freedom – Oscar Valdes

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

Elections 2024. Early Forecast

Dianne Feinstein (D) announces she will not run for reelection as California Senator. Age is the key factor. She will be 90 later this year.
Nikki Haley (R), 51, steps out as a candidate for president, challenging Trump who is 76.
Tim Scott (R), 57, is to announce his own candidacy in the next week or two.
Ron DeSantis (R), 44, is sure to follow as will others.
The political engines, never dormant, are revving up again and favor the younger.
Meanwhile, in the Democratic party, all would be challengers wait for word from Biden. Will he or won’t he, run for president again? He will be 82 in 2024.
Biden has done a good job, but it’s time to cede the space and not hinder the new aspirants.
The longer he delays his decision, the greater advantage to the opposition.
Democratic would be challengers need time to get themselves organized, fine tune their message and smooth out the inevitable kinks.
Republicans aspirants have it easier for the upcoming election.
Trump has so damaged the party that whoever looks half way decent is a viable contender.
Lamentably, so far, many seem unwilling to criticize him openly and harshly.
Trump will lose in the primaries anyway, but if he miraculously does not, then he will be trounced in the general election. And, of course, he will go on to claim that the election was fraudulent.
Ideally, what Biden should do is decline to run again as soon as possible – like next week – and then commit to prepping all the Democratic newcomers. Not just Kamala Harris.
Biden would be making a great contribution to the nation if he made a point of periodically gathering all would be Democratic challengers and schooling them on how he’s conducted his presidency on both national and foreign affairs.
Mr Biden has much to teach, and doing so would strengthen the positions of democratic candidates as they fight off the opposition and themselves.
Because Mr Biden’s performance has covered so many aspects, such mentoring assistance would help build formidable candidates.
I don’t recall any sitting president ever doing that unless it was done in private.
This upcoming election is for Democrats to win handily, provided they’re disciplined enough.
The likelihood is that inflation will be under control well before election day. So, too, will Covid, while our investments in infrastructure and climate change will be moving along.
Biden should not be looking at the 2024 election as a contest he should win but as one the Democratic party should win.
Even if Biden is not challenged from within the party, the contest against the Republican nominee will be exhausting, which will take time away from major concerns, chief among them the war in Ukraine.
As we stand, there remain within Europe bitter differences as to whether to fully support Ukraine.
There have been delays in supplying armaments essential to hold back Russia and one day boot them out of Ukraine entirely. This has given Russia additional advantages.
So focused attention on the war is essential, as well as explaining its importance to the American people.
Ukraine’s heroic defense of their land is a major contributor to the political stability of the world.
Russia continues its attempt to destabilize neighboring countries, as recent evidence suggests has happened in nearby Moldova, whose government is pro-western.
It is conceivable that the war will come to an end during Biden’s term if he were to stay on task and is not distracted by running for a second term.
And winning the war would make for a great gift to all of us.

More Shootings

Yet another one, this last at Michigan State University. As of this writing, it appears that the shooter was not linked to the school.
And we still don’t have effective gun control laws.
What will it take?
‘A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed,’ says the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
But I say to you that there’s no ‘well regulated Militia’ in this country. That the estimated 350 million plus guns in private hands are not necessary for the security of America and instead act against it. And that the right to bear Arms creates far more problems than it solves.
Therefore, the Second Amendment is toxic to the country as it permits the killings of thousands of innocent people every year.
On January 6th 2021, an assault on Capitol Hill in Washington DC took place.
Our sitting president at the time was an influential factor in such assault.
Where the hell was the ‘well regulated Militia’?
The intent of the calculated aggression was to overturn a legitimate election.
Where was the ‘well regulated Militia?’
Nowhere, because it doesn’t exist. It is not real and will not come to the assistance of any movement that threatens our political system because owning a gun is not enough.
In the face of a threat to our political system what is needed are educated minds, people with a commitment to the laws of this nation who have invested in cultivating their sense of civic duty to assist their brothers and sisters.
In the face of a threat to our nation, what will be needed is people to speak up whenever there is corruption in government, what is needed is the courage to protest and stand side by side against would be oppressors, so the pillars of our nation are not undermined and destroyed.
Gun owners and all those gun bearers throughout this land did nothing to stop the injustice of the Capitol assault as it unfolded, except perhaps scratch their heads in puzzlement.
But those same gun owners will fight to the end any attempted restriction on their right to buy guns. Regardless of whether the buyer has the integrity to handle a gun or the emotional makeup to show restraint.
The gun lobby is a drag on the development, political and economic maturation of this country.
It is not an asset but a detriment.
It keeps us from connecting with each other.
What it does do is help us hide from the call to civic duty to our fellow human beings.
The freedom to buy guns must be restricted because the deaths of innocent people at the hands of the misguided or confused, envious or angry, is a deep wound being inflicted to the essence of who we are.
Very often, at the heart of the motivation of the shooters, is a profound sense of envy at having fallen behind and not being part of our national project.
That task of building ties to our fellow citizens is essential. It cannot be left to government.
Defenders of gun laws need to ask themselves, which is more important, my duty to my brothers and sisters, or the right to own a gun that breeds isolation.
The price of liberty is measured in the courage to stand against injustice, whenever and wherever it happens.
The price of liberty is also measured in our ability to hold our pain, and not give it to others.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Letters to a Shooter (available on Amazon) and other self published books.

