The Fight for the Moral High Ground

Summary

The article discusses the moral clarity and global response to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the stark contrast between the courageous resistance of the Ukrainian people and the brutal actions of the Russian military, as well as the broader implications for the international community and moral standards.

Abstract

The "Fight for the Moral High Ground" elucidates the renewed sense of ethical certainty in the international community's response to Russia's aggression towards Ukraine. It contrasts the current global moral consensus with past decades of ambiguous foreign policy stances, particularly criticizing the previous U.S. president's equivocal remarks on Putin's actions. The piece underscores the transformation of Ukraine from a nation known for its vibrant culture to a symbol of resilience against authoritarianism, with images of war and civilian suffering dominating global media. The article emphasizes that the conflict transcends geopolitical boundaries, representing a struggle for democratic values and the collective soul of the free world. It calls for a multifaceted resistance, involving not just governmental sanctions but also a cultural and economic embargo against Putin's regime, suggesting that such a united front could redefine the acceptability of war in the modern era.

Opinions

The article suggests that the former U.S. president's moral equivalence between U.S. actions and Putin's atrocities contributed to the current crisis.
It opines that Putin's invasion has brought about a rare moment of moral clarity, with the Ukrainian resistance epitomizing the fight for freedom and European values.
The author criticizes the hard-right MAGA voices in the U.S. for supporting Putin despite his aggressive actions.
The piece argues that the international community's response, including cultural and economic sanctions, represents a new form of resistance against authoritarian regimes.
It posits that the global rejection of Putin's actions signifies a shift in the collective consciousness towards a more principled stance against wars of conquest.
The author asserts that the moral high ground has been established by the Ukrainian people's sacrifice and that maintaining this position requires truth and a clear-eyed understanding of the situation.

The decadent West takes on Vladimir Putin’s empire of evil.

When it comes to the foreign affairs of the nation, there haven’t been too many moments of bright moral clarity in all the decades since.

You can argue about the specific low points of that long drought, but one that certainly plumbed the depths was the answer given by the former U.S. president — the guy whose job description was supposed to include Leader of the Free World — when asked about the murderous policies of the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. “There are a lot of killers,” Mr. Trump said with his trademark smirk. “You think our country’s so innocent?”

It’s not too hard to draw a line from that unconditional moral surrender to Putin’s assumption that the freedom-loving countries of the world would squeeze their eyes shut while he had his way with Ukraine.

So a country known for pretty streets filled with coffee shops and pleasant people, who not so long ago felt carefree enough to elect a comedian to be their president, is now filling the world’s TV screens with horrific images of burned-out hospitals and babies in mass graves and grandmothers learning to shoot a Kalashnikov.

Vladimir Putin has long styled himself as the defender of traditional values against the decadent West. You hear echoes of that in the hard-right voices of the MAGA crowd leaping to his defense while he rains bombs and terror down on the people of Ukraine. Putin brought a despotic swagger to their all-consuming culture war, sitting bare-chested on his horse at the top of a hill. Now they’re standing by their guy. Even if that means having their faces splashed all over the propaganda hour on Russian State TV.

But the old dishonesty is no longer working the way it once did.

Seeing Ukraine in flames is like looking into the sun. There are no shadows left for the lies to hide in. On one side is the bracing courage of the Ukrainians fighting for their homes and their lives. On the other is the pitiless Russian war machine, and the falsehoods with which Putin is attempting to drive it.

We’re rediscovering moral clarity. This is something we’ve not experienced in a while and it’s bound to have some effect.

Unlike that old protest song, we know exactly what is being fought for this time around. It’s not just a war about geography, although it certainly is that. And since no one wants to light the fuse that starts World War III, that part of the fight, the brave work of standing in the path of Russian tanks and missiles, falls heartbreakingly on the Ukrainians.

It’s also an epic battle for the moral high ground. That’s where the rest of us have a part to play. Cold-blooded authoritarians, especially the not-so-petty ones like Vladimir Putin, have ridden out government-to-government sanctions before. Getting the whole mass culture into the act, the soccer clubs, the orchestras, the fast food joints, the credit card companies, the international banking system, that’s something new. Every small turn of the screw has a cumulative effect. Spears stuck into an rampaging woolly mammoth left over from the ice age.

The war Putin unleashed on Ukraine is a vast and unpredictable force that threatens the peace and freedom of all. Speaking from his besieged Capital to a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reminded us what’s at stake. “Today, the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine, we are fighting for the values of Europe and the world, sacrificing our lives in the name of the future.”

But there’s another force at work here. We’re feeling the seismic rumble of tectonic plates shifting somewhere deep in the mass culture. A new sort moral high ground is getting thrust up in the midst of us, unfamiliar and in many ways as unpredictable as the war itself. I’m not here to tell you how to navigate it, let alone occupy it. Only that we must.

This makes us all moralists now. We all have agency in creating a united front that defines the bloody wars of conquest of centuries past as unacceptable in this one. I’d suggest Truth would be a good place to start, if we are to unravel the deceptions, the divisions, the conspiracy theories, the faux piety and the hypocrisy that have enabled Putin and those who think like him.

The moral high ground we stand on has been paid for by the sacrifice of the Ukrainian people. Holding it will require all of us to think more deeply and clearly than we have in a very long time.