TEARS FOR UKRAINE | Timothy Joseph, Author | Writing The Best Books & Essays


Tears for Ukraine 

It rips my heart out seeing the Ukrainians, from the very young to the very old, in the cold, being shot by snipers, beaten, and degraded—beautiful human beings. Unless you have no empathy, watching the horror on the news brings tears to your eyes.  These wonderful mothers, fathers, sons and daughter, children and grandchildren suffer and grieve in such pain, simply because they want to know of freedom and democracy. When the news changes topics, so do our minds, and our tears stop. Yet those poor people remain in the cold with their pain, and little hope for a tomorrow. 

The possibility of war and utter devastation hangs over them, all because Vladimir Putin is, without question, an egotistical control freak who firmly believes he is always right—the quintessential dictator. The international community is trying to reason with him, but he won’t even listen, for he cares little what others think.

When the people of Ukraine protested for “FREEDOM and equality,” their leader, Viktor Yahukovych called it an “armed takeover” (they weren’t bearing arms), by radical extremists, (caring people gathering in a square) and he left the country. Ukraine is set to have new elections May 25th, but not if Pinhead Putin has anything to say about it. Putin claims the government is now illegitimate, and Yahukovych asked him to send in troops to “Protect” Russian citizens in the Crimean peninsula. WHAT? How lame is that? 

There is absolutely NO evidence of the slightest threat to Russians inside Ukraine, NONE! And he KNOWS that. Putin fears that Ukraine is moving toward European and Western influence, and it is—for they have freedom and democracy. Vladimir Jackass can’t stand that. He despises the word “democratic” as much as he hates “America.” If he had any intelligence, or real-world understanding of politics or the true “cost/benefit” of dictatorship vs. Democracy, he would give Ukraine the freedom to choose, and reap the benefits. Why can’t the idiot look at the European Union, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, etc., and see how clear it is that freedom of choice is by far the way to go for ALL nations? But, no, his power hungry dictator ego won’t let him even address it.  

A sudden change in the Ukraine regime would never have a swift and peaceful resolution, Vladimir Idiot will not allow it, period. So again, the U.S. has to decide if push comes to shove, should we go to war to defend international norms, i.e. freedom and democracy. Whether or not defending an international norm warrants war, is a question that can only be answered by understanding and weighing the complexities of the consequence of war against the values gained for the U.S. (Note, I say U.S.) 

It is difficult, if not impossible for one nation, society, faction, religious group, etc., to set a truly “international” norm. Sure, they can be defined and set in specific terms, but how likely is it that consensus could truly be considered international and thus defended unilaterally? Norms are often not shared, or partially shared, and thus do not express importance or value by the ‘international’ community.  In fact, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a single ‘truly’ international norm. One might think human rights could be defined such that a norm would be widely accepted. Or take the treatment of prisoners of war, or taking over another country, or bombing and gassing citizens, or simple religious freedom. They seem easy concepts for a norm, and they indeed are. You can bet that deep down inside, the leaders of the free world believe in freedom, they don’t want a dictator to rule, they do indeed empathize with the citizens being killed and beaten—I truly believe this. But, natural gas, oil, buying and selling, economic gain, are simply of greater importance than a life, or a citizen’s right to live in freedom. And this is the mortal-sin of so many members of the U.N. They simply will not stand up for what the truly believe. How sad. 

Any way you slice it, going to war to enforce international norms without full international support is a bad idea. Let’s face it, few countries truly care about American credibility, let alone an international norm such as “Freedom.” And “Foreign Policy?” Forget it. Britain won’t even support simple sanctions against Russia for their invasion of Ukraine. What does that tell us about Britain, our so called ally?  Thanks Guys. 

Let’s face it. We are ON OUR OWN. Sure, we may be the most powerful nation in the world, but what does that mean regarding our “responsibility” to other nations under attack? Look at the incredible number of lives we have lost in the way too many world conflicts. We must ask ourselves this: If we had not entered this or that war, what would be different today in the United States? (Again, I ask, in the U.S., not the world). Exactly what warrants the “Killing” of our soldiers? Just when are you, an American citizen, ready to die for another country? 