Russians, Resist!

You don’t have to take up arms against Putin, resist instead.
Stop building armaments. Stop pumping oil. Don’t go to work.
Resist and you will help paralyze the economy.
Soldiers in the battle fronts, put down your guns.
Refuse to be an accomplice of Putin.
Refuse to kill Ukrainians.
Refuse to allow Putin to send you into battle.
Value your life.
If you are not free to say what you wish then you are a pawn of others.
You are not your own person.
If you have not developed your own thoughts then you are letting Putin think for you.
To become a true human being you must do your own thinking.
If you think you have a right to kill Ukrainians then you have consented to be degraded by Putin.
Russians, let your anger rise! It is anger you need to be who you truly are, not what Putin wants you to be. Rise and be an example to other enslaved nations.
Your leader is a small man, envious of other leaders because he hasn’t been able to guide your nation to where it could be, given all your resources and human capital.
A small man who has kept you isolated instead of joining the rest of the world.
But he is clever, a clever murderer, and he’s managed to mislead most of you.
Russians, you are not innocent in this war.
You can’t just say you were following orders.
Ukrainians did no harm to you and there you are choosing to kill them.
How long will this go on?
It is unbelievable that you have been so passive.
It will be almost a year since the war started and aside from the people who have chosen to leave and a few scattered protests, there has been complete silence in your nation.
Do you just swallow everything that Putin says?
In Iran massive protests shook the nation after Mahsa Amini’s death for not following the rules of proper dress.
Even in China, there were protests against the covid lockdowns.
Meanwhile, in Russia, silence.
‘Yes, sir’. ‘No, sir’.
‘Go kill Ukrainians!’ ‘Yes, sir’.
‘Fire missiles into their apartment buildings, into their schools, into their hospitals’.
And you do whatever your highness, Putin, says.
There are world leaders who want Putin to win this war. People like Xi Jinping and others.
Which is not difficult to understand because the Chinese are not free people either.
And in the United Nations representatives from all over the world talk and talk and solve nothing. Zero. But they eat very well and sleep comfortably at the end of the day.
And you watch it all quietly. Nothing stirs in your heart and minds.
Are you alive or just robots?
I have to remind myself that Alexei Navalny is still in prison.
Have to remind myself that in him lies the future of Russia.
That’s the true Russia!
Fight Russians! What are you waiting for?
Let the spirit of Navalny rise, stop the killing of Ukrainians and join the world!

Why Are We Fighting?

