Have we gone nuts?

 

 Have we gone nuts?

I am watching a Canadian reporter filming Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian border. They will be ordered to invade a country and kill people using modern war machines that are possibly the best in the world. I look at the faces, mostly boys but some girls. Six months ago they were going to high school and mom was making their lunch.

By the time I see them climbing on tanks, someone has brainwashed them to do the unthinkable. Kill other human beings for; you have guessed it, “freedom.” As far as they know, their neighbours elected a government that will bring enemy nuclear weapons next to their border and their country will have to capitulate to the West and have no freedom. Another aim is denazification. Memory of Nazis doesn’t go away easily. The army in Russia is drafted, not volunteered. The boys and girls have no freedom but fight for freedom. Their leader just threatened to use atomic weapons, which would kill them all.

How does one country take over another? They break its resistance, invade the capital, get rid of the government, and make themselves the rulers. Every country has some people who are not in power, so the invaders come to rescue or liberate them from their so-called oppressors. In Ukraine, they are the Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the east. Here it used to be the French, but now it is the people who don’t want medical-related mandates.

As I and the world were watching, the Russians under Putin’s direction attacked Ukraine. Putin declared parts of the country free states and mounted a massive “military operation,” not a war, to replace the government. Putin went on the airways telling the Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their weapons and join the movement to replace the elected government, who are “drug-addicted Nazis.” A few days before that, the social media in Canada was full of videos of our “Freedom Convoy” supporters doing the same here. We had police officers and soldiers filmed telling our police not to follow orders. In Canada, as in Ukraine, the majority didn’t see it the way the rebels did, but they convinced themselves that mandates are illegal.

It’s important to note the similarities of the two attempts to take over a country and the response. In Europe, getting into a war with Russia may lead to a catastrophic nuclear annihilation of humankind. The West must do something else. Canada and other nations have been supplying weapons, ammunition, and money to Ukraine. This prompted Germany to change its minds and add considerable help. The most relevant action is cutting off monetary connections. Crooks like Putin can’t go on fighting without money.

Here in Canada, when our capital city was taken over and paralyzed by a force demanding to replace the legally elected government, the Prime Minister didn’t want to use the army and hurt the offenders. They were misled, annoying, but peaceful. He chose to go after the money. Using the Emergency act crafted by a previous government, he froze the flow of money that was keeping the protesters at a prolonged state of a party, with entertainment, food, and a lot of noise. This, combined with professional police volunteers from all of Canada, solved the problem in three days.

In Ukraine, it was not as easy. The aggressor is a seasoned politician, a well-established dictator who controls resources that can cripple the world. He is ruthless and has no consideration for people, including his own. Anti-war demonstrations sprung up in all major cities of Russia and were promptly quashed by a police force trained to hurt not to serve. More protests flared all around the world, serving only to harden the resolve of democratic governments to cope with the problem. Ukraine, which considers Canada their best friend, bravely stood up against the tyrant, slowing his advance, allowing the world and the Russian people to regroup and consider what else they can safely do for the best impact.

We just went through some turmoil caused by a virus that kills innocent, helpless people. Our governments at all levels sprung to action, trying to minimize the damage and help us stand up again. They took a big political risk. (I didn’t vote for them, by the way.)

Now more comparison.

In Ukraine, droves of people who never fired a shot are volunteering to a citizens’ army. Old women are making Molotov cocktails. They are franticly running to get defenses ready. Others are helping mothers with kids to get to safety.

I who came from many generations of veterans, lived through wars, and worked hard till I dropped, take my hat off to them.

Here we have a bunch of people who want to party and find health restrictions oppressive. Others wave flags, toot horns, and shout “freedom” while blocking streets and roads, hurting the economy. White supremacists, separatists join them, and I would need the RCMP list to complete the statement. Many just “hate Trudeau” because he is a “dictator” and used a legal act to stop their silliness.

Some hate him since his dad didn’t do what their parents wanted. Well, Patriots, this is a democracy, and not every noisy group of partying protesters gets an audience with the PM. Desecrating a national memorial is not how we do it.

I may ramble, but many people like it. Some of my articles get over 1500 readers plus those who read the paper.

I am a Canadian patriot and would fight shoulder to shoulder with the brave Ukrainians if I could, but I have no respect for little selfish flag-waving “demonstrators” and their makeshift pastors. You love freedom? Go volunteer to help those who fight a real dictator. If Canada had more of an army, I would suggest helping Ukraine. From 2015, when Mr. J. Kenney was minister of defence, we could have built a good defence industry and trained enough people to be on par, at least with Sweden. Sadly, we didn’t, so we can do much less.