Zelensky, Putin & God

Just a few weeks ago I was concerned about the survival of democracy in this country, now I am concerned about the survival of democracy in the world, if not of the world itself. Not to be alarmist, but this is some serious shit! (Not a word I normally put in print, but that just underscores how serious this is!)

Like so many others, I have been incredibly impressed and moved by the comedian turned politician who is leading his country in their fight for survival. Who would have thunk? Clearly not the nuclear-wielding clown of Moscow. Growing up in the Vietnam War era and too young for the draft, barely, it was relatively easy for me to adopt the perspectives of pacifism, though I always wondered how my views would change if instead I had grown up in the age of Hitler. As I watch every day citizens of Ukraine take up weapons to fight for their country, I find myself not so secretly cheering for their success against the threat of such unbridled evil. So what about “love your enemies”, “turn the other cheek” and all those other idealistic sayings of Jesus? How do we apply such teachings in a time like this?

First of all, “turn the other cheek” does not mean letting tanks just roll over you. To the contrary, turning the other cheek is about standing up to your abuser and saying, “I will not let your violence demean me, nor will it dictate my response.” Responding to violence with more violence in many and perhaps most situations only compounds the problem. “An eye for an eye” after all only results in mutual blindness. But does that mean one should not resist violence against one’s safety or that of others with all means possible? I think not. It is more of a question of how to resist and with what means. Beginning with Saint Augustine over 1500 years ago, Christian thinkers have struggled with this issue and developed what is known as “Just War Theory.” Much has been written for and against the concept which I will not attempt to summarize here, other than to note, if ever there was a cause for “just war”, the people of Ukraine have a most legitimate claim.

Before we jump on that band wagon, let me raise a few concerns. First, as a few have already noted, how is it that when a predominantly white, Christian nation is invaded we all react with shock and outrage but not so much when that nation is predominantly Black, Muslim or Asian? That’s not to deny the righteousness of the Ukrainian claim, but just to point out the double standard of our own. Let’s be honest, are we more outraged because the victims we see look more like us? I am not suggesting that we should not support the people of Ukraine because we have failed to provide the same level of support for the Uyghurs of China or the Tutsi of Rwanda, but that we should at least be more aware of our bias and how that causes us to react differently.

Second, even if the cause is just, that does not mean war is the best or only option. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us the power of non-violent resistance. Can such resistance make any difference faced with a 40-mile convoy of tanks? Perhaps not and it would be foolish anyway for us in the safety of this country to suggest that the people of Kyiv would be better served to use such tactics. Only those who live in such circumstances can make that determination. That said, there are reports of people coming out en masse to hinder and even stop such convoys from proceeding. In time I predict we will hear even more reports of how the invasion was stymied not by guns and bombs, but by people willing to turn the other cheek in defiance of their oppressor by standing up rather than backing down. Ukraine is a nation of 44 million people. If they remain united in their resistance, even without violence, it will take the entire Russian military and then some to rule the country. It is abundantly clear that the nation will not once again become a willing vassal of their neighbor. On that front Putin has badly misjudged the Ukrainian people.

Third, if war remains the means by which this will be ultimately settled, tell me how this ends. If Russia demolishes Kyiv and takes control of most of the country, what have they gained? There is bound to be a protracted insurgency. What happens when Russia tries to stop a neighboring country, protected by NATO, from supplying arms to the insurgents? As Putin has made abundantly clear, he is not just a bully, he is a bully with nuclear weapons and he is willing to use them. Dare we gamble on the credibility of such a threat? If by some unfathomable miracle, Ukraine manages to defeat the Russian army or at least hold them to a draw, does anyone believe that Putin will agree to some kind of truce? It is simply hard to imagine any scenario where there will be a military solution to this war. Maybe diplomacy and economic pressure will result in some kind of grand bargain that exchanges some form of Ukrainian independence for NATO neutrality. Possible, but it doesn’t seem likely.

