I've come to believe that the only thing worse than a true perpetrator of evil is the one who shamelessly exploits the evil for her own good. Hence my war against the modern media and its almost Pavlovian tendency to not cover or care about true suffering and misery and death unless it can be shoved into the press's pet agenda templates.
The same goes here. This is actually a war, call it what we will. Putin has thrown the dice and we'll see what happens. Whether he succeeds - increasingly unlikely - or doesn't, many innocent people will have to die before we know. Hence the reason why war should always be dead last in the options category. That goes for sane people, much less followers of Christ.
So today and this week, heading into Lent, we should bend our prayers and our thoughts to the Ukraine. Pray for peace. Pray that something will stop the madness. Pray for those trying to stop it, including our president and leaders, NATO, Pope Francis, or what have you.
Don't be quick to condemn, for this isn't an easy Group A versus Group B. This is a long time coming, and contrary to our media's slick 'you versus them' narratives, those who are supporting Putin are not simply Hitler worshipers worshipping the first thing they can find. That doesn't mean they're right. Nor does it mean we can't call them out. But logs and splinters as they say.
Because in our neck of the woods, there are clearly those who appear to see this as just another weapon in their own partisan arsenals. Far more important than peace or the protection of the innocent is making sure my side gets off the blame hook, and your side is Satan. If it was confined to a few Catholic bloggers, it wouldn't be more than a shame. Unfortunately, not a few prominent individuals and institutions seem just as concerned about covering their own side's tails or biting the other side's tails.
This isn't to say we can't try to get our heads around what happened. Legitimate questions deserve legitimate answers. Likewise, credit and blame where due. I, for one, don't wish to engage in a war in Europe - not with three combat aged sons (who alone can be drafted, feminism hedging inequality when needed). And I've been pleasantly surprised with President Biden's resolve in this. I think Putin confused Obama's tomfoolery and ineptitude with Biden who, for all he's bathed in the ludicrous left, was still born out of a different mold.
So right now, keep it all in our prayers. Pray for peace. Pray that the Lord can intervene and soften hearts and convert minds. Pray that Putin be changed and softened by the Holy Spirit. Pray for those who see in this only an opportunity to score points for their own particular agendas. And pray for those standing up to the aggression and courageously risking their own lives to protect the innocent, their home, and stop this war before it becomes far, far worse.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God Matthew 5:9
Although I side with Ukraine, I understand where Putin is coming from. I can understand anyone's perspective (Putin, Trump, Biden etc.....) While also being critical of many of their actions.
ReplyDeleteI get your distinction, and it is a good one, but I take a somewhat opposite view.
DeleteI don't think I can say, "I side with Ukraine," if that means the Ukrainian government. Come to think of it, I don't think there's a government on the planet that I would unconditionally side with. I'm a good deal more sympathetic with the general populations of each side, and even with the poor schmucks in the militaries of each side, even though they all have some responsibility for their governments and may or may not buy into the local propaganda.
On the other hand, I do NOT "understand where Putin is coming from." Yeah, I get that there is a case to be made about the mistreatment of ethnic Russians, but I don't REALLY think that troubled Putin much. There's no glory to be had from this fight, if Putin were thinking like Edward III, but that doesn't really seem to be the motivation. The strategic and economic benefits even if he were to annex all of Ukraine would not outweigh the costs. The best explanation seems to be that he did it to boost his popularity at home, and maybe that will work in the short term, but it is unlikely any boost to popularity will survive long under the sanctions being imposed.
All told, this seems to be very parallel to the bombing of Serbia back in 1999. The leader of a powerful country decides to boost his declining popularity by aggressively attacking a much weaker country in the pretense of supporting a breakaway region. I condemned the bombing of Belgrade, and I condemn the bombing of Kiev for the same reasons, but all those who "supported our troops" 23 years ago have no credibility in condemning Putin.
What you are saying is more or less what I meant. There are no good politicians. Some are just less evil than others
DeleteSure. Ukraine is the attacked and invaded. But this has a long storyline. A storyline involving parts of the world that many of us Americans are woefully uninformed about.
DeleteAll told, this seems to be very parallel to the bombing of Serbia back in 1999. The leader of a powerful country decides to boost his declining popularity by aggressively attacking a much weaker country in the pretense of supporting a breakaway region. I condemned the bombing of Belgrade, and I condemn the bombing of Kiev for the same reasons, but all those who "supported our troops" 23 years ago
DeleteYou stink at analogy.
The bombing campaign in Serbia was to head off an ethnic-cleansing extravaganza by the Serbian government and force the departure of central government forces from Kosovo. Kosovo was and is a predominantly Albanian region the Serbian government had been abusing for a dozen years at that point.
Putin hasn't been obscure about his reasoning or his aims. He contends the Ukraine belongs to Russia and what the local population favor is of no account. You can hear this out of the mouths of street-level Russian nationalists. He also adds nonsense about the Ukrainian government being infested with Nazis.
but all those who "supported our troops" 23 years ago have no credibility in condemning Putin.
DeleteNo 'credibility' to whom?
While we're at it, Bill Clinton wasn't suffering in public opinion at any time before, during, or after the bombing campaign, as you can see here.
https://news.gallup.com/interactives/185273/presidential-job-approval-center.aspx
That response was to be expected. Practically all Americans are barbarians these days -- not just Americans, of course, but Americans are among the worst. I strongly suspect that at all times practically everyone in every country has been just such a barbarian, a barbarian in the sense of Chesterton's BARBARISM OF BERLIN. There is no real point in trying to reason with you. Rather, "I am content to gaze rapturously at the blinking eyes of the True, or Positive, Barbarian."
DeletePut the bong down.