You’re about to follow an impressive military operation in Venezuela with a political screwup. Why? Because you seem unwilling to trust Maria Corina Machado and her people. Somehow, you’ve got it into your head, that the lady won’t be able to deal with the sharks circling around her. But she would be able. The lady is not alone and wouldn’t have been able to win the elections if she hadn’t surrounded herself with the best Venezuela has. Work with her. Our failure in Iraq was traced to our inability to work with locals who knew the system. Venezuela is Venezuela, not the US. They have their distinctive culture. Maria Corina Machado knows it well. Let her take the lead. Support her. Look, Latin Americans are watching. If we do well in Venezuela, Cuba could be next. The lack of oil supplies from Venezuela will weaken Cuba and prepare the ground for political change. But not if we screw up. Poor management of our intervention could lead to civil war. The hasty retreat to follow would become a resounding defeat. It’s black and white, Mr Trump. Maria Corina Machado’s party was the clear winner of the elections stolen by Maduro and company. Your bypassing her is tantamount to devaluing her and her people. Don’t do it. You need them to succeed. And they will do very well by us, facilitating all manner of commercial deals, so long as we act fairly. You and your people have created an opportunity. Do not screw up now. Not only Cuba, but Nicaragua could follow. Think about it. And as your resolve gathers strength, maybe you will then start to confront Putin and Xi Jinping which is sorely needed. Think big, man. Think bold. Trust the lady, please. The rewards of doing so will be ample. Something to counter all the mistakes you’ve made. Ask for advice. Pay attention to what they say. Don’t just trust your little circle. They call it thinking outside the box. The world is watching.
What we need to be doing, instead, is pushing Russia and China back, militarily. This is the time. But our president seems incapable of imagining the possibility, let alone doing what is needed to make it happen. Our man in the White House lacks the needed vision because he is not a free man himself. Free men and women are not filled with rancor and consumed with petty grievances. Free men and women are broad minded human beings. Trump is not. By not fully arming Ukraine we are passing up on a unique opportunity to weaken Russia. Do most Russians not want political freedom, too? Yes, they do. Do they not want to join with the rest of the world rather than live in isolation and under the crushing boot of a tyrant and mass murderer? Yes, they do. Are Russians not capable of staging a revolt to boot out Putin and his followers? Yes! So let’s help them get there by weakening Putin. And we would weaken Putin by properly arming Ukraine and given them permission to strike deep inside of Russia. If the Chinese people saw that, they too, would likely want to imitate Russians because they, also, want political freedom. Who does not? But we are acting as if that powerful human desire did not exist. The damage that Trump is doing to America and the world is enormous. He is distracting us with immigration and neglecting the more important matters. He does so intentionally, for he has strong dictatorial instincts. His base is being taken for a ride. While Trump dangles the immigration issue in front of their eyes, he is curtailing their freedoms. And they are letting him do it. When freedoms are curtailed, everybody will suffer, including his supporters. Trump is toxic to America. Russia and China are glad to have him because they know he’s making it more likely for them to broaden their spheres of influence. Whatever problems illegal immigration have caused they pale in comparison to us letting Russia and China combine to beat back Ukraine. And the world is watching as it is happening.
Trump is setting back the cause of freedom for all human beings. Those who voted for him got duped. And they still don’t get it.
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.
With the weapons reinforcements Ukrainians will now be receiving, they will be able to hold off Russia’s attacks and even push them back. As things stand, the Russians will be no match for properly armed Ukrainians. Soon, therefore, Putin will increase his threats to fire nuclear weapons on the West and at some point, as his losses mount, he will either accept defeat or draw the line and say to us, ‘if you do that, I’ll fire my nuclear missiles’. Ignoring the threat is an option. It may work and he won’t follow through. But it may not. Putin’s reliance on mercenary troops from the Wagner Group suggests there are serious rifts within his military, with career officers objecting to the political rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the group and his using prisoners as soldiers. Even if Putin were to give the order to fire the nuclear weapons, the military may not follow through. Why be Putin’s sacrificial lambs? However, there’s a strong ultranationalist faction in Russia pushing the war which may be present within the military which adds to the uncertainty. But what if Putin makes it very clear he will use his nuclear weapons, say gives us a deadline to retreat or something alike? Then the threat will have to be met. Head on. He would be leaving us no options.
