The Other Side of the Coin

Who truly understands what is happening in a fallen, complicated world? I certainly do not, although sometimes I pretend to. I just watched a YouTube program that featured a speech by Jeffrey Sachs. I must say, in my lifetime I cannot remember any speech that I ever heard that compares to his assessment of the war in Ukraine.

I will preface this re-evaluation of my own viewpoint by pasting herein, my live chat comments: "Seems like Jeffrey is exposing a 21st-century rerun of Vietnam, with Ukraine being Vietnam. As for Israel and Netanyahu. . . a much more complicated clusterfud." "The other big question is: Can Jeffrey's condemnation of Netanyahu be interpreted as realpolitik, or antisemitism? or both?" "Did Clinton and Bush - driven by the post-coldwar Pentagon worldview - take on a Johnson//Nixon bellicose attitude that dragged us into a NATO war-cry, over-reacting unnecessarily?" Just now, I am having a deep reassessment of what has recently been my understanding of the war in Ukraine. . . why it happened, how it happened, because of my hearing of Jeffrey Sachs' testimony about the history of the Putin/Ukraine conflagration, on YouTube this evening. My opinions were, earlier, perhaps, slanted in an anti-Russian direction because of my youth. . .growing up during the cold war, when Nikita Krushjev banged his shoe on a podium and announced to the world, referring to us, the US. . . that "We will bury you!" Well, times have changed! No doubt about that. But the real question is. . . how have they actually changed? Who am I to think I understand what is happening there? Now I'm wondering, were Krushchev and Putin cast from the same Soviet mold? Maybe, maybe not. Or did Russia become a different nation when Putin manhandled the post-Soviet state into being his new creation of Russia? After listening to Jeffrey Sachs, I am not so sure. I am perplexed.  Five years ago, we visited Hungary and the Czech Republic. At that time, I returned from that trip with what was perhaps a melodramatic assessment: "We visited a NATO air base, which was formerly a Soviet air base. Now I call that progress!" While that statement may have been true, it was calculated in my own mind for dramatic effect. Bottom line: Jeffrey says that Putin/Russia will not invade Europe. I have actually been wondering about this. I think Jeffrey Sachs' bottom line seems to be that we need to give Putin the benefit of the doubt.  One thing for sure. He knows far more about Europe and Ukraine and Russia than I do. And, as it turns out, Jeffrey is speaking strongly, and maybe convincingly, on behalf of giving Putin and the Russians the benefit of the doubt . . . until they prove otherwise.  You can listen to Jeffrey's speech to the Europeans here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewvrbvEckxQ King of Soul