There Is Only One Side to Support: The Ukrainian AND Russian People Against the Politicians
Putin and NATO should BOTH go to the hell of their own making, not the people.
In war, it is said, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” The reality? War is about two or more enemies trying to USE YOU and surrender your heart and soul for their own dark purposes. We know in our bones that the “necessity” of a lesser evil that involves murdering children is a lie. War is always an inherent crime against humanity, and we DON’T have to make this devil’s bargain. We can, and we should, REFUSE to support the “official” criminals running the many sides of war.
These “sides” include the weapons makers and war profiteers of all kinds, including the financial industry, and not just the so-called leaders who direct anti-human weapons at the flesh of the innocent. These withered old men, who send the younger and more vital shopkeepers, plumbers, university students, and waiters to their deaths at the prime of their lives, are the enemy NOT this or that country. The women, children, and elderly and the conscripted soldiers are our allies, NOT the supremely callous manipulators of power who force the injustice of war.
There can be no such thing as a “just” war when even one child is murdered. When those who are meant to be protected in any fair fight are slaughtered, there can be no nobility— only the desperate and craven evil perpetrated by misanthropes with penis problems. War has an inherently predatory motivation. We don’t accept “just” or “necessary” rape or pedophilia, and we should never do so for war. Nothing justifies the mass killing of civilians and conscripted “soldiers” alike, all of whom want nothing more than peaceful coexistence.
So what do we do when war starts? We hear the propaganda horns cranking up like air raid sirens. “The poor Ukrainian people are beset by the “bad” Russians. Side with Ukraine against Russia! Watch our 24/7 footage. Give all your concern and energy to us!” (Forget the people.)” Instead, we remember the people, and “forget” the leaders and the media, except for one thing— accountability for this travesty.
So that is the first thing, to retain our souls and see who and what the true enemies are. The second thing is to understand and empathize with ALL the vulnerable on the different sides of this epidemic violence. Whether it is Ukrainian OR Russian soldiers, and Russian OR Ukrainian citizens, we stand against the politicians and “leaders” who only seem to represent the lowest and most hellish in the human realm. Then, we ACT on behalf of the vulnerable.
The heart-rending accounts of both Russians and Ukrainians should touch us including the protests by Russian civilians and personal horror stories by Russian soldiers. Even if these news bits are selectively fed to us, and being fully aware that these accounts can be propaganda, they evoke a truth of a higher spiritual and emotional nobility contrasted with the moral degradation of war. There are similar tragic accounts on the Ukrainian side as well.
The best rendition I have found involves this interview by independent journalist Alison Morrow (especially at the 21:25 minute mark) with two American veterans (Lt. Col. Rip Rawlings & Dr. Erin Felger) who traveled to Ukraine for humanitarian support:
Rawling:
I asked her (a Ukrainian refugee with her baby)… who do you blame at the top and her comment I think encompasses all of (the politicians)…It was like I don't give a bleep bleep who (they are). All of them suck, every one of them… I'm here with my baby and so for us… (it is) “Shut up about politics because there's a baby that needs help. That baby didn't vote for anybody. The baby didn't do anything too cause this. This is a little baby.” Dogs… little kids… they didn't vote for any of this and don't say their moms and dads did either because most of these are Ukrainians who just have been doing the same thing as a lot of Americans which is kind of ignoring politics because they hate politicians. If you there's one thing that you could find a commonality with between United States citizens and the Ukrainian citizens is we hate politicians. They're like, “I don't have anything to do with any of this I just had my city blown up.”
The correct political solution here is obvious. Allow Ukraine to be a neutral buffer state with its own supported sovereignty. It should not have to “choose” which pawn it will be, a pawn NATO expansion and imperialism or a pawn to Russian expansion and imperialism. This allows the proper protective emphasis to be applied to both NATO and Russia. Ukraine should be supported in being its own country not the subsidiary of larger powers. It should be supported and respected in and of itself, not as a vassal state of some power jockeying for world geo-political supremacy and having no genuine concern for the well-being of its people.
In this, global citizens can empathize and act in accordance with the deeper human truth of love, support, courage and refusal to be dehumanized.
Again Rawling about the Ukrainian mother and her baby:
(They) just want to live a normal life and in a lot of cases their lives are now in a suitcase and their husband (and) every male from 16 to 60 that is related to them is going to sit up dig a trench and fire a missile at a Russian tank in the next 10 days. They're being moved to different countries where they don't know the language and they don't they don't know anybody there and they're being placed in homes with people that have large hearts (who) are welcoming but it's not it's not (their) country it's not (their) house… It really is a lot for the human mind to bear... These are the most innocent of innocents and… they didn't have anything that caused this. They just need help. They just need help.
In lieu of the logic of allowing Ukraine to be its own country and given the immaturity of so-called leaders, it is now incumbent upon us, the people of the world, to support of the people of the conflicted region, to supply food and aid to those affected by this deadly foolishness. One small step I have taken is donating to the World Central Kitchen. I encourage you to donate as well.
https://donate.wck.org/give/396273/#!/donation/checkout
Another great article Zeus.
Good article. I totally agree.