Cue music…. WAR! What is it good for?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! …. Pause music.
Most of us are familiar with the song by Edwin Starr. Most of us agree with the lyrics. Most of us are not power-hungry psychopaths.
Regardless of the majority consensus, once again, the powers-that-be have pushed humanity further toward a situation that has the potential to escalate into a world war.
Aside from the obvious tragedy of casualties, families split up and utter destruction, another tragedy is simultaneously occurring which not everyone is as conscious of; the mutilation of compassion.
Compassion is arguably one of the distinguishing traits of humanity. It is with compassion we transcend the irrelevant differences of race, culture, and country. Sadly, this innate human characteristic is under siege by the most despicable emotion; hatred.
Before I continue, I should give a brief background about myself. I am of Serbian and Croatian blood. My family moved to North America during the Yugoslavian war. After not knowing if my father was alive or dead for two years we were finally reunited. I feel a personal pain at the thought of families getting separated from one another due to the need to evacuate and the Ukrainian government banning fighting age men from leaving. My grandfather died in his yard after shrapnel sliced up the veins in his arm. I recognise the loss families have been feeling since 2014 in Ukraine, when the Ukrainian government first began to relentlessly shell civilians in the eastern areas. The majority of the world is only uniting with Ukrainians now; but it should be noted the people have been experiencing terror for almost a decade.
Currently, I am based in Poland. The staff at our local shop are Ukrainian. One of the boys is bringing his mother and grandmother to Poland as Odessa has been taken over. Our neighbours a few doors down are Ukrainians. Russian speaking Ukrainians to be more exact. His father was killed a few years ago in the Ukrainian conflict in the east. Some of my clients are Ukrainian, some are Russian. They are all decent people.
I do not have a dog in this fight, and I am aware war is never as black and white as the printed words presented to us by the press; the utter vilification of Russia and manipulating the public compassion into hatred. It is a dirty game and I refuse to take part in it.
In the 90s and 2000s, the Serbians were portrayed as villains by Western media. Most people still believe it was all Serbia’s fault and the Serbs are a barbaric society despite the fact that atrocities were committed by all.
I wish Putin hadn’t invaded, but more so, I wish NATO would have been dissolved at the same time as the USSR. NATO’s aggressive advancement toward the Russian border has perpetrated the situation which is unfolding in Ukraine.
The shift from compassion to hatred is a misfortune which will only cause more harm to our already fragile human state. It is no longer enough to support the Ukrainian people (take note, it is people and not the government). Now one must hate Russia, everything associated with Russia, and every Russian. The most “virtuous” thing a person or organization can do these days is to cancel Russia.
Let’s look at some examples.
• People petition for Chicken Kiev to be changed to Chicken Kyiv.
• International Cat Federation bans Russian cats.
• Austin restaurant Russian House drops Russian from its name.
• Belarusian and Russian athletes are banned from the Paralympic Games.
• A University in Milan cancels Dostoyevsky course.
• Quebec restaurant drops “Poutine” from the menu and replaces it with “cheese sauce fries”.
• Russian state media is banned by the EU.
These are just some examples, but there is a plethora of them floating around. The one which truly sticks out to me is the ban on Russian media. We should be getting perspectives from both sides. To create a barrier of communication will only cause a greater division amongst us. We mustn’t let the non-stop war propaganda suffuse hatred of people who are of a certain ethnicity. As I mentioned earlier, it is of utmost importance to remember the war is between governments; first & foremost. The average citizen is the casualty the government is willing to endure for their own purposes.
Another song has been playing in my mind for the past few weeks; Pink Floyd’s Us & Them.
“And after all we're only ordinary men me and you (you, you, you) God only knows It's not what we would choose (choose, choose) to do (to do, to do)”
War is a sum-zero game for humanity. Take the compassion which is running through your veins and spread it in its true form. Showing hate for either side is not compassion.
Furthermore, don’t take sides.
We are fed nonsense through the propaganda machine. Unwillingly, well-meaning individuals help to drive the propaganda. We are not behind the closed doors where all real deals are occurring. We will not know,- if ever,- the true motivation behind this war. Such is always the case.