At present it seems that the unthinkable is becoming very possible–the first use of nuclear weapons since WWII resulting in WWIII. This is why I worry about the survival of the world and why we should put all of our efforts into de-escalating this war and searching for non-military solutions. As much as I want to support the Ukrainian people and President Zelensky in their struggle for survival, I cannot support that which could lead to the end of civilization as we know it. Establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine is simply a risk too great to take. The non-military consequences imposed upon Russia, from sanctions on banks to pouring vodka down the drain, are the right responses. Sword rattling and bellicose language, including some I have heard from our President, are not helpful.

I am torn about supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine. I would prefer that we not proliferate weapons of war, but then I wonder, had Chamberlain not given in to Hitler or if we had responded to Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939, might a greater catastrophe been avoided? Ultimately it comes down to one question, what will lead to the greatest good, not only for the people of Ukraine, but all humanity, including the people of Russia? Will more Stingers and Javelins improve the prospects of freedom for Ukraine and global peace, or will they just prolong the war and increase the devastation? I don’t know if economic sanctions are sufficient to achieve the results we desire, but I have to say there is something in me that rejoices along with Mary with every billionaire’s yacht that is seized. “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:52f) Now how about if we turn those yachts into homes for the refugees?

And with that I turn to the worst interpreter of God’s will in the history of false prophets, Pat Robertson, who had the incredible audacity to suggest that Putin is just doing God’s will. Returning from retirement to appear on the show he founded, “The 700 Club”–recall this is the man who predicted the world would end in 1982 and then again on April 29, 2007 (in case you didn’t notice, he was wrong)–this not-so-reverend Robertson revealed the true intent of Putin: “He went into the Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.” This of course to be the final Armageddon resulting in the end times which evidently excites Robertson to the point of divine climax: “God is getting ready to do something amazing!” he reported with glee on the show. I don’t know of anything more perverse than to take pleasure in the destruction of billions of lives as the will of God. Maybe we should take comfort in the fact that Robertson has changed his mind and that the world is not going to be ended by an asteroid strike as he predicted in October of 2020 along with predicting the re-election of Donald Trump. Oops. (Whereas DiCaprio looked up in horror, Robertson evidently would look up in delight!)

Finally, I just have to note that if anything good is to come out of this tragedy for us in this country, it will be that the apologists for Putin will be finally exposed as the charlatans they are and given no more attention. I find it absolutely astounding that anyone who cares about democracy would follow someone who praises Putin as a genius on the eve of the invasion, as did Mr. Trump, after Putin recognized two regions of Ukraine as independent even as they were occupied with Russian troops. Right, and it is not a war but a “special military operation.” And we are to believe that a President Trump would have prevented the invasion? Seriously? Meanwhile critics on the right accuse those on the left of being “communists”? Hullo. Anyone else feel like they are living in the age of Orwell?

If there is one thing that gives me hope in all this mess it is not only the people of Ukraine standing up for their country, but the people of Russia standing up against their’s–over 7000 who have been arrested to date for protesting the war. These are the people we need to support as much as those in Ukraine. Especially now, with threats of up to 15 years in prison for opposing the war. Many dare to fly the Ukrainian flag in their show of support. May they also recall the statue that sits in front of the United Nations with its reference to prophecy of Micah 4:3, “We shall beat our swords into plowshares.” It is the work of Yevgeny Vuchetich and gifted to the U.N. in 1959 by the Soviet Union. Vuchetich was the recipient of frequent Soviet awards for his artwork, including the Lenin Prize, the Stalin Prize, the Hero of Socialist Labor and the People’s Artist of the USSR. He was born in 1908 in Yekaterinoslav, then of the Russian Empire. Today it is known as Dnipro, the fourth largest city of Ukraine, just 120 kilometers from the front line of the war today. May he and the fellow citizens of his country show us the way to peace.

5 thoughts on “Zelensky, Putin & God

  1. Thanks Dan,
    If I as in Ukraine, I would fight. If I was in Vietnam, I would not fight. If I was in France in WW2, I would fight. It’s that simple. “There is a time and a season for everything,”

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