Man did I pick a good year to delete the twitter app off my phone. I could have easily spent hours death-scrolling through the timeline when Russian invaded Ukraine last week. Not to say I don’t care about the well-being of Ukrainians. But checking up on the the minute-to-minute news is just not a productive use of time. What the heck can I do anyways? The happenings of the other side of the globe is something I have zero control over.
"Imagine all the people living life in peace."
It is interesting to see NATO refusing to intervene militarily on Ukraine’s behalf. Simply because Russia is a nuclear power. No one wants to risk an escalation towards nuclear war - for very good reason (San Francisco is often a nuclear target in movies). But that means if you’re a nation with nukes, you can invade another country with somewhat impunity. The United States knows this well, of course. We went into Iraq with nobody’s permission. Seal Team Six went into Pakistan to kill Osama Bin-Ladin clandestinely.
What NATO and rest of the world can do in response is to levy huge economic and social sanctions. Innocent Russian citizens - yes, even the rich oligarchs - will have to suffer the consequences of the actions by their President Putin. In this interconnected, globalized world we have today, I think sanctions should work in theory. Russia ultimately won’t risk a turn towards the situation of North Korea - utterly isolated from the world. You’d think at some point, Putin will capitulate and strike a deal.
The problem is: Ukraine and its citizens will have to suffer through a war to get there. Sad and tragic.
Don’t forget to hydrate, kids!