Ukraine
The Price We Pay
Down with Putin
Well, no one’s talking about the pandemic anymore. I don’t mean that in a good way either.
My View
The thing that bothers Putin most about Ukraine: it’s a democracy and Ukraine President Zelensky was elected in a free election. A liberal democracy at Russia’s doorstep is a threat to megalomaniacal and wanna-be-czar Vladimir Putin and what he considers inner Russian Stability. For us, that’s code for all out repression of dissenting voices. Zelensky must go is Putin’s goal. For that, he is willing to risk a lot. Tragically, not as much as each and every Ukrainian citizen.
We in the west, in the free world, will hopefully continue to show solidarity and rise to the occasion, piling on as much pressure as possible. Because this war is happening in a wired world. There’s no hiding the cruelty, the injustice, the horror of war. Ukraine doesn’t censor its citizens. We can follow real-time which already has mobilized brave protestors in Russia and around the world. If you know how Putin treats dissent of any kind, you will know the value of Russians taking to the streets. You can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
There’s a shift in the world, and it’s been happening for a while now: the United States will ultimately lose its ranking as number one to China. That’s a fact. And that’s what Putin is betting on. Recall Putin’s visit to fellow dictator Xi Jinping a few weeks ago. He wanted to make sure China is on his side? Did he reveal his plans to the Chinese leader? Who knows but if one can guess, taking into account China withheld its vote on a UN resolution condemning Russia; significant with foreign diplomats seeing China’s withheld vote as a positive sign, that Xi is not amused by Putin’s play.
A unified Free World
Faith in the United States — still hanging on to the top spot — has wavered. Especially since Trump. Post-Trump, the country is plagued by so many internal problems, therefore still considered an unreliable partner for Europe and it can’t withstand nor halt China’s rise. Hopefully, the USA will find its footing again somehow. I really hope so. But I’m not holding my breath.
A short sidebar regarding Putin’s enduring power and China’s rise: we helped the entire way. Many countries, most notably the UK, welcomed dirty money from super-rich Russian Oligarchs and had that red carpet rolled out on a permanent basis. London City is steeped in Russian money. The west has happily bought Russia’s oil and gas.
We also helped make China the super-rich and cement the repressive regime it is. For decades, we’ve been merrily buying all the cheap crap they’ve offered — without question. Tech companies produce in China because of cheap labor. We as consumers never asked as to the how and why. What are the working conditions? Are the workers getting fair pay? We didn’t care. Now, we are paying the consequences. Ukrainians are paying with their lives.
Buying products— be it oil, gas, or daily products from repressive regimes comes at a cost. It is a double-edged sword. Make no mistake. The price is high.
Maybe now we’ll learn and buy closer to home, buy at a higher monetary cost but at a fair price. Ultimately, a good thing. But it will take a while to get there. We have to be ready to go with that and take the consequences of decades of unquestioned consumerism. As I said, we should be prepared to make some cuts along the way. Not in the form of invasions I would hope but in the form of less of everything ie making sacrifices.
In the meantime, let’s help get Putin out of Ukraine. Keep streaming it all. Spread the word. Show the world.
#IstandwithUkraine
One opinion piece I’d like to share and urge you to read because it’s very insightful and actually quite positive. There’s hope. Thomas L. Friedman and We Have Never Been Here Before Below an excellent excerpt:
The musician and actress Selena Gomez has twice as many followers on Instagram — over 298 million — as Russia has citizens. Yes, Vladimir, I can hear you laughing from here and echoing Stalin’s quip about the pope: “How many divisions does Selena Gomez have?”
She has none. But she is an influencer with followers, and there are thousands and thousands of Selenas out there on the World Wide Web, including Russian celebrities who are posting on Instagram about their opposition to the war. And while they cannot roll back your tanks, they can make every leader in the West roll up the red carpet to you, so you, and your cronies, can never travel to their countries. You are now officially a global pariah. I hope you like Chinese and North Korean food.