to say.’

Pause

‘It’s hard for me to understand how a church like that can be so close minded.’
‘Call it what you will but so long as I have nuclear weapons that’s the way it will be.
I have the power to bring the world to its knees… and Russians love me for it… they love the power I give them… they may be isolated in this world but I make them feel special… big.’
‘We have a problem here, don’t we… it’s hard to get through to you.’

Putin nods pensively.

‘I think I’ve crossed that line. A while back.’
‘I find it amazing… here you are, talking about being special, you and all Russians… and you’re killing you neighbor every day… mothers, fathers, children. In the name of the church?’
‘In the name of a new world order… together with China… a new world order where the rules are written by a few outstanding leaders… like me and Xi… and the rest follow the rules. At first I had doubts I could do it but no longer. I am certain now. I can intimidate them all… Macron, Scholz, Sunak… in fact they’re already working to get Zelensky to compromise and come to the negotiating table… where I will insist on keeping the territory I’ve conquered… and the plan they proposed doesn’t even give Ukraine NATO protection. It’s a victory for me, already. I was right. I could divide the West.’
‘What about America?’
‘America… ha! Makes me laugh. All that talk about freedom and they love strong men, they elected Trump didn’t they? All that talk about freedom’s benefits, but what do they want to do with it? Get a gun!
Ha! And yes, I’ll do everything I can to get Trump reelected. And I’ll ask comrade Xi to help, and together we’ll help persuade the voters that Trump should be president again. And then again, after he changes the rules. Too bad the assault on the Capitol didn’t go well. But look at how many Senators and Representatives still love him? I’m convinced human beings prefer the comforts of living on their knees to the pain and tribulations of having a mind of their own.’
‘In the meantime… you’ll keep killing your neighbors?’
‘They have to learn their lesson.
Maybe one day, in the future, human beings will learn to live in freedom… I admit it has its attractions… love… brotherhood… sisterhood… yes… all that… but that’s in the future… I live in the present. So what do you have to say to that?’
‘In your power… you are not free,’ replies the voice, ‘your mind narrow as your heart.’

All is quiet now.
Putin’s expression turns somber.

Russia Must be Confronted

The story of Ukraine’s valiant fight is a story of courage lost and courage regained.
And a war fought now is a war not fought later.
In 2014 Putin grabbed Crimea. In broad daylight. With everyone looking on, Putin said, ‘I want that land, so I’ll take it.’
And we let him get away with it.
But seeing Ukraine’s enormous effort over the past year has restored our courage.
From the start of the war we supported Ukraine and yet it’s taken a while to increase the number and sophistication of the arms provided.
As Ukraine fought, we gave more and more support.
It was their proud resistance that moved us to add more help.
That effort has helped unite the West in opposing Russia. And it has hardened our resolve for the inevitable confrontation with China.
The benefits to us have been enormous.
And yet, all the while, even as our assistance to Ukraine grew steadily, there was something we weren’t willing to do. We were not willing to say to Putin, ‘do not fire missiles onto Ukraine from the protection of your own territory.’
We never summoned the guts to say that and so stand up to Putin.
The missiles have kept raining over Ukraine and we still have not provided Ukraine with the weapons to respond to such assault for fear of escalating the war.
On their own, Ukraine has devised arms that have reached military bases inside of Russia. But they have not had access to the longer range missiles we could provide and which would be more lethal.
As a result Russia has enjoyed a great advantage and because of it have killed thousands of Ukrainians.
Yesterday, the prime ministers of France, England and Germany, put forth a plan to further arm Ukraine while encouraging it to prepare for peace talks.
But it’s a clear cop out. A clear appeasement of Putin.
The underlying sentiment in the proposal is the growing doubt that Ukraine can achieve a military victory and so it should seek a compromise.
But those appeasing countries are deaf to the plight of Ukraine. A gut wrenching plight that cries out, ‘confront Putin now!. Tell him to stop firing the missiles that are killing us and destroying our infrastructure. Do that and we’ll drive back the Russians to behind their borders.’
The appeasers seem deaf to the plight. It’s not their land being invaded, for if it were they would be singing another tune. Instead, they’re looking the other way and not acknowledging the gift that Ukraine’s effort has given the West.
The proposal made by the three countries does not provide security guarantees under NATO.
A shameful act, for Ukraine, by virtue of the fierceness of its resolve and the blood they’ve spilled in defense of their sovereignty, has more than proved they are a worthy of inclusion in NATO.
Ukraine can win this war. We must provide all the help they need.
The way to shorten the war and save lives, is to confront Putin and say, ‘stop firing the missiles into Ukraine from your territory. If you don’t then we will arm Ukraine with missiles (not nuclear) that can hit you back. If you have missiles to fire, fire them from the territory you have conquered, not from behind the protection of your borders.’
Is that an escalation? You can call it that, but it is a rectification of an unfair advantage, something we should have done long ago.
As Ukraine keeps fighting and we regain our lost courage, we should be ready to stand up for those who have done so much for us.
If France, Germany and Britain object, so be it. In time they’ll return to join us, but for now, their appeasing spirit is calling to them and saying, ‘let us drop to our knees for a while. Rest. Bow.’
Fortunately, there are countries now within NATO, like Poland and the Baltic states along with others, who’re willing to join us.
We cannot let Putin win.
Only Ukrainians can do that. Only they have the right to say, ‘we do not want to fight anymore, we have done enough dying. We no longer can fight to defend our land. We accept defeat.’
Only Ukrainians can do that but they will not.
Maybe present day French and British and Germans are willing to do it, but not Ukrainians.
So it’s up to us, isn’t it?
If we want to be the leader of the Free World there is a price to pay.
This is the time to do it.
We must confront Putin.

When that confrontation happens, Putin will likely bang his nuclear weapon drum but comrade Xi will remind him that we see China as an accomplice in the destruction of Ukraine, and if a nuclear weapon is fired in our direction, China will be our target too.
I am sure that is a risk the comrade is not willing to take.
Putin and Russia are not an island. They need China to survive.
And let us not forget that comrade Xi has plans to become Emperor at some point – who knows how far his kingdom will reach one day – maybe the world – he’s just getting started – and has no desire to see his beloved Beijing and Shanghai go up in flames.

A war fought now is a war not fought later.