Mr Biden, you once called Putin a killer, a statement of the facts. The outrage he’d stirred in you made you say those words. Nothing less would’ve conveyed the fulness of your feelings. Since then he’s become many times that killer. Putin is a failed statesman. He’s done nothing but thwart the potential of Russia. With all their human capabilities and natural resources they have not risen to be a leading nation. That is on Putin and he knows it. And it weighs on him. He compares himself with other leaders and realizes he’s not produced, which is the price of autocracy and corruption, of surrounding yourself with ‘Yes men and women’ who’re not able to provide effective feedback for fear of offending the great man or because they’re too busy enriching themselves. Putin is filled with anger at the world. Anger that comes from his envy which is enormous. His ideas about a Russian empire are born out of that resentment. He tried to fool us with his lies and threats, ‘Listen up, you heathen, come look at my magnificent robes and my crown filled with diamonds and pearls, I am the true master of this earth. We, Russians, are the true chosen people who will enlighten and inspire the rest of you.’ And to show us how resolute he was, he lifted his heavy boot and planted it on the soul of Ukraine wanting to squash it and tear it apart. Never mind how many died as a result. But Ukraine surprised everyone when they raged and said, ‘get your foot off me, you dunce!’ And they have given him a good shove back in a feat of heroism without precedent. Ukraine’s resolve is so daring and unique that it has generated envy even in the West. Nations complaining that Ukraine should be preparing to negotiate instead of fighting, nations who are reluctant to offer support, are also envious nations, envious of her courage and defiance. So, yes, envious Putin has company among nations in the West. Lamentably, there is the strong possibility that very soon a retreating Putin, so in love with himself that he sees no other options, will be saying to us, ‘You leave me no choice, I will have to fire my nuclear weapons.’ And we will have to step up to meet him eye to eye.
Mr Biden, from that same place deep inside of you from where the words that Putin is a killer flowed, your answer to the Russian will come. ‘You want to set the world on fire?’ you may say to him. And Putin may answer, ‘if you don’t stop aiding Ukraine, I will do it.’ ‘If you fire your weapons, we will fire back… do you really want to see your Moscow and St Petersburg in flames?’ ‘Ha! Watch your cities do the same…’ ‘What’s the point, Putin? There will be no winners… we would all lose… you and me… your children… my children… all of us would be losers… we would set back the progress of civilization by who knows how many years… just because you’re angry that you couldn’t lead your nation… angry that the world has not fallen in love with you… angry that you’ve failed in Ukraine… angry at your limitations as a leader. Why have so many people die … why?’ Putin will not have a coherent reply because there is none and he knows it. His dream of empire is just a fantasy, a distraction from his crumbling grandiosity. And yet, with raging fury, his shallowness as a human being exposed, he may insist, ‘I’ll do what I need to do,’ and hang up the phone. Mr Biden, as soon as the conversation is over, you would do well to call up Xi Jinping to inform him of the situation. ‘Xi… just got off the phone with Putin, your friend “without limits”. He’s told me he’s ready to use nuclear weapons.’
A pause may follow.
‘Just to be clear, Xi… if Putin does that… we will fire back. All of the West will. I do not know who will be left standing. Maybe it will be Putin, maybe it will be us. But Xi, you must know… that if Putin fires a nuclear weapon in our direction… nuclear weapons from us will also be flying back in your direction, too.’ ‘What?’ will answer Xi. ‘Why us? It’s not our war.’ ‘It’s everybody’s war. No one is spared. The world is at war.’ ‘You are trying to rule all of us…’ Xi may reply in outrage. ‘I’m giving you a warning… and I have a suggestion for you, too.’ ‘What?’ ‘We don’t have to all burn… and see who remains standing at the end… it doesn’t have to happen… so Xi… please listen carefully… you could… which I strongly advice… turn around the nuclear weapons you have now pointed at us and aim them instead at Moscow and St Petersburg… then call up your dear friend Vladimir to inform him.’
Pause.
