"It is estimated since the Ukraine conflict started, almost 1,000,000 Russians have left their country. And that number went up steeply when Putin's latest conscription started."
Okay. I stepped on that old Pete Seeger folk song, Where have all the flowers gone. When I was a youth and played the guitar, that was one of my favorites. Why do I think of it today? Maybe, because we need to resurrect that old anti-war song. For today, it is not about young Americans protesting the Viet Nam War. No sir, indeed! It is about young Russians, telling their government, they want NO PART in Putin's illegal and immoral war.
During the Viet Nam conflict, it is estimated that 30,000 young Americans fled to Canada to escape being drafted and sent to Viet Nam to fight. Big numbers back then, but nothing compared to today. It is estimated since the Ukraine conflict started, almost 1,000,000 Russians have left their country. And that number went up steeply when Putin's latest conscription started.
Last night on the news, they once again showed the endlessly long lines of cars, trains, and planes trying to leave Mother Russia. Throngs of young people, ready to start a new life in new lands, not ruled by former Soviet henchmen and tyrants. Whereas in America, we don't have people trying to leave this country instead we have 3 million illegal immigrants sneaking over our southern border. My guess is there is not one person, not one, who is trying to sneak into Russia these days.
I am reminded once again, the saying Thomas Jefferson started, and then morphed over time into this famous liberty motto - "When government fear their people, there is liberty. When people fear their governments, there is tyranny." Amen. What we are seeing in Russia right now, is a perfect example of that phrase. Putin is a tyrant, and his people want no part of it or him. They want freedom and liberty. They don't want to be forced to fight and die in an unjust war.
Just like with the Bolsheviks in 1917, Russia is primed and ready for another revolution. Only this one will not be to install a worse tyrant like Lenin. This one would be to rid Russia of a really, really bad guy. And once that is over, Russia will need to humble itself, and atone for its sins committed in Ukraine. War criminals will need to be tried, and restitutions will need to be paid.
It will take Russia years to be accepted back into the league of nations, but if they truly embrace freedom and liberty, it will happen.
"During the Viet Nam conflict, it is estimated that 30,000 young Americans fled to Canada to escape being drafted and sent to Viet Nam to fight."
ReplyDeleteI'm not the only one to notice this historical irony: Before the US entered WW II, some young Americans went to Canada to join a military that was already fighting the Axis.
Years ago _Readers' Digest_ ran at least two items about them. One was a short anecdote about a guy who'd gone into the Black Watch regiment & came home wearing their requisite kilt. The punchline came from his mother: "Son, if you're going to be a soldier, you'll have to learn to sit like a lady."