Some of us remember being taught to crouch beneath our school desks for protection in the event of a nuclear attack in the early 1960s.
Those small desks, while sturdier then than now, wouldn’t have been much protection during those days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nor could they be now if Russian President Vladimir Putin takes out his anguish over his stumbling war effort in Ukraine with nuclear weapons, something he hinted at in a speech Wednesday as he announced the mobilization of thousands more men to the war-torn country that has embarrassed him with its pursuit of freedom and democracy.
The war in Ukraine adds another layer of concern and complexity to our world — both good and bad. As concerning as the threat of nuclear war may be, the reminder of humankind’s yearning to breathe free and grow is always welcome.
Just look at the level of support here for Ukraine and its people, both in America and in Chattanooga.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Center for Global Education is an perfect example. The center’s executive director, Takeo Suzuki, recently told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had barely begun when his former UTC students who had returned home there texted him.