Its been said that the only form of warfare thats legitimate any more at this time in history, is spiritual warfare - that is, the war of ideas. Physical warfare, despite our conviction that its justified, necessary ..... and that we can win ..... brings out the cunning and dark intelligence, not just in ourselves, but in those we call enemies. While rights are a legitimate and necessary concern in human social life, and may at the extremes require self defense or protection of trespassed parties, our thinking must be EXCEPTIONALLY clear in this realm, our actions almost surgical. Our power to destroy populations, infrastructures, economies has simply gotten that great. I promised a think it right ! exercise on the present Ukraine crisis, so heres one short and sweet : I think there may be some grain of truth in Russias stated concern for the safety of Ukrainians of Russian background. It in fact OFTEN happens when peoples of different ethnicities live side by side, that one group gets the upper hand politically or economically, and relegates the other to second class status. This is the case for instance in Syria today (Sunni-Shia conflict), and was in Rwanda in the 90s between Hutus and Tutsis ..... with a consequence of genocide. Those are just two examples, and there are many more. Unfortunately, Russias elite of oligarchs is fully capable of using this as a pretext to gain control of the huge network of natural gas pipelines that crisscross Ukraine. Smart sanctions against these oligarchs, against Russian generals and against Vladimir Putin himself, may be just the thing needed to keep these less selfless impulses at bay. In the spirit of thinking it right Putin might now make his point one more time loudly, about being available to protect Ukrainians of Russian background if need be - and exit Crimea without losing face. Ukraine for its part might make clear its willingness to work with its citizens of Russian background. It remains a possibility that Ukraines own oligarchs of Russian background will stir up the Russian-background population to further their personal agendas - but here again smart sanctions are a possible option. In the meantime, Russia and Ukraine and their various peoples will do well to think of the needs and interests they have in common, and the many GOOD things they bring each other, in their diversity. This is a start, as a picture and attitude to hold, and Id love to hear other think it right possibilities. motherjones/kevin-drum/2014/03/obamas-response-russia-begins-unfold
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 21:18:56 +0000
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