+8
Those of you who saw my shouts already know that I was observing this invasion from the very beginning. My military analysis, guesswork, and worries concerning the war have mostly proved accurate. There are many possible outcomes of the war, but all of them include at least one country utterly ruined. Russia's actions are by no means surprising to anybody who understands a thing or two about history. After all, little has changed in the East.
But Ukraine has changed. It is no longer the Ukraine of two decades ago. And that fact alone is enough. Ukrainian souls are hardened and ready to defend their homeland to death. They have no other choice. And now, when civilians in Ukrainian cities cannot even defend themselves from rockets, shells, and bombs, the mask has fallen, and the Iron Curtain has risen to once again divide West and East. This is the eve of a new world. A more dangerous world. An uncertain world. A world with little chance to return to the status quo ante.
I have a friend in Kyiv. I can't possibly know... No. None of us can know what she's feeling right now. She lives in a relatively insignificant part of the city. She and her family were terrified of every explosion at first. But now they see every dropped bomb, every shell, and every rocket as a man-made thunderstruck. They quickly learned to guess how long it takes for an explosion to reach their eardrums. They learned to go down to the shelter obediently when they hear the alarm siren. One could think that they got used to war. But that's not it. They are tense. They are afraid. They cannot focus on anything but the war. The people of Ukraine have two wars at the moment. The first one is with Russia. The second war is waging within themselves. They are fighting their fear and doubt.
We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. Poland has taken over 500,000 people from Ukraine so far. It is both disappointing and uplifting that we can only really unite when misery strikes. During times of hate and bloodshed, the people in Poland forgot about their little disputes, meaningless feuds, and political disagreements. All our earlier worries look so silly now. But there's only so much we can do. And we are not sure if that's enough.
After 80 years, barricades are being built again. But it's not them who barricaded themselves with contempt. It's not them who's souls are poisoned with hate. It's not them who treat their brothers and sisters like cattle. It's not them who spite mankind. But all words of reason, all words of love for humanity, all words of pacifism, unity, and love sound almost cynical now. Tens of millions crying out for the goodness in men mean nothing when one individual projects all his hate onto the world.
Yes, Ukraine needs more than just prayers, but prayers are good. Just don't let these prayers be silent. Make them loud. Make both people who fight for their lives and those who hide away, counting minutes between each strike hear your support and words of love. This is not going to stop the war. But it will show them they are not alone. And it will show others they have gone astray. There is little most of us can do, so let's do the most we can.
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San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.
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