‘Please… and keep in touch.’
Biden hangs up.
Xi may then call Putin and say, “Vladimir… you can’t threaten the West with nuclear weapons without consulting with me…’ ‘How do you know?’ ‘Biden just called.’ ‘What?’ ‘If you do… America will nuke us, too.”’ To which Putin may reply, ‘Xi, this is our moment, let us both fire on America and the West… we will be rid of the monster… and the world will be ours to split.’ ‘You’re mad… and drunk with power… and I will not go along anymore.’ ‘Not go along?’ says Putin. ‘What does that mean?’ ‘Exactly that… I will not go along.’ An irate, exasperated Putin may press Xi, ‘You mean you will do nothing if the West fires back at me? Don’t you think I know they will fire at you, too?’ ‘You know that?’ Xi may say. ‘Of course, the West wants everything for themselves…’ ‘You say you know that, but you never brought it up with me, Vladimir… all the while you’ve been making threats…’ ‘It’s obvious…’ Putin may reply. And Xi will frown and say ‘That’s all I needed to hear.’
And he hangs up.
It could happen. Just as stated. And then it might not. So, Mr President, you have to be ready, don’t you? The whole world is already at war. Pretending it’s not, is a mistake.
As you tilt back in your chair at the Oval Office, you may reflect… ‘China is sitting prettier than Russia. They have no desire for a nuclear confrontation. Thus, Putin’s threats have limits. Let us not forget that as we push on with our military aid to Ukraine. And Xi may well pivot his nuclear weapons in Putin’s direction. So… fully arming Ukraine to push Russia back to behind its borders is doable… very doable… in fact… necessary.’
So here’s the Putin Paradox. If we stand up to him now, he’s much less likely to carry out his threat. But if we act as if we’re willing to sacrifice Ukraine, he will be further emboldened. And this may lead him to want even more territory which may push us into a corner, making the threat of nuclear war, a greater possibility.
We think it’s time the war came to an end. Our nation has a tradition of being brave warriors. We lost 20 million people in WWII, a war started by Hitler, and we beat him back. But Ukraine is different, isn’t it? They weren’t doing anything to us. They just wanted to choose their own path and felt they could better accomplish it by becoming more like Europe. So what’s wrong with that? Russia sits between Europe and China. We are grateful to the Chinese for all the support they’ve given us over the years but, if you asked us, many of us feel closer to Europe, just like the Ukrainians. But we can still be friends forever with China. Vladimir, news travels and what we’re hearing about the war is not good. We are the aggressor. We’re sending missiles into Ukraine to kill them and destroy their property. How are we going to make up for that? Many of our brothers and sisters have left the country because they don’t want to be part of it. They don’t want to shoot their neighbors. Almost everyone knows someone who chose to leave. You’ve asked the Wagner group to fight for us but they are mercenaries. That is a strange profession, isn’t it? To kill people for a living. And now the same group is recruiting prisoners to do the fighting. But prisoners don’t make good soldiers. Good soldiers need to be disciplined and have a conscience. Vladimir, we think you’ve lost touch with us, your people. This is your war, Vladimir, not Russia’s war and we shouldn’t be fighting it. The world is getting a bad impression of Russians. We trusted that you would make good political choices but we’ve found you have not. Because of our geography, it’s easy to become isolated, but with the internet the rest of the world is getting closer. We want to be part of it. We want to join in. We are a hard working people and have something to contribute. We want to share it with the world. The West has problems but they have beautiful things, too. The Chinese have problems but they, also, have beautiful things. We need peace, Vladimir, not war, so we can see the beauty in people. Ukrainians are teaching the world something very important. The value of choice in our lives. The value of having a voice and raising it. You didn’t teach us that and we didn’t question you. All Russians, except for the very brave who have chosen to fight you, are to blame for this awful war. We are because we didn’t speak out when we disagreed with you. The same thing is happening to the Chinese next door, who bow to Xi Jinping like he was a deity. We’re not idiots, Vladimir. We’re recognizing our mistakes. But you’re carrying on like you’re absolutely right. And so, too, your close associates. You are making an ass of yourself in front of the whole world when you carry on as if you had no doubt you are right. What idiocy is that? The more killing we see the more we realize that you can turn your rage against us, too. We are slowly emerging from our denial. Slowly realizing you are a deeply envious and brutal man. We were wrong about you but this will be over one day. Vladimir, you can avoid more pain and stop the war now. Today. Give back to Ukrainians what’s theirs, all their land. Bring back our people, Vladimir, bring back our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters. There’s much work to do in this world. Russia can make a great contribution. And we don’t have to have an empire, Vladimir. Just cherishing and improving the land we now have gives us plenty to do. Let go of the dreams of glory at the expense of others. The struggle of human beings is the struggle to understand ourselves and the world around us. This war you started, is doing nothing of the kind. You’ve lost your way. Have the courage to recognize your mistakes. On a day like today, the Russian Orthodox celebrate Christmas. Mark the day with an act of contrition and generosity. Stop the War. Retreat from Ukraine.
