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European leaders need to learn a lesson from (ick) tRump. [1]

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Date: 2025-03-23

My father’s parents came to Canada from the Donbass region, My mother’s parents from communist Poland. My parents lived a sturdy, respectable middle class life. I moved to the US for the opportunities it provides and am an extremely grateful person for being able to thrive here.

At the same time I am astounded at world events that are unfolding. Having known my grandparents and heard many, many stories about my heritage and enjoyed growing up multiculturally, I feel a particularly strong empathy and concern about what is unfolding in eastern Europe. With this preface and the grace of being a member of this community, I’d like to forward some thoughts based on my perception of, the chorus needed for the Burt Bacharach song “What the World Needs Now”

First we must decide why there seems to be a leaning of the world towards authoritarianism. A simple answer, that would take another entry, is that people are looking for a quick and easy way to have a glorious world where they are special. Dictators promise that. And as long as they promise to keep promising that, a lot of hard of thinking folks will follow them. And when the biggest fools, or most immoral, but cleaver folks are rewarded for this fealty, democracies die.

While the above premise gives a lot of grist for “baking” all sorts of solutions, here is what I invite for conversation for an approach to “fixing” Putin’s war on Ukraine.

First we must look at what a promise is. A person wanting power has to put forth a strong, glorious goal...it doesn’t have to be well defined...only something a lot of people can get behind. I call this be-lie-ving in an authority (be they media, p-ass-tor, or politician). Such followers have, an unfortunate word, faith, that something will become of their soon to be sunk cost of being a sheep, a follower of a spuriously thought, superior group. For those more skeptical in the population, more empathetic, more broad minded, the behavior of such folks is astonishing and perplexing. As a result, there is a huge clash between those who wish to see the promise of a goal affirmed and reached and those who recognize the consequences of what it will bring.

So how does that preface get to an approach to what Europe needs to do with the current ongoing war by Russia.

First, the focus must be that this is Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine (or similar). NOTHING ELSE. Putin and his sincophants must be declared the cause, no one else...as it is the idea of what the Russian nation is, that must be supported, and nothing else.

Second, Europe needs to represent a clear, audacious goal to counter that of the both US and Russian authoritarians. All "pro-Ukraine", "anti-Russia" governments/leaders MUST talk about a post putin Russia !! Why ?

Putin's goals, especially through his actions, are obvious. Relentless reconstitution of a glorious "soviet" empire. The group of hard of thinking Russians, much like the hard of thinking group of Americans, LOVE this that there is a figure, authoritarian in nature, who can talk about greatness and cultural dominance in the face of a very globalized world, which is technological evolving faster than people and societies are able to actually cope with. The US has such a person in power (vs leadership) now. Both of these heads of state are providing sufficiently described goals and actions that a plurality of the citizenry support them !!! Try, very hard, to describe any "direction" any "opposition" group is providing to the remaining citizens of their country other than "not that!!" Sadly, it would seem that any constructive ideas presented by alternatives to Russian and American heads, to simply "stop" the actions of those leaders is also responded to as "not that" as well. THIS is what is a lesson for, how in heaven’s name, a buffoon, became the 47th president...by a “glorious” promise. A Rorschach image where some see evil and others see “geeZUS kryst”. No wonder so many religiously indoctrinated fell for him, having been told “their continuing sins are paid for”. The antidote would seem to be a counter image promise. Something other than an orange stain. Something still vague, but at least as real as the unification of Germany.

It may seem simplistic, but if the world is to become a better, more peaceful, healthy and prosperous place for all, European+ leaders MUST point out that Putin, and most certainly his aggression, if there is justice in the world, will not last. And that European+ leaders see a better world with the GOOD people of Russian when "this is all over", which is the ultimate goal. At this point, the Euro Leaders must stress that Putin will be dead one day and there is nothing but an obscene continuance of leadership if war's death and destruction are NOT the only items of choice to a people who have once led in many areas of science art and literature in the past. Euro+ leadership must talk to the Russian PEOPLE, and provide a goal ... a future, of peace, health, cooperation and prosperity that they can't possibly have with a destructive, greedy, monster like Putin. Euro leaders must proactively act twice as strongly against the propaganda in both the US and Russia going on currently. Europeans can point to positive competition plus positive cooperation (like an idealized Olympic sport) is how humanity is thriving today. We need to fight disease, addition and poverty, not each other.

Without a post Putin plan by "the good guys", this global mess could only get worse if middle eastern folks think their Levant can be global with western countries screwing things up, by being half assed committed plus allowing authoritarians to make stupid decisions that promote stupid idealized goals.

Something I’d like to check if my Sunday prattle to help the world have any merit. Thanks in advance for any comments.

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