Dark Days (Ukraine)

I suppose in some ways this isn't all that different from the wars in the former Yugoslavia throughout most of the 1990s in that it feels terrible and yet remote, and life goes on much as usual for people in North America -- and largely in Europe as well.  Europe once again proves it is fairly impotent in the face of sustained aggression, and the U.S. is more or less sitting on the sidelines.  It is hard to know what is really the best course of action but it does seem like Putin will more or less "get away with it," with the minor irritant of Russia being labelled a pariah state.  Canada has actually very little involvement with Russia one way or the other, but it would be wise to gradually wind down our exposure to China, as the struggle between the U.S. and China will probably dominate the rest of this century (and certainly at the moment, the U.S. isn't looking too hot).  

I recall from many, many years ago the debates we had about pacifism and what would really stop another tyrant like Hitler.  And the answer is not that much.  Most politicians are appeasers at heart, frightened to death of actually expecting sacrifice from the public (just look at how little will actually be done on the climate change front).  And Putin really only understands and respects force.  Deep down, Xi Jinping is probably the same, but he is far more vulnerable to economic sanctions if the West ever decides to really get serious, which it probably won't.  

It is unfortunate seeing all the experts who promoted diplomacy and expanded trade as a way to permanent peace have egg on their face, as the consequences are so dire.  I remember in high school there was some essay competition about how to avoid nuclear war and of course all the winning entries were about cultural exchange and mutual understanding, etc.  My essay kind of went back to Greeks or even the Huns to the idea of hostage exchange, but with a technological twist, i.e. world leaders would have their family members surrendered to some world court and have devices implanted so that if the nuclear codes were used, they would instantly die in the process.  I don't know the details of Putin, but I expect Trump is such a raging narcissist that it would have made no difference.  I suppose one small consolation is that Trump is pushing the GOP into such pretzels, i.e. hero-worshipping Putin and other dictators, that for some of them (though not nearly enough!) the cognitive dissonance will make them snap and break free of his spell.

Anyway, there is no point in pretending I can make any kind of a difference in advancing peace in the Ukraine, but these are certainly sad days on top of all the horrible, lingering issues associated with COVID.  These really do feel like terrible days to be alive, as so much of the news is grim.  It definitely does feel worse than the 80s when the spectre of nuclear war loomed all the time, and yet my day to day life wasn't quite so burdened.

Edit (3/3): While the suffering in the Ukraine is very deep, it is apparent that the invasion hasn't gone according to Putin's plans, and in particular his troops are not being welcomed as "liberators."  And the West has gone much further in sanctioning Russia than I think he expected.  On the whole, it is positive that he's being thwarted, but at the same time, he seems clearly unhinged now, to the point he might use nuclear weapons and actually start WWIII.  Strained days, indeed...