We should do about anything we can in support of peace and freedom in Ukraine. However, if you put up a photo of a 20-year-old young man, and another of a young lady, both U.S. military soldiers, and beside it a photo of their families, and ask me, would I let just those two individuals be shot in the head and killed for peace in Ukraine, my answer is clear, NO! 

Evil exists, its right here in our neighborhoods and cities, not just in other countries. Civil war using bombs and bullets is not the only type of war that kills beautiful people. What about drugs, crime, gang violence, drive-by shootings? Evil will never be stopped, and innocence will never be totally free of risk or fear. Our beautiful schools, shopping centers, and movie theatres aren’t risk free. Dealing with this is painful, seeing the violence in Ukraine is painful. 

The best we can do is support those in peril, and help in any and all ways that do not threaten the lives of Americans. Many will differ with me, and I’ll gladly read your essay with an open mind, but to me, those two young soldiers I mention above should not die for anything less than a threat to our country. If there are guns at our boarder, I may be old, but I’ll join the fight, and if I die, I died for freedom for my family. I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to die for another family’s freedom. I fear we don’t have enough lives left in the U.S. to give up for the conflicts of others; we’ve given far too many already, and with as many wars and suffering that exists today on this planet, where do we draw the line? Which of the MANY wars being waged today around the world are unjust? All of them. Which should we die for? None of them. 

If you want to grab a gun and fight for the freedom for wondrous, deserving, people, you have my highest respect and support, for you are a far better person than me. Your values and beliefs are superior to mine, and you are to be commended. I will wish you God’s speed, and hope, with every fiber of my character that you are not harmed. For like the people of Ukraine, you are a wondrous person indeed.  tj

Essay, Life, politics | | 3 Comments

3 Responses to TEARS FOR UKRAINE

  1. Richard says:

    I agree fully Tim. It should be the duty of the UN to handle the crisis that is happening. Should the US be a part of that, yes. Should we be the only country in the fight, no.. should we have more troops or more $ in the fight than every other country in the world, again, No.
    Like you, I would take up arms in a flash if my family was in danger, or even the family of my close friends, but this is not the case here. If the UN cannot do what it was formed to do, why are they still around?


  2. BJ Gillum says:

    Popular uprisings have become popularized in the media, and since they have typically been bloody but often successful they will be emulated around the world when governments become too oppressive or institute policies that are perceived to be harmful to their citizens. Bloodshed is to be expected, sad though it is, and often those in power retain power and continue the oppression. In todays world, there are many tools the international community can use to rein in the aggressive tendencies of such governments. Financial pressure can be applied, which over time, can leave a country such as Cuba to wilt on the financial and social vine for many decades. Since Russia suffered the humiliation of losing their many satellite states during the 90’s, Russian leaders have sampled Democracy and decided they can’t accept such a free society, so Putin and the hard-liners have returned to control. Putin watched as the US ravaged (militarily) Iraq and Afghanistan without even a pretense of a real reason – it was war by prevarication! So logically,Why can’t he assert his own power over a former satellite state where many of its citizens are Russian speakers and where he can argue that his only warm water port access is located and where a large naval fleet is stationed? Why is that different from America’s foreign aggression? For Putin it is simple logic. We must be careful as we attempt to put this Genie back in the bottle. We must use all diplomatic tools available, strengthen the NATO Allies and assert our right to protect our allies from ANY aggressive acts. We must make no threats but prepare to slowly, over time, tighten the financial noose around Russia by proposing that Russia be excluded from the G8. Back door diplomacy, gradual isolation and global economic pressure may be enough to make Mr. Putin see the error of his ways. If so, it is important that we have the proverbial olive branch handy.

  3. Munish says:

    I totally agree with it …Tim

Leave a Reply to BJ Gillum Cancel reply


« »