Russia’s president chose to invade Ukraine because it’s part of his quest for glory. There is no other credible reason. An envious man, seething with rage because he has not been able to elevate his nation past others with fewer resources, angry at the realization that he’s not a statesman and never will be – and running out of time – he chose to invent that a threat to his future lay in neighboring Ukraine. How to deal with it? Just take it. And if they don’t surrender, then exterminate them. He can do it because he has nuclear weapons. He can do it because he has built a reputation for being ruthless. He can do it because the West is afraid of him. Stalin is one of his heroes. And like for him, people are mere numbers. Disposable. Expendable. If things didn’t turn out as well as he expected during the invasion, and he has been ‘forced’ to indulge his appetite for killing other human beings, there are plenty of anti western countries that sympathize with his plans. Anti western countries governed by autocrats and thugs. The invasion happened and it’s been 10 months. Putin has been unsettled by Ukraine’s resistance but not very much, because knowing that he has Russians on their knees – something he is very proud of – he is sure he has the time and room to maneuver. His main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, is in prison. At one point he had chosen to kill him through poisoning with a nerve agent but his operatives bungled the job. Navalny thought he could continue to build a movement against him so he made the mistake of returning to Russia, which left Putin with no choice but to grab him upon landing. He could just as well have ordered him shot on the spot but there is a part of him that likes to toy with his prey before putting it away. Surely, one day soon, the poor man will fall down a set of stairs and break his neck. One way or the other, he won’t leave prison. Ukraine’s resistance has given Putin more trouble than he expected. And a headache or two. But he’s dealt with such trifles before. Russia has plenty of mineral resources the world needs and friendly countries willing to purchase them and thus help him sidestep the sanctions the West has imposed. It may now appear as if Ukraine will win the war but it’s only an illusion, says Putin. Sooner or later, their will to fight will crack. And there are so many more Russians than Ukrainians. Docile Russians. Russians willing to do his bidding. And in the United Nations, with Russia and China both sitting in the Security council with the power to veto, nothing against Russia or China will get through. Interesting, how such a large organization lost its teeth. Now and then some idealistic soul calls for talks to end the conflict. But what’s in it for Putin when, if he perseveres, he can conquer all of Ukraine? He will have Ukraine even if he has to burn it down. He will have Ukraine even if it is without Ukrainians. Minor matter. He’ll repopulate it. Better that way so he can extinguish any traces of what was there before. And the world will say nothing because the world is afraid of him and his nuclear weapons. The world will say nothing because they know he can go crazy. Yes. Lose control. Except, that he is not crazy at all. Just more determined than his opposition. If he were the West, he would ask the rest of the world, ‘are you for or against Putin?’ If you are against Putin, then line up over here so you can get favors and trade advantages. If you are not, then go to the back of the line and wait. If he were the West, he wouldn’t be afraid of dividing the world, forcing nations to choose. Has he not made it clear, with his repeated missile attacks, that he’s willing to exterminate Ukrainians? What else do they need to see? Gas chambers? So it’s only a matter of time. A matter of more killing. Repeated. Methodical. He will not stop. And he’s good at it. Keep killing and he will win. He’s sure of it. And after a while people will get accustomed to the carnage. So he just has to wait. He will say no to negotiations unless he gets what he wants and then set up to invade again when he’s ready. In the West, they have to deal with free speech, which is not at all helpful to a man like him. So long as Russians are willing to be silenced, so long as the rest of the world is willing to help him, he will keep killing Ukrainians. Until there are no more. It would take an uncommon type of courage for the West to unify and standing up to Putin, say, ‘Enough! Except for nuclear weapons we will arm Ukrainians with everything available so they can push you back to behind your borders and have you stay there. That way the fight you picked will be fair’. But the West won’t do it. They may have nuclear weapons also, but they don’t have the resolve. Until then, if ever, Long live King Vladimir!
