We have all witnessed the recent invasion of the Ukraine by the army of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It seems to have gained a different kind of attention, because the harsh realities of modern warfare are brought to our attention in a new way through the latest I-phone imagery and the social media.
My dear friend and former colleague Congresswoman Victoria Spartz expressed a heart-felt appeal in response to what she rightly calls the “genocide” that is taking place among the Ukrainian civilians. She is a Ukrainian herself, and prior to getting elected to the United States Congress in 2020, served alongside me in the Indiana Senate.
As Congresswoman Spartz pointed out, if Putin is not stopped now, then his murderous ambition will only continue. And the Ukrainians need more than mere moral support, they need action. What we are witnessing is, hopefully, awakening Americans to the plight of the Ukrainian people.
More than that, I hope is it providing a real-world illustration of the clash of worldviews that has always permeating global conflicts. There are real and revolting examples of what happens when a world leader (like Putin now and Stalin, Lenin, and Hitler before him) set their own ambitions before the lives of innocent people.
What will our response be? Our decisions determine not only the future of Ukraine but also our own.
