essaysbysean.com
Say, are you reading this in the future, having a bird’s eye view, cold and objective, from your flying car?
Having grown up among Ukrainian immigrants I still want to say, “the Ukraine” although in standard English everyone leaves off the definite article. Today while the Russians are invading I wonder, thinking of Sting’s song about Russians: “How can I shield my girls and boys, from Mister Putin’s deadly toys?”
When it comes to children, knowledge hurts, so let’s keep them innocent, disguising reality through animal tales. Meanwhile, experts can explain to adults the horrors of right now living in a world out of a Social Studies textbook, such books as traditionally make teenagers fall asleep. Not being an expert, I am better placed to talk to preteens in safe universal terms:
A Russian bear had a daughter. A lion came and wanted to marry her. The bear said, “Your claws are too terrifying. Take them out and I will let you marry my daughter.” So the the lion went away, came back without claws. Then the bear said, “Your big teeth are still too terrifying. Take them out and then you can marry my daughter.” So the lion went away, came back without teeth. Then the bear leaped on the lion and killed it… The story is 2,000 years old, from Aesop. I wonder: What must the current affairs have been in classical times to inspire Aesop tell the story to children?
The relevance for citizens here and now is that President Vladimir Putin, only days before his invasion, said that he wanted Ukraine to be demilitarized. Update, February 25, from BBC: “Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said earlier that no talks could take place until Ukraine’s military laid down its arms.” But the Ukrainians are not fooled.
A Russian bear was at a stream a little ways from a lamb. They were both drinking. The bear said angrily, “You are muddying my water!”
The lamb innocently replied, “Oh no sir, for you are upstream from me.”
The bear growled, “You insulted me last winter!”
“Oh no, sir, for I am a spring lamb.”
“If it wasn’t you, then it was your father!” And the bear leaped on the lamb and ate her all up.
As you can imagine, I roll my eyes when journalists quote Putin to explain why the Russians invaded.The moral of course is that dictators do not have truth within them. Aesop knew.
It was we who somehow failed to know… or at least, it may seem so to you readers in the future. (Are you reading this in your autonomous car?)
In classical times a Roman legion, marching towards Jerusalem, was surrounded in the desert, only two javelins per man against riders on Arab horses carrying full quivers of arrows. During this fearful situation, a desert prince entered the camp, under a white flag, and said the Romans could all depart in peace if they gave up their weapons. This was announced to the Roman captain in public, loudly. The soldiers started menacing the captain by banging their swords on their shields, trying to intimidate him into cooperating with the prince. Crazy? The reason for their behaviour was not from the soldiers being too stupid to know Aesop stories, it was from them being too crazy with fear to think clearly. Like us this month.
It is hard for fearful allies to agree on even minor sanctions—I hear of very stormy closed door meetings!—let alone major sanctions, let alone the sort of peacetime blockade the UN used against Saddam’s Iraq. You readers in the future, after Putin has died of old age, may say the right thing to do was very obvious, you may scorn us, but you are not fearfully here and now. (And no, nobody bully-worships Putin—except maybe a few guys like Trump)
Back in 2008 President Bush went to Europe (google it) and, without proposing instant NATO membership, suggested there be at least an action path for Ukraine to eventually reach the safety of NATO. But it was not to be. Representatives of France and Germany said they didn’t agree with Ukraine ever being in NATO, being scared of offending Russia. I wonder: Are they kicking themselves now… or, —and I realize this sounds awfully dam cynical—, are they secretly relieved they denied Ukraine any protection, being unwilling to die for innocent Ukrainians? I don’t know, and although I care, I’m not about to tell any 2008 A.D. history to any children.
I remember my Ukrainian friends. Call me crazy from grief, but I tell you that tonight, if a German or a Frenchman, upon entering my local pub, sits down at my table, I will contemptuously stand up and move away. They had their chance, and they blew it.
…
…
Sean Crawford
Part of the NATO alliance,
Which extends to the far coasts of Vancouver Island and Alaska,
February,
2022
New York Post headline: Germany finally sends 5K helmets to Ukraine — two days into Putin’s invasion The mayor of Kiev is speechless at Germany’s inaction.
I didn’t understand, so I looked further and found an article in English in POLITICO (link) How Germany helped blaze Putin’s path into Ukraine. Reading it required a strong stomach.
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
As for GDP, gross domestic product, they say Russia is merely comparable to Italy. Italy! Yet Russia is the only nation that all the other nations formed NATO to defend against. I think of Brian Keith, like a tough old bull, successfully taking on all the Young Guns in that Generation X western because the young men, all armed with Samuel Colt’s “equalizer,” can’t stick together to fight him. Too scared, too unprepared.
