Ukraine & Walk The Line

The man with young kids tells me that if I want to send troops into Ukraine to help fight Russia I am welcome to volunteer and that if I had kids I would have a different feeling.

It is not worth telling him that my son and nephews are all the right age for the draft because that is at the root of his fear. I don’t know just one boy who fits that demographic, I know a hundred.

I tell him that Neville Chamberlain’s policy has never worked and that I am bored with the conversation and wish him a good night.

“If it is so dire maybe you ought to to volunteer.”

No need to respond to that either but it generates the same thought I have had in the past. If things get to be so bad they need fifty something year-old men to fight we’re in trouble.

Ukraine is in that kind of trouble now, but the U.S. isn’t and I am grateful for that. But I don’t think we can sit on the sidelines and watch. Could tell you why I think we can lay blame at the feet of the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations for the current situation but see no reason.

What jumps out at me is how this reminds me of a scene from Walk The Line.

Maybelle Carter:
You should go down there to him, June.

June Carter:
Mama?

Maybelle Carter:
He’s all mixed up.

June Carter:
I am not goin’ down there, if I go down there…

Maybelle Carter:
You’re already are down there, honey.

We may not want to go down there, but we are already there. Doesn’t matter whether we like it or not. Life doesn’t happen when it is convenient.

And to be clear, I don’t think we are going to see the draft come back. Technology has changed warfare, but I am not going to delve into it all right now. It is not my area of expertise and yes, I damn well hope I am correct for all the reason you think.

The Words I Didn’t Get To Say

I took a look at the prior post and it is missing a chunk but I can’t tell you what happened. I must have deleted something or posted early or something like that.

Not sure what happened, but it is my blog so I take responsibility.

Got a few other situations that jump out at me regarding the words I didn’t get to say. Some of them won’t ever happen because the people are gone.

You could argue that I can still tell these people about my life or share whatever thoughts I have but it is not the same because I can only guess what they would say in return.

Doesn’t matter if it is an educated guess, it is not the same. So though I can see my Dad smiling and hear the happy in his voice it is not the same.

I don’t like it, but I am ok with it because there are no other options.

There are a few other situations that are similar in that I haven’t gotten to have the conversation I want to have but the people I wish to speak with are still vertical.

Some of those conversations may yet still happen, though I won’t wait forever for them. At some point you shrug your shoulders and move on because you can’t live in limbo forever.

There comes a point when you have to take action.

Do We Still Have Family There?

Go back 150 years ago and there is no question that we have some family all over Ukraine and the surrounding area. Some have left and emigrated to the U.S. or headed off to other parts.

Do we still have family there is a question I have been asking for years now. It is not applicable solely to Ukraine, Russia and Moldova.

It has been all over Europe, Lithuania, Ireland and England. I have managed to answer the question about England but haven’t confirmed some of the others yet.

There is no doubt the Nazis got some of us but I can’t say they got all who stayed because we have lost touch with so many.

The children don’t understand that long distance calls were prohibitive and sort of get that writing letters was something that took effort, especially when you didn’t get instant responses.

They know that technology has changed the world, but I have a better reference point than they do. And frankly I don’t think it matters as much to them, which is fine because when I was their age it wouldn’t have resonated with me the same either.

So I don’t know if any of us are still there, but we could be.

And given Putin’s call to “denazify” a country with a Jewish president it is easier to take this personally. This kind of stuff never goes well for the members of the tribe.

That doesn’t demean or diminish non-Jewish Ukrainians who are in a horrific position now too. It is a humanitarian disaster.

I can’t ask the world to never forget and ignore what is happening. Nor can I look at the failed policy of Neville Chamberlain and ignore the lessons learned there.

To me this is like June saying she won’t go to Johnny and being set straight by her mom.

We may not want to be involved but we’re already there. Can’t protect democracy if we don’t act. Can’t help avoid a humanitarian crisis if we don’t act.

The question isn’t whether we are down there but what do we do knowing that we are.

It is just one more thing that hurts my heart, but ignoring those never works.

You can’t wait forever and you can’t hope that somehow someone else will do all of the work, you have to contribute something.