Photo by Kostiantyn Stupak on Pexels.com

The answer is not clear to many because we are being indecisive.
One sign of such indecisiveness has been the reluctance to offer Ukraine the proper weapons to counter Putin’s offensive.
It took forever to agree to sending in the tanks.
It is taking forever to agree to sending in the planes.
Forever to agree to the fact that Russia should not be allowed to be firing missiles into Ukraine from their own territory while insisting that the West should not aid Ukraine with weapons that can land in Russia proper.
Why not?
Are with Ukraine or not?
What are we afraid of?
It is not enough to say we are afraid of Putin. Not enough because he can be confronted on the matter of nuclear weapons.
Our nuclear weapons are just as good as his and China’s. And it should be clear also, that so long as China is around, they will act as a check on Putin because if we’re fired upon then China becomes a target. A target because of their assisting Russia in the killing of Ukrainians and thus a threat to all of us.
No one wants a nuclear war. But we are here because of previous indecisiveness.
In 2014, Putin invaded and took over Crimea while Obama was president. That is on us. On Europe. On the West. We let the bully take a bite out of someone’s else’s land and get away with it. It should have been dealt with on the spot but it was not.
All those high ranking thinkers in Europe and the West kept justifying the buying of oil from Putin, the shaking hands with him as he ruthlessly silenced his population. And Putin knew it. ‘The West is weak’ he concluded. ‘I can take them’.
So here it is.
And he’s not far from the mark because if Trump had won the election in 2020
he would not have objected to Putin calling him up to tell him he was thinking of annexing Ukraine. The mastermind of Make America Great Again would have said to himself, ‘what I really mean when I say MAGA, is for us to stay home and tend to our own garden’. But that won’t do because we live in a big world and with ability comes responsibility. And we have plenty of ability. Trump missed that.
A huge miss. Which is why he should be out of politics altogether.
So why are we fighting?
Because we owe it to Ukraine, who helped break the denial we were in, thinking that coexistence with Putin was possible, thinking that he would be considerate and reasonable.
The world we live in is not like that. If we leave it up to the Chinese they will enslave us.
And so will Putin.
This denial was worse in Europe, which has a long history of it.
Peaceful coexistence is out, so we must invest in being properly armed.
Yet even today, chancellor Scholz in Germany acts with timidity and so Macron in France.
Macron even took the lead for a while in persuading the West to consider Putin’s ‘feelings’, how he should not be humiliated – the poor and frail thing. Since then Macron’s backed off a little but not much.
Recently, in talking about sending more armaments to Ukraine, he spoke of being ‘open to the possibility’ of providing such help. Still tentative, the French President. Never mind the mounting toll of dead Ukrainians. Macron must have thought that we can dilly dally so long as those croissants are warm for breakfast.
As far as Chancellor Scholz is concerned, he should step down and let someone else take over in time of war, such is his difficulty making choices.
Yesterday, the British stepped forward and offered to supply planes. But it will take time to train the pilots to operate them. Time that equals more dead Ukrainians.
Biden replied that we would not be sending F-16s. Again, the fear of upsetting Putin.
Meanwhile, Zelensky, who feels deeply the continued loss of life in his great land, keeps begging for assistance. Begging. On his knees for his dear land.
‘We will do the dying, but please give us the weapons,’ he keeps imploring us all.
‘Trust that we will give all we have in pursuit of victory.’
True, there has already been much assistance from the West and because of it Ukraine stands today, but there should be more.
If there is more, then this war can come to an end soon.
So, please, let us help Ukraine win the fight of their lives.
We owe it to them.
I repeat, we owe it to them because they are helping us break through the denial that both Russia and China are not rapacious adversaries.
We must stand up to Putin. To Xi Jinping. Even if it inconveniences us.
Ukrainians are doing the dying.
Surely we can put up with some more discomfort.
Let us give Ukraine all the help they need.
Let us say to Russia, ‘if you don’t stop firing missiles into Ukraine from your own territory, then we will arm Ukraine so it can do the same.
And we will give them planes.
And the moment Ukrainians succeed in pushing you back to behind your borders, we will give them full NATO protection because they deserve it.’
The blood Ukraine has shed and will shed, has lifted them as a mighty example of heroism.
They need us now.

The Time is Now

Last night, President Biden gave a good performance in his State of the Union address.
He was forthright and spunky. And with good reason. He has a record to be proud of.
Here was a true leader of the Free World listing the nation’s achievements and the challenges ahead.
Many Republican attendees had trouble with the speech. Trouble with Biden. Trouble with everything because it’s now been decades since they’ve had a leader with the same heft and they have to contend with their envy.
And it doesn’t look good for them in 2024 either.
Which brings me to the question of succession.
For all his solid performance I think Biden should not run for reelection.
But walking away when you’re on top is not easy. I’m reminded of boxers who keep fighting even though age tells them that they’re past their prime.
Fighters like Joe Louis, Roberto Duran, even Muhammad Ali. But not all fall into the trap.
Rocky Marciano, an undefeated heavyweight champ during the 1950s, retired at the top of his game at age 31. Never went back to the ring.
Biden is now 80. By the time of the next election he will be 82. So during a next term he would celebrate his 83rd, 84th, 85th and 86th birthdays.
Biology is against him being able to keep up with the pace of the presidency.
If there is a crisis in Africa during the middle of the night, his aides would have to wake him up. Another crisis in Asia a couple of hours later, he would have to be awakened again. And then he’d have to be in shape to be at the meeting with the prime minister of Germany at 9 am.
Followed by cabinet meetings in the afternoon. Etc.
As President he would be continuously on the spotlight and every advanced age dysfunction, small as it may be, would become a distraction and a source of criticism.
If there were no other people around to step up and replace him, then his remaining on the job would make sense. But that is not the case.
There are now several good candidates eager to jump in and make a run for the presidency.
They are waiting for Biden to decide if he will run again.
Out of respect they are giving the President time to reflect and make his choice.
But if he decides to run again he should be challenged. And forcefully.
I have admiration for Mr Biden. Yet my sense is that he will choose to run again.
And that will not be good for the party.
So this is the time for the daring to step up and go for it.
Years ago, I think 2006 or so, when Obama had just begun to serve his term as Senator from Illinois, George Will, having heard of Obama’s wish to challenge Hillary Clinton for the party’s nomination, wrote a piece where he said to Obama, ‘this is the time.’
And so I say so, too
This is the time for daring democratic contenders to step up and make their claims.
Do not wait for Biden to decide. Step up now.
If you do so, there is the strong possibility that such move will give Biden pause and help him make the right choice and not run again.
I do not think he will put himself through a primary process to become a candidate again.
Instead, he will reckon that it is time for a younger candidate, one he could advise and mentor for the benefit of the nation and the world.
The time is now for democratic presidential aspirants to all step up and say, ‘It is our time.’
Do not give the Republican party, a party still partly beholden to Trump, the opportunity to take advantage of fissures within the Democratic party.
The time is now.

