Not an easy topic, but one I thought was impt to address. I grew up in the the Persian Gulf War era – where we were updated thru grainy nighttime footage of warheads being launched. Most news stations had to share videos…on what seemed like diff planets, let alone countries. We felt far removed from the deeply human part of the struggle.
Many yrs earlier – the generation before mine, protestors took to the streets & college campuses wanting to see an end to the Vietnam War. Whatever your/their belief on what was right – to continue to fight or not – again tech wasn’t where it is today. Our society formed opinions in a big way, based on servicemen/women lost. Based on casualty numbers.
What’s happening in Russia/Ukraine is heartbreaking. I’m not one for politics or sides publicly, but the “gist” for some context is:
– In 1991 Ukraine voted for independence after the fall of the Soviet Union & in 1994 got rid of all nuclear weapons.
– NATO, a military alliance between 28 European countries, & 2 North American countries dedicated to preserving PEACE & security in the North Atlantic area formed all the way back in 1949, never admitted in Ukraine (for lots of reasons).
– Oversimplification here but – Putin-led Russia, has for a long time felt like Ukraine should be PART of Russia, almost like the old Soviet Union. They annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. It appears they’ve had their eyes on the rest of Ukraine. Putin’s public take is that the Ukrainian govt is committing atrocities on its ppl. The Ukraine ppl, & the president of Ukraine would tell you (on social media videos) otherwise.
Now, to the comment on the post card: We as a world have been thru 2 yrs of HELL. We’re at a boiling point where it appears most citizens don’t want any more suffering. They don’t want loss of lives – no matter the militaristic claims from any “sides.”
The Russian offensive has already killed not just members of the military but – innocent civilians. Areas targeted – supposed to be off limits in war. I think ppl of the world have had enough & are speaking out – like never before, using tech to apply pressure.
Why does this matter? Democracy. Leaders of other countries – in NATO & others, have trade deals & other dealings w Russia. When they see citizens of the world speaking out in big ways, they make changes – sanctions & penalties. We’ve seen videos from inside Russia – the ppl, protesting this. We’ve seen Russian celebs – artists, actors, musicians, sports heroes, condemn this. We’ve seen videos taken from inside Ukraine where the citizens are saying – we don’t want new leadership…we like what we have. And we’ve seen posts & videos from citizens around the world, all saying – no more war, enough is enough.
Tons of examples of the sanctions & changes – that have devalued Russian currency, that have stopped trades from happening. And why? Bc PEOPLE in the democratically elected countries that deal with Russia are speaking up…and politicians like power…they like to stay IN power. In democracies they need the ppl to vote them in (where true democracies exist). Tech & social media has given a voice to the ppl in a way we haven’t had before. I’m not going to say this will STOP the war…or stop the aggression. But in my heart I believe fewer lives are gonna be lost, & the PEOPLE are having a say in it more than ever before.