These midterm elections have been the nastiest I’ve ever seen. We’ll have to live with the name-calling, insults, slurs and character assassinations for years to come.
But there are also issues embedded in the ugly language that should keep us alert and uneasy. The issue at the forefront of my mind is Russia and President Trump’s efforts to cozy up to Vladimir Putin.
Russia has never been anything but a vicious enemy. You’d agree, especially if like me, you were taught to hide under school desks in case of a nuclear war with Russia. We should understand that the Russia-Ukrainian war echoes centuries of Russia’s violent domination that should never be underestimated. And for many of us, the Ukrainian situation is personal.
Ancestors of both my parents came to America to escape the Russian Empire even before it became the Soviet Union. Jews were allowed to live only in a ghetto-like area called The Pale, which included what is now Ukraine. One of my relatives sought to take a boat to the U.S. and walked 300 miles to the Black Sea port of Odessa. He wanted to escape from Russians who hated Jews and attacked them with pogroms: organized mass murders, forced expulsions and community destruction. No wonder Hollywood made a movie out of it: “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Serving in the Soviet Union’s KGB security agency for 25 years, Putin became Russia’s political leader in 2000. Some now refer to him as ‘Tsar’ since he’s like an emperor of the old Russian Empire, which he seems eager to rebuild. He’s already annexed Crimea and four other regions of Ukraine.
Despite claims of wanting to negotiate, Putin continually bombs Ukraine, including Odessa. Odessa would give Putin control over the Black Sea trade route, which was part of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union.
Was Trump’s executive order pausing sanctions and tariffs on Russia based on ignorance of history and current reality? Or was it just an attempt to provide Russian diesel oil, minimizing the current costly burden. Either way, Trump’s decision didn’t go over well, especially given Congress’ approval for sanctions and tariffs in the Lindsey Graham Act.
The rationale for Trump’s actions is attempting to resolve the Russia-Ukrainian war. Maybe the White House is ignorant of how Russia’s ongoing development of jet-powered Shaheds/drones to strike Ukraine has increased since summer, increasing speeds from 115 to 200 and to 310 mph.
Ukraine has rapidly upgraded its interceptor drones to offset the bombardment, but it’s questionable whether it can offset the Filin. This is Russia’s next weapon: an 11-foot Russian winged cruise missile that’s cheap to produce and can speed at 500 mph.
According to Serhii Sternenko, who heads a crowdfunding foundation for Ukraine’s military, “The mass use of this type of aerial attack weapon is what awaits us very soon … Then we will remember the jet Shaheds only as a small problem compared to this.”
The worst is yet to come. Rather than sanction Russia, Trump ignores both Putin’s attacks on Ukraine and Elon Musk’s control of Starlink’s incoming warnings. Horrifying!
We should all pray for Ukraine. Yes, I have a personal connection to Ukraine, but so does Chattanooga. Mayor Yurii Bova of the Ukrainian city Trostyanets came to visit recently. Trostyanets is now officially part of our Sister Cities organization. We, and our elected folks, should support Ukraine however possible.
Contact Deborah Levine, an author, trainer/coach and editor of the American Diversity Report, at Deborah@AmericanDiversityReport.com.