Bolder, Mr Biden.

After long delays the approval for sending tanks to Ukraine was given. But it will take months before they arrive. A delay measured in lives lost.
The delay was largely due to German obstructionism. Chancellor Scholz, for whatever reasons, putting up obstacles to assist Ukraine.
This delay has given Putin an advantage. Not only can they keep firing missiles from their own territory but, with greater number of soldiers, now they can push more effectively against Ukraine’s resistance.
Zelensky has called for fighter jets and longer range missiles to defend his nation.
We should give them to him as soon as possible.
Mr Scholz will likely put up other obstacles to not do what is needed, but if Germans themselves don’t bypass him, then we should. How? One option is to come to a consensus that, in the upcoming rebuilding of Ukraine, contracts to companies to do the work be awarded in proportion to how helpful their nations of origin were in assisting Ukraine. Scholz’s obstructionism should put German companies at the bottom of the list.
Ukraine’s enormous effort, dying in defense of democracy, is being underestimated.
So far, we have been intimidated every time that Putin talks of his nuclear weapons.
We cannot allow him to brow beat us.
His threats need to be met with resolve. And arming Ukraine with all it needs, short of nuclear weapons, is the answer
At this time China is going all out to bypass the economic sanctions the West has imposed on Putin. They are afraid of a victory by Ukraine because such victory will empower the growing resistance in China against the dictatorial powers of their communist party.
Ukrainians have made the commitment to push back Russia to behind its borders. Doing so will transform not only Ukraine but also Russia.
By now we know the courage is there. What is needed is to arm it.
For that, Western boldness is needed.
There are nations in the alliance that will prefer to scream loudly against such a position but to delay assistance is the equivalent to siding with Putin. We cannot allow it.
So it falls to you, Mr Biden, to be bolder in the interest of all nations.
Imagine the power of a fully recovered Ukraine with all its borders reclaimed and rebuilt with the assistance of the West?
Such light will shine so bright that it will move Russians to carefully examine why they have subjected themselves to the authority of Putin. They will realize they have consented to devaluing themselves by not fully exercising their political and economic freedoms.
When that starts to happen, if Putin has lasted that long, he will be asked to leave.
The same process is likely to happen in next door China and other nations farther away.
Ukraine’s uniqueness deserves all the support it needs and the resulting benefits will be great.
A nuclear war is a very distant possibility because China will act as a check on Putin.
China does not want a nuclear war. They know that if one is triggered, they would be caught in it because we would have to fire on them also.
You have done a great job, thus far, Mr Biden. Greater boldness is needed to finish the job.
You can do it.

