In the conflict against Putin in Ukraine, we must use might for right
Over the 2022 spring break, something seemingly impossible developed: the decision over whether the U.S. should start WW III with Russia, either by delivering fighter jets via Poland to the Ukrainian Air Force or by convincing NATO to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine which could result in NATO forces firing upon Russian fighter pilots, both of which would really piss off Vladimir Putin. Is the protection of a democratic country’s sovereignty worth the risk of starting a possibly apocalyptic war with Russia? The answer is a very frightened yes.
In 1963, when locked in the Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In Ukraine, there is great injustice: ordinary citizens who were doing nothing against Russia have been bombed, shot, starved, and displaced, all because the murderous dictator, Putin, wants to devour Ukraine and swallow it into Russia. If Ukraine’s democracy is lost, we all lose the security we thought we had in our democracies, just as all human beings who were oppressed in Dr. King’s time had lost their equal rights. Yes, the human race is divided into countries, but we are all human beings with inalienable rights, and when someone wants to take away those rights from any of us, we are all being attacked.
But what of the fallout? Will Putin nuke us if we step in? Well, that is the million dollar question. Of course he would be a fool to do so, but he has been pretty foolish already. Putin is a terrorist and terrorists do not behave rationally. We do not know if Putin has been rubbing his hands with gleeful anticipation of the chance to push the first button that will end the world. He is so isolated that he might have already entered into such a psychotic state the he wants to “win” at any cost; however, good people cannot bend to terrorists. All they understand is might and power. Putin cannot destroy every NATO country with nuclear weapons before he and all of Russia are destroyed. If he wants to play chicken with the world, he will lose all of his mighty feathers.
Which leads me to my last point: might. In the legend of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table use their might for right. Putin is using his might for wrong. Many people in our world think chivalry is dead because of the Putins of this world. When the hope of goodness is lost, then evil has won. We cannot let that happen. The cavalry has to come to save the day, even if many are lost. I know it’s easy to say that while sitting in a La-z-y Boy recliner in a warm house when I would be one of the last to be allowed to join the Ukrainian Army. I know my opinion means I am volunteering young men and women to risk their lives in a possible world-wide battle, and I also know that I live in a country that would be one of the first to receive Putin’s ICBMs, and I might die. But the hope for goodness will live on with the survivors; and there will be survivors because goodness always wins when might is used for right. Just ask God if you don’t believe me.
Yet, this is still our most frightening scenario. We have a small nation with the bravest of presidents crying out for our help, and we must come to their aid.
How did a spring vacation, when we are supposed to be resting on a beach or giving our brains a break, turn into such a horror movie? We’re going to have to work very hard for a happy ending.
Debra MacQuown teaches English at Midway University, is married to a retired Army CSM, and adores her U.K.-grad daughter, Becky.