The True Spirit of America Party hereby unequivocally condemns Vladimir Putin's abominable behavior, including (but not limited to) his most recent brutal rape of the Ukraine. We agree that there is nothing redeeming about what he is currently doing there, period. No argument from us there.
That said, it is nonetheless entirely possible to both condemn his misbehavior and still understand that a hot war between the USA and Russia is a VERY, VERY bad idea on balance for all concerned. Or between any NATO country and Russia, for that matter. Russia is a still very much a nuclear-armed quasi-superpower to this day, and they are also one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. A hot war with them can easily turn VERY ugly and nuclear VERY fast, and would not be worth the cost. The same goes for any hot war with China either. Thus, the TSAP unequivocally opposes any attempt by anyone to foment such a war, for any reason. Period.
Unfortunately, too many people don't seem to do nuance anymore these days. And they probably don't even know what the word "nuance" means.
And while it is very politically incorrect to say it out loud, NATO has not exactly been entirely innocent either in recent years. There is far, far more to this complex and nuanced larger NATO vs Russia issue than meets the eye, and the roots go very, very deep indeed. And the MSM rarely if ever tells the whole story. We believe that the many years of warmongering and provocations on both sides is really, really stupid and dangerous, and we urge both sides to resolve this crisis diplomatically as quickly as humanly possible. And while there are really no GOOD options currently, imposing swift and tough economic sanctions on the Russian oligarchs themselves (including Putin himself, the second richest person in the world) would probably be the least worst thing for the USA, NATO, and the UN to do.
As protest folk singer Phil Ochs once famously sang in "What Are You Fighting For?" in the 1960s:
But the hardest thing I'll ask you, if you would only try
Is take your children by their hands and look into their eyes
And there you'll see the answer, you should have seen before
If you'll win the wars at home, there'll be no fighting anymore.
Such excellent and timeless advice, both then and now. And as Sting famously and poignantly sang in 1985, "I hope the Russians love their children too".
Still, the sovereignty of Ukraine should be defended. There should be solidarity between Europe, U.S. and Canada to help Ukraine in this war. Being weak towards Russia would be foolhardy.
ReplyDeleteWar is a racket. Patriarchy is demonic. The big picture is we must end Patriarchy to end all war. With men in charge this will never end. The entire history of our society from the beginning, as soon as the sword was invented is war, war & more war. People don't see the forest for the trees. They speak of wars like they just happened for this or that reason. They happen because men are in charge. Stop men, you stop war. Of course war with Russia or China could be horrendous. Imagine if they did to us what America did to Japan. Nuclear bombs on New York & Lost Angeles, how would you like them apples?
ReplyDeleteVery well-said and very true indeed, Rasa.
DeleteMore on the long backstory: Let's just say that in 2014-2015, one of very few things that both Noam Chomsky and Henry Kissinger could both agree upon was that Ukraine joining NATO would be a bad idea. Rather than protect Ukraine, that would increase the risk of a major war between Ukraine and Russia, and thus also between NATO and Russia.
ReplyDelete