Category: Nation

Canada and Ukraine’s Defense Against Russian Aggression – A Shared Hatred of Authoritarianism

May 2, 2025

Canadians hate being told they shouldn’t be a country especially by an increasingly authoritarian-leaning American regime much like Ukrainians hate the idea of being told the same by a Russian dictator who actually invaded their country. Both the U.S. and Canada are awakening to the grotesque political reality that an illiberal government has come to power in “the shining city upon a hill” as Ronald Reagan once pictured Washington DC. … More Canada and Ukraine’s Defense Against Russian Aggression – A Shared Hatred of Authoritarianism

The Ongoing Underperformance of American Foreign Policy in Ukraine

January 31, 2025

Current indications from within the Trump administration show an intent to end a decade-long failure to adequately confront Russian aggression in Ukraine to what by now can be considered an impending capitulation to Vladimir Putin’s intransigence. This as he heaps praise on the U.S. President for his reelection. Putin has gone on to regard Donald Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” and to suggest that “if his victory had not been stolen in 2020,” then there may not have been a crisis. In return, the latter remarkably has blamed Volodymyr Zelensky for the war when he chose not to surrender Ukraine in the face of the February, 2022 Russian invasion, suggesting a serious lack of understanding of the situation by an ill-informed president. The current state of ignorance follows several years of U.S. leadership that has not confronted the depth of Putin’s intentions in Eastern Europe and Ukraine in particular. … More The Ongoing Underperformance of American Foreign Policy in Ukraine

Putin, an Anachronism

May 6, 2024

While several leaders in the West and elsewhere, whatever their age, are intent on remaining current with awareness both of their own place in history and the aspirations of their respective nations, an aging Vladimir Putin seems never to have left his past behind nor even those of his predecessors. He is a resurrection from another era, intent on regaining a past glory of Russia which he believes once existed. … More Putin, an Anachronism

A Russian Identity by Order of Putin

September 1, 2023

A national identity is something innate forged in a manner sufficient to provide peoples of diverse origins, and the generations that follow, the opportunity to mold themselves and their nation into a continuing entity that holds to the same principles which gave birth to that nation. Realization of such an identity is often reaffirmed by national tragedy and a subsequent commitment to overcome it by the gathered strength of the nation’s people. It is also realized by a continued commitment by the nation’s leadership to adhere to the principles initially set forth and to speaking truth to these principles before the people. A constitution is meant to be a palpable reminder to a nation and its leadership of this commitment. … More A Russian Identity by Order of Putin

What Gain by Engagement in this War?

January 5, 2023

The causes of a war often amount to a complicated array of circumstances, misjudgments and intentions of varied priority, some laid out by those with particular biases in the hopes of lessening blame. Yet, on occasion, a perpetrator can be singled out sufficiently to warrant the full measure of scorn that can be afforded. This is Vladimir Putin’s lot and that of Russia for its compliance. The burden of war guilt is a terrible thing as the condemnation that comes with it carries a price, not just economic, but one requiring a moral reckoning within the national conscience. The extent to which this is realized depends upon the degree to which blame is cast upon the leaders and the degree to which they were enabled by the populace, whatever the circumstances. … More What Gain by Engagement in this War?

Crimea

December 31, 2022

As might be self-evident to most sentient beings, Crimea remains geographically contiguous with the territory of Ukraine, enough so that all but a Russian ultranationalist would understand the implacable logic of a situation that Putin chooses to ignore. Crimea is vital to the interests of Russia as a military stronghold providing access to the Mediterranean and, to a degree, still a favored nearby vacation destination that Russians would very much like to call their own. … More Crimea

Crime and Punishment (Part 2)

December 9, 2022

Justice in war comes in two forms – punishment for willful civilian injury and death, and material reparations as compensation for damage to civilian infrastructure. When not served by other means, justice is best carried out through the courts so that the crime can be thoughtfully and properly prosecuted, the evidentiary material fully vetted and itemized, and indictments delivered to all those who have perpetrated or promoted the crime. … More Crime and Punishment (Part 2)

Russia’s War in Ukraine – An Addendum for the Coming Winter

November 18, 2022

Russia’s war upon Ukraine has entered its ninth month since its unprovoked invasion on February 24, 2022. From the beginning, its intentions of terrorizing communities and destroying civilian infrastructure were made clear so that the conflict was not merely to be a limited military incursion and confrontation between combatants but the subjugation of a people. With this strategy came a humanitarian crisis that has become well known, prompted by the massive displacement of civilians within the country and across neighboring borders. … More Russia’s War in Ukraine – An Addendum for the Coming Winter

Nation – A Telling of Ukraine

October 30, 2022

One may regard the professed Russian hegemony over Ukraine as a misguided sense of history or simply a result of mindless acceptance of present-day Russian political rhetoric. The historical truth, however, is pretty simple and runs counter to Putin’s claim that Ukraine as a nation does not have a history separate from that of Russia and remains dependent upon it for its survival. … More Nation – A Telling of Ukraine

Ukraine’s Historical Origin vs. Putin’s Convenient Fairy Tale History

October 26, 2022

The current conflict with Ukraine, forced by Russian belligerence, has created a need for reexamination of the notion that, in Putin’s worldview, the two peoples are, in fact, “a single whole.” This is not the case. … More Ukraine’s Historical Origin vs. Putin’s Convenient Fairy Tale History