The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms as being necessary to the security of a free state, but today, such security is well provided by our armed forces. Therefore, today’s insistence on the right to bear arms appears to be an effort to address people’s personal insecurities. In everyday life, we’re always assessing threats to our wellbeing. In the process we may properly estimate our value and that of others or just be wrong about it and end up instead overvaluing or undervaluing all concerned. Personal insecurities come with being human. Events in our lives may exacerbate them and thus must be properly addressed. The current insistence on the right to carry weapons stems from unaddressed personal insecurities and carries far more risks than benefits. Furthermore, it delays the process of self scrutiny to remedy what flaws feed our personal insecurities. It is not an easy task to address such flaws. It takes diligence, attention to detail and a measure of emotional strength to start. The rewards, however, are enormous. One such reward may be identifying what activity bring us the most emotional satisfaction. Do what we love most and we will be better able to value ourselves and others. We will be better anchored and less envious. Envy is a hard nut to crack but it can be managed effectively if we feel grounded as a person. All of us are flawed. Those who manage to pull ahead have identified their strengths and are able to manage more effectively what flaws they have. Therefore, they will be less likely to need a gun at their side. Grandiosity is a personality trait that will distort how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. The quicker we’re able to identify it, the quicker we can check it. Grandiosity is more apt to show up if we fail to properly assess what strengths we have. It acts as an ego protective mechanism, aiming to compensate for perceptions of low self worth but is not helpful in the end. We have several examples of grandiosity in full display in today’s current affairs. It has impaired Putin’s and Xi Jinping’s judgments with horrific consequences. But neither man is a properly developed individual. Just like Trump in America. The person so insistent on carrying a weapon perceives the weapon as an equalizer. They believe they need the protection when interacting with others. ‘Look, I’m carrying, so watch out.’ Some take it a step further. Years ago, while working in a prison, I met an inmate serving a sentence for shooting another man. He wounded him. He’d had an interaction with the victim and felt demeaned as a result. But seeing that the victim was a stronger man, he chose to shoot him instead of fighting him or resolving the matter by other means. The hard tasks that lie ahead for the nation call for all of us to do more introspection. To learn about our emotions and to express them properly. The right to bear arms contributes nothing to that task. It delays our individual development. Want to hunt? Get your gun. Want to evolve as a human being? Put it down.