Having An Opinion

Is important. Having an opinion on anything.
The more subjects we have opinions on, the better.
We don’t have to be an expert on the subject to have an opinion on it.
We can reflect on it based on what we have available, what we have heard or experienced.
To have opinions we must think.
Doing so elevates it to an art form. The reflection we put into it does that.
And every one of us can do it.
We can do it while walking, sitting or lying down. But it should be done while one is alone.
Of course, opinions can and will be influenced by discussion with others but the more effort we put into doing our own thinking, the more we will get from interactions.
Writing helps thinking. But you don’t need to write to think.
Socrates didn’t do much writing. His pupil, Plato, would do it for him.
All we need to have an opinion is the willingness to have it.
All we need to think is the willingness to do it. The willingness to say, ‘I am going to think.’
That’s it.
It sounds so simple and yet, most people don’t set aside the time for it.
It is much easier to read or hear another person’s opinion and then agree or disagree with it. Which has a place, of course.
But the thinking I’m talking about is the thinking that one initiates. The one where one sets a time for it.
Each one of us has a variety of undigested ideas on a given subject that will come up when one chooses to think.
Dialogue is central to thinking. Dialogue with ourselves. With ideas we’ve heard but not pondered. Ideas we have not answered.
The French sculptor Rodin paid homage to thinking when he made his famous ‘The Thinker’, a bronze piece of a naked man sitting on a slab of stone, facing forward, his chin resting on the back of his flexed right hand, the same arm’s elbow placed on his left thigh. It is a beautiful piece.
That’s all we need to think. A place to sit and be alone.
Alone so that whatever is brewing in us can rise to the surface undisturbed.
Alone so our thoughts can float up gently into our consciousness.
Consider for a moment how little time we devote to thinking. We’re always rushing here and there, doing this or that. Afraid of looking into what is in us.
Thinking is beautiful and it is an art. Unrecognized and undervalued.
It brings us closer to who we are for it demands that we take off our mask. That we face our reality and not rush away from it. That we face our prejudices, our fears, our mistakes, our pain, our anger, our indifference, our brutality.
We all have to make a contribution to earn our living. Doing our own thinking should be part of it. And we shouldn’t leave it to others to do it for us.
We shouldn’t because every single one of us is unique.
Next time you set aside time to think, remind yourself that thinking is an art form.
When we take time to think we’re activating our creative powers. Who knows what will come out.
Societies whose members think, embrace democracy.
Societies whose members don’t, surrender to autocracy.
If you haven’t, look up Rodin’s bronze, ‘Le Penseur’, for inspiration.
It is on the net, of course, but the real thing might be at a museum near you.

For Or Against Putin

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!

Admitting Our Mistakes

Is not easy.
It’s coming to terms with our fallibility, with our imperfections.
Though most of us, in our more enlightened moments, will acknowledge that we’re flawed, in day to day life our unconscious is likely to trick us, leading us to believe that we don’t have any such flaws and if we do, they’re minor.
It takes a determined effort to remind ourselves that whatever our flaws, they are always around the corner, ready to pounce.
Thus, the importance of interaction, being open to other ideas and to criticism.
No one likes being criticized but those who are open to it march a step ahead.
Still, some things we just don’t see.
I’m reminded of walking down a supermarket aisle with a small child.
I’m more likely to see those items on shelves at my eye level. The child, on the other hand, having a different field of vision, will more easily spot things on the lower shelves.
Admitting to our mistakes can be so difficult, that some people would rather keep building on a faulty foundation than to be open about it and scrap or modify the original idea.
Any project that goes awry has had design flaws that some of the creators didn’t pause enough to properly analyze.
So they cover up and cover up and cover up.
We can’t get away with it.
We become better human beings when we are open to admitting our mistakes as soon as possible. Life rewards us for being honest with ourselves.
To say, ‘I’m not good at that, or that either. He/she are better at it,’ takes a measure of courage. But it’s easier to say to ourselves, ‘they got the job because they know somebody,’
which, in our complicated world, may sometimes be true.
Being fully honest with ourselves opens new paths we hadn’t thought of.
In structured settings, be they business or governmental, confronting flaws can be so difficult that the admission of it led to the whistleblower concept. A legal clause protecting those willing to tell the truth in exchange for a monetary reward.
Hiding the truth is in every human activity.
In politics it is rampant and sometimes deadly.
Putin has gone to war with Ukraine after building an edifice of lies that no one around dared question. Thousands of lives have been lost and more will follow.
Those who heard the lies first were unwilling to challenge them. So something started to rot.
Has been rotting for years.
Inside of China, too, as exemplified in the Communist party saying to the Chinese, ‘We have all the ideas needed for us to become the greatest nation on earth. Just trust us. We lead, you follow.’
They’ve been down that road for a while and we’re smelling the stench. It comes from the repression in Hong Kong, from the suffering of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang province, the suffocating quarantines in the management of Covid.
Democracy has many flaws and often harbors autocrats that must be smoked out, but it creates the conditions for the open interplay of ideas.
Closed systems, like the Russian and Chinese, or any other dictatorship, rot slowly.
It’s happened since our history started.
The French kings didn’t listen to the common man until it was too late and heads rolled.
Today’s kings – Putin and Xi – who are causing or supporting so much cruelty, also believe that they own the truth and so they trample on freedom of speech.
Show me a country where freedom of speech is censored and we can point to a country where human rot is growing.
Science has something to teach us to prevent such rot. In science, a person comes up with an idea to solve a particular problem, then someone else tests it to make sure it is good. Then another person does the same, validating the proposed solution.
That is freedom at work.
Of course, some issues may need decisions that cannot wait, but many issues should use more rigor to find the better solutions.
To avoid the lies. To avoid the waste. To avoid the failure. To avoid the rot.