The Russians are coming; the Russians are here in real-time. We saw President Vladimir Putin on the news with speculation on his medical condition. He is killing innocent people who want to live in a democracy. We look at the news daily about the invasion in the Eastern European of Ukraine. We see the human tragedies and the press makes it read like a soap opera. People leave their homes with nowhere to go and with only the clothes on their backs and the children’s favorite toy. We watch the hospitals bombed, churches, and apartment buildings. The closest border country is Poland. The Africans, Ethiopians, and people with Black skin are troubled by not entering a new government or leaving the real war zone. They are primarily students. Racism appears again. To date, two million people have vacated their homeland, half of whom are children. The people are confused, bewildered yet determined.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is courageously standing firm to fight Russia with an army and just citizens in the streets. Citizens who have never used a gun before but for the love of their country decide to strike. He is appealing to the world powers for help. Zelenskyy is a new politician who comes to the Presidency as a former comedian.
He addressed the House of Commons, for the world to hear, to say, “I would like to tell you about the 13 days of the war, the war that we didn’t start and we didn’t want. Unfortunately, however, we have to conduct this war; we do not want to lose what we have, what is ours, our country Ukraine.
“Just the same way you once didn’t want to lose your country when the Nazis started to fight your country, and you had to fight for Britain.” Zelensky is appealing to help save his country, asking not to repeat Hitler or World War II. Recently while addressing the British Parliament, he received a standing ovation. The speech was historic and deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.
History need not repeat itself as Putin follows the path of Adolf Hitler. And Zelensky reminds us as he appeals to the world’s great powers. He uses the words of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, “And I would like to remind you the words that the United Kingdom have already heard, which are essential again. We will not give up, and we will not lose.
“We will fight until the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost.
“We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.” He has made his argument crystal clear.
America plays its safe with the bombs and the acts of war “no-fly Zone.” And the airplanes that would end the war in Ukraine but perhaps start World War III. Putin threatens chemical warfare and nuclear warfare. So we take a safe posture to sanction economic strongholds. America moves with extreme caution. Top American companies pull out of Russia to cripple the economy, McDonald’s, Apple, and Starbucks among them. American gas prices increase and food prices escalate. We observe wanting to not disturb the treaty of NATO as we play tip-toe with the Russians; China is in the background, and what about the Korean missiles? We tip-toe and pray that we are NOT watching the beginning of a war that would wipe out the world with ballistic nuclear weapons.
We have seen this before. As I have studied World Politics, World War II, and History, I have asked every professor how did Hitler begin? How did he rise? Why didn’t America stop him? I have never gotten an honest answer. And now here it is again, right before us. Who stands up to Putin? Who takes him out as Senator Lindsey Graham asks aloud before the TV cameras. He suggests the Russians need to have a hitman.
America cannot afford a war, as we are still recovering from the significant disease of COVID-19. We are also recovering from the wars of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. So what do we do with the Russian attack? Do we stand still and watch the tragedy on the news, or do we come to the rescue with bombs and planes? Does the world tolerate President Putin, or do we take him down? How long do we watch and wait?
Democracy is at stake, not for America but for the world. The world cannot afford a war, yet Putin seems to be on a rampage. He needs to be stopped now. The Russians are here. Will we watch, or will we act? We cannot stand by idly watching the second coming of Hitler.