The big guy decides to squash the little guy and he gets a surprise. No! Says the little guy. But lacking enough resources of their own, the little guy turns around and says to the world, ‘I need help fighting this big guy who wants to walk all over me. We’ll do the fighting. We’ll do the dying. We’ll do whatever it takes to get their stinking boots off our throats, but we need guns and lots of tactical and economic support. Will you lend us a hand?’ And the West said yes. It wasn’t easy. The West had to overcome internal differences, with one side saying, ‘do we really need to help them… won’t it inconvenience us too much?’, and another side answering, ‘will you not lend a hand to your brother or sister if they were reaching out to you to pull them out of the mud pit they were sinking in?’ And the side willing to commit to help prevailed. And it did because we could see in their faces, that they really were our brothers and sisters, that they really were being threatened with slaughter and that we had the means to assist them. Imagine that we had chosen to not help and then see Putin stand in Kyiv and proclaim to the world that Ukraine was now another of his satellite republics. How would we have felt? It has cost us billions. Yes. And it will cost us even more. But helping the little guy has had a transformative effect on the West. We are pulling together and discovering strengths we didn’t think we had. China, a problem? We’ll handle it. Taiwan wants to stay free? We’ll back them up, too. Climate change forcing us to adapt? We’ll do it. Iran getting close to producing nuclear weapons? Go right ahead. We’ll deal with you when the time comes. Or, quite possibly, the brutal clerics who, in the name of God have been killing their own people, will be removed from power by a popular uprising that will vault women to positions of leadership in a new government if not to the very top of it. The daily accounts of Ukrainian bravery have inspired the West and the clear minded peoples of the rest of the world. There is no turning back. Through the tremendous courage of the Ukrainian people Putin is being defeated and the Russian people will step forward to unseat the man who is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and enormous destruction of property. China, next door, is beginning to awaken. The White Paper protests against overly strict covid restrictions are only the beginning. Chinese people need to breathe and are realizing the communist party is vested in repressing their freedom of thought. Xi Jinping thinks he is God. That won’t do. A new power alignment in the world is being hatched. Ukrainians’ determination not to be trampled on started it. The West’s willingness to support them keeps pushing them on. In America, president Biden has been a forceful agent for change. He is in office, able to do what he has done, because the American people realized in the 2020 elections that America mattered in the world and that Trump’s sectarian leadership would lead us to defeat. Internationalism is winning the day. As to the glitches, we will work them out.
They keep doing it, day after day. Defending their land, their right to choose their destiny. It puts Russians and their supporters to shame. How dare you wish to oppress a land that’s been independent from Russia since 1991. In their fierceness, Ukrainians remind us all not to give up. To keep trying to achieve whatever it is that we desire. As they defy death for the sake of their freedom, they remind us to not surrender our dreams. To not give in to mediocrity but to strive relentlessly for the best we can do. Haven’t accomplished what you want in life? Look to Ukraine and keep trying, so long as there is breath in you. Ukrainians have made a deal with destiny. We will get there. No matter what. ‘Death will not stop us,’ they cry out loudly and boldly. And the world is richer for it. Day after day the monster that Putin is – with the consent of hypnotized Russians – keeps trying to extinguish the rising Ukrainian star, and day after day the Ukrainian star shines brighter. Shame and shame again, on all those defenders of Putin, who meekly say ‘Oh, well, Putin was feeling uncomfortable with NATO being so close to him. He needed a little distance. He needed to kill tens of thousands of Ukrainians so he could sleep better.’ Shame and shame again on China’s dictatorship, repellent oppressors of their own people, for their support of Putin. Shame and shame again on all the countries who don’t want to take a position. ‘Oh, we just want to be neutral.’ In the face of Putin’s daily firing of missiles into Ukraine – his ceaseless massacres – where is it that people go in their soul to hide from that reality? Where is the fire in Russians’ bellies? What has happened to the proud and courageous Russians who turned back Hitler? Did their descendants not inherit the will to rise up against the mockery of a man that Putin is? In their silence Russians are writing history and a sad chapter it is. What does a parent tell his child when he/she puts them to bed in their Moscow home and the child asks, ‘Why are we killing Ukrainians?’ ‘We… well… Ukrainians are not doing what Putin wants.’ ‘If we don’t do what he wants, he kills us?’ ‘No… it’s different for us…’ ‘How?’ ‘We… we’ve learned to keep quiet.’ ‘But that’s not what you tell me to do when another child bullies me at school,’ says the child. ‘I know… but Putin is different… he’s…’ ‘A really big bully?’ ‘More than that.’ ‘Like what?’ ‘We… all of us Russians… except for some very courageous people willing to complain… we let him become what he is now.’ ‘I don’t like that,’ says the child. ‘I don’t either.’ ‘Will you do something about it?’ ‘I promise I will think about it… come up with something. I promise. Now go to sleep. You have to get up early for school.’ ‘Do children in Ukraine get to go to school?’ asks the child. ‘I’m not sure. I think that with the war… in some parts of the country… they have to stay at home.’ ‘So the bombs won’t kill them?” ‘Yes. So the bombs won’t kill them.’ ‘Can you sing me something happy?’ ‘Of course.’ And the parent does. How many Ukrainian children won’t ever hear their parents sing them a song?
Oscar Valdes 