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It's time for US to lead and put Putin in his place
To the editor:
During my days at Lewistown High School, I rode the school bus every day. Anyone who rode a school bus in those days knows and understands the turf division: good kids to the front, trouble-makers to the back. The back of our bus harbored several loud kids who bullied the entire bus daily with all manner of vulgar verbal abuse. Sometimes physical altercations broke out. Some days were worse than others. The good kids took it silently, day in and day out.
A certain afternoon still stands out vividly in my memory. One of the back-of-the-bus bullies began pummeling a smaller kid. I don't know what started it. Maybe the smaller kid instigated it. All I know is that the bully was smashing the smaller kid's face. I watched. I did nothing to stop it. That incident still haunts me. A weaker little kid was beaten by a bigger bully while I sat and watched only a few seats away. I could have easily grabbed the bully by the scruff of the neck, smacked him around and put him back in his seat. I was big enough. I was strong enough. I just wasn't brave enough. I lacked the will to do it.
My lack of courage and will to act was supported by my misguided belief that the incident really didn't concern me. After all, the bully wasn't beating me. Why should I care? Decades later, I now know why I should have cared. I now understand that appeasing bullies only empowers and emboldens them. Standing by helplessly enables them to continue terrorizing others and making our shared space a miserable place for everyone.
The world now stands by as a back-of-the-bus global bully destroys the lives of the citizens of Ukraine. I have tried to imagine the horror of parents' rounding up their children and herding them into long lines of refugees fleeing for their lives. How does a parent even begin to explain that to a young child? I cannot imagine it until I put the young faces of my own four children on the faces of the children I see on the television screen. Then it becomes real. The children of Ukraine are our children. The people of Ukraine who, like ordinary people around the world, simply want to go about their lives in peace, are our fathers, mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors and friends.
But cautious voices remind us: Ukraine is far away and is not our concern. In point of fact, for several decades, the world has been shrinking rapidly as technology brings nations around the globe closer and closer together. Advances in communications, transportation, and weapons systems have made the world a much smaller place, a global "community." National economies are inextricably linked, financial markets are interconnected, and international commerce ties all of us together whether we like it or not. Nations halfway around the world on different continents have become our neighbors down the street.
Although economic connection is a critical factor, it is not nearly as important as the fundamental shared humanity that ties us to the innocent people of Ukraine. Economic exigencies are pragmatic variables, but our human bonds create a much deeper and more profound moral imperative. John Donne's words are as true and piercing today as when written 400 years ago: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." Similarly, in our modern small world, no nation is an island.
If I hear my next-door neighbor scream for help in the middle of the night, I can simply lock my door and pull my shades, secure within my own house. The next day, I can check on her and maybe bring her some food or supplies to bind up her wounds -- that is, if she is still alive.
Our global neighbor, Ukraine, is screaming for help. Blankets and military rations after the fact will not secure safety from an invading bully or prevent further carnage and destruction. The overwhelming force and fury of the United States of America and the rest of the civilized world will. That is the only language bullies understand.
The United States of America is big enough and strong enough to stop a global bully. But if we take decisive action couldn't that further inflame the bully and potentially provoke World War III or a nuclear exchange? That is entirely the wrong question. We have it strikingly backwards. The greatest nation on the face of the earth should not be wringing its hands and stroking its chin, paralyzed with fear over what the bully might do if we act with certitude on the moral imperative. No, our strength and national commitment to peace in a civilized world should cause the bully to worry and fear what will happen if he kills one more innocent child or destroys one more building. Fear of a bully's subsequent future actions gives him much too much perceived power over us that he neither possesses nor deserves. When bullies fear the unpredictable wrath and fury of bigger and stronger peacekeepers, they are more inclined to behave themselves.
Admittedly, the United States of America cannot serve as the world's policeman, righting every wrong and injustice around the world. Some situations present judgment calls that require careful discernment as national security risks, human suffering, and resources must be balanced. Other situations, however, clearly cry out for action -- more than a standing ovation from Congress -- and the current crisis in Ukraine is one of them. Economic sanctions never have deterred a determined global bully. They may make us feel good that we did something -- anything -- while children continue to die and the lives of ordinary families continue to be shattered. The United States of America is the world's most humane superpower, and it is time for us to start acting like it.
Acting like a moral superpower does not necessarily mean that we go it alone. Civilized nations of the world must speak loudly and clearly that cold-blooded aggression will not stand. The United States of America is the only nation capable of leading such an effort. The current administration should utilize all means possible to leverage a powerful coalition of civilized nations to stand up to the aggression. If the administration is too timid or compromised to lead, then Congress needs to put on its big-boy and big-girl pants, set aside its all-consuming preoccupation with re-election and insatiable lust for pork and lead.
When parents of young children say "no" to them, the word is meaningless. When they say "no" and back it up with a well-placed, forceful swat on the behind, they find that "no" acquires the power to curb future inappropriate behavior, with no need for the accompanying swat. Similarly, the efforts of the civilized world now to defeat aggression with overwhelming force is an investment and insurance that such force may never need to be utilized in the future. The bully now knows the punishing consequences that await if he again crosses the line from civilization to barbarism, and other would-be bullies become vicariously aware of the fate that will befall them should they dare to violate global expectations for civilized behavior.
Ronald Reagan called it "peace through strength." Teddy Roosevelt referred to it as "speaking softly but carrying a big stick." However, Roosevelt's "big stick" doesn't deter bad behavior magically simply by waving it around. It doesn't work unless it is used from time to time. Thus far, the United States of America has spoken softly -- way too softly. Now the bully needs to feel and fear the force and fury of Uncle Sam's "big stick," while other global thugs are watching carefully.
A world where civilized people cower in fear of belligerent bullies is intolerable and unacceptable. Vladimir Putin is a third-world back-of-the-bus bully. Who will have the courage and moral conviction to grab him by the scruff of his neck and put him back down in his seat? The United States of America is big enough. The United States of America is strong enough. But are we brave enough? Do we have the will? It is time to lead.
Kevin Zook
Lewistown