Chthonic Ukraine Lucubrations
To paraphrase Col. Nathan Jessup, in the movie, A Few Good Men, “We live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You (your name here)?” Well, I am here to tell you it will not be me! I have stood my post on that wall with a few good men, in a conflict that divided our country, and I am just too damn old to be sucked into another war by the media. I will not go quietly into the night without expressing a few thoughts about the current conflict in the Ukraine.
War is the most grotesque reality in which human beings can find themselves. Social media and the twenty-four seven News channels are filling the airwaves and the internet with combat scenes from the Ukraine. Images of hospitals being bombed, people and children sleeping in train stations, refugee camps with children singing, and the President of Ukraine begging for help, all tug at a compassionate heartstring that all human beings have for those less fortunate than ourselves. It is done to sell more beer and Toyotas, folks. And now, we have both the print media and the TV journalists (talking heads) asking why our government is not doing more. There is a plethora of posts on social media suggesting we do more for Ukraine, including No-Fly Zones.
To paraphrase Billy Bob Thornton, as Sheriff Jim Courtwright, in the TV series, 1883, “If you wanna dance with the girls ... dance with the girls, if you wanna put a Ukrainian Flag on your Facebook page .... put a Ukrainian Flag on your Facebook page, but if you wanna go to war with Russia ... you damn well better think about what you’re getting into.” The fire of patriotism seems to be burning in everyone’s hearts and never brighter in all my years, than now. So, while you are praying for the Ukrainians to win, keep in mind the Russian mothers and fathers praying for their sons and daughters to be victorious.
It doesn’t matter if you are a bleeding-heart liberal or radical conservative, you might want to stop and read Mark Twain’s, War Poem, one more time, before the drum beat to go to war gets so loud, the dissenting voices will no longer be heard. You might also consider if going to war with Russia is worth sending your sons and daughters and your grandsons and granddaughters off to war. If you truly believe America needs to be more involved in the Ukraine, then you must accept the fact that your children might not return.
Is the memory span of America so short? We just spent twenty years in Afghanistan and the Taliban is already back to rounding up women and chopping off heads. But we accomplished our mission, right? It has never been about the soldiers; they have my utmost regard and cherished esteem for having the courage to ‘pick up a weapon and stand on that wall.’ It has always been about war and the people who manipulate them. But it is also about Americans who have absolutely no concept of war.
Americans who are comfortable turning the war on the TV off at night as they climb into a warm bed for a good night’s sleep. Without the uncomfortable nightmares of war. The Ukraine is about Americans with hearts as big as the Cosmos being led to war by allowing the media to control how they think. Whether it’s a video of people and cars fleeing a war-torn country or a little girl holding on to a teddy bear with a single tear running down her cheek, we are all being influenced by the media. The media that will tell us after the war, they were just presenting the facts.
But it is not just the media. As the famous American political commentator Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us!” SO, when you post on Facebook, or Tik-Tok, or Tweet out your opinions about why we must support the Ukrainian people, you must realize that we all want to show solidarity with the victims of Russia’s invasion. Notice the emphasis on “show.” This may mean actually helping, but it definitely means making sure people in this country know you support the Ukrainians. Then it becomes a competition to see who can support the Ukraine the most. Who can hold the Ukrainian flag the highest and wave it the most? There can only be one result from this type of mob mentality, that is a multiplication of stupidity. The kind of stupidity that will lead us into a war.
Tonight, when I climb into my cozy warm bed, I will offer up a short petition to the Lord in the form of a prayer. I haven’t prayed since the Crimean War so I’m pretty sure that God will be so happy s/he will run out and buy all the angels two scoops of ice cream. Maybe, it will irritate God for me to think I can influence his grand design with prayer so s/he will run out and give all the angels a swift kick in their hind parts for not doing their jobs properly. I haven’t a clue. I do know that I will pray. I will pray that before we rush into the next war, we understand why we are going, we understand the sacrifices that must be made, and most important of all, we understand the result we seek and the commitment that must be made to achieve that result. And regardless of the outcome, we must honor our military and those who stand on those lonely walls defending our freedom.
