Sunflowers for Ukraine

I noticed people have been posting sunflowers in their social media feeds as a way to "voice support" for Ukraine.  It's a nice sentiment, I guess.  Putting a post that pretty much fades away from prominence in a very short period of time (assuming anyone actually sees it in the first place) probably will not make much difference in the end.  But, we do that sort of thing anyway.  

Just like I write blog posts that may or may not make a difference, I suppose.  But, when you feel you need to do something -  you do something.  It's all good as long as we don't fool ourselves into thinking we're pulling the heavy load here.  The heavy load is most certainly being carried by the people of Ukraine - let's make that clear from the outset.

You could call me a pacifist, and that would probably be pretty accurate in both my personal life and what I tend to support as public policy.  But, I have also realized a couple of times in my life when the only way to be a responsible pacifist is to stand up to a bully - because that may be the only way to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

So now, you expect me to say something like - let's go get them durned Russians, right?

Wrong.

I am fully aware of the limits of my knowledge and experience.  I do not know the Eastern European region at all well.  I am not a foreign policy expert.  I am not a financial policy expert.  I am not a military expert.  

What I am is a reasonably intelligent individual who looks for expertise in areas that I do not have full knowledge of before I let myself have much of an opinion (well, at least I try).  After all, I don't want to be another of these people who are loudly proclaiming that they KNOW what WE should do RIGHT NOW... and they can't even point to Ukraine on a map.  Or they couldn't until someone showed them a few minutes ago.

Me?  Well, I know a bit about the Crimean War in the 1850s.  How about you?  Did you know there was a Crimean War in the 1850s?  Heck, I also know that Crimea and some of southern Ukraine was once part of the Ottoman Empire.  I also know that Fiddler on the Roof was set in rural Ukraine.

What you didn't remember or know that?  I've had Anatevka running through my head a lot the last couple of weeks. 

Still, I'm not an expert.  

And, there isn't enough of me and in me to become one in a matter of moments.

So, I try to listen to those who might know.  In fact, I listened to a whole commentary by Heather Cox Richardson, who does a good job of providing commentary that sticks to her expertise, which is formidable - with strong backgrounds in American history and politics.  Her post on February 24 (about an hour long video) helped me get a grasp on things based on her experience knowing politics and politicians in the United States.  It helped me better understand how the financial restraints may actually have the desired effect and why direct military action may have a less desirable result (in addition to the inevitable death and destruction).

In fact, it prepared me to more fully understand the magnitude of Switzerland's move to break a long tradition of neutrality and join in the economic pressure on Russia. 

Heck, as I checked various other experts, I learned one of the reasons we are likely having trouble with land access in the United States is because people like Putin and other oligarchs (very rich business "leaders" who wields significant political influence) are buying it up to hold monetary value outside of their country.  

The takeaway I got from this?  

The current administration is actually doing a pretty good job of handling the situation at the present time.  There are some very good reasons why the US is not putting troops on the ground as it would play into Putin's hands.  And, of course, the Russians are going to attempt to use misinformation to get the people of Ukraine to feel hopeless and give up and much of this is born from a need for Putin to show he is strong so he can maintain his own power.

And I am still not an expert.  And I still wish there wasn't fighting.  And I still wish there was a good and quick way to stand up to the bully in the room and get him to let his neighbors be their own country.

But, I don't always get what I wish for - and neither do you.  But, stop pretending you're an expert - and quit listening to those who try to tell you it's simple and they know EXACTLY what we should be doing right now.  That's embarrassing.  

There is no simple solution to anything that is nearly as complex as the problems that exist in the world.  We should always be suspicious of those who tell us there is a simple answer - because they most surely either have a self-serving agenda or they aren't much of an expert in the first place.  And, we should become even more suspicious as they get louder, as they spend more time telling us how stupid anyone else's idea might be, and as they start using words like "trust me" more often than they provide useful data and information to support the ideas they are pushing.

So, I find myself posting sunflowers for Ukraine... and hoping that those who have the expertise play this one the best way it can be played.