No one gets through life without making difficult, even life changing choices. Some are economic, some familial, some even existential in reach. Today, the entire globe is involved in making a difficult choice. There are several causations of the current situation, but the two main causes are the barbaric, war crime act of invasion of Ukraine and the deliberate targeting of civilians as well as the indecisive, weak, not nearly enough reactions to that situation. Shilly - shallying never does the trick.
Now the nations of the world are faced with a Hobson's choice. That is when there seems to be a free choice, but in reality, there is no viable alternative or when there are two equally awful choices and one must be chosen - or it will, in fact, be chosen for them. Now to add to the witch's brew, we dump in shovelfuls of Hobbesian choice and situation, when there is "unrestrained, uncivilized barbaric competition", a situation where there is no true victory, as the sweetness of that win comes with a massive infusion of bitterness and blood. Ukraine - meet the world. World, meet Ukraine.
The nations of NATO and most of the world have clearly telegraphed their opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though along with that was a clearly delineated second message. That was the one which told Putin, in no uncertain terms, to just go ahead, do his 'best', as he does his worst, for these nations would never oppose him in acts of tangible resistance. Nope, the fear of that choice - possible nuclear war and its unthinkable aftermath, - paralyzed the allies. They substituted things - yes, needed things - but no real commitment in terms of life and death.
No sane person wants to see war. Certainly, the oldest generation alive remembers war in its brutal reality - the hunger that never went away, the lack of any true assurance of survival, certainly not in a hospitable world. The fear for the children and grandchildren who have grown up soft, for how will they cope? This fear highlights the Hobson's choice we have: do we allow that fear, that possibility, to force us into a corner? What is the other choice? To live in slavery, in fear of knocks on the door at 3 AM? To have no hope of a future of any meaning? To regress to a time in history when the world was aboil, only this time the weapons are far more deadly and too many heads of government and their supporting parties are infested with a virus of madness, of insanity and selfishness, so uncaring that billions of lives lost mean nothing to them at all? Not if it opposes their desires and demands.
How does one choose? I have no practical experience of such monumental proportion, but still, choices, difficult, as seemingly impossible as they appear, must be made. What are the values with which we choose to live? What do we value the most? Will we be brave enough, resilient enough, to withstand the challenges we face, the awful once unthinkable possibilities, no matter the choice, for it is a Hobson's decision in a Hobbesian situation. Damned on all sides.
The current situation, with literally millions fleeing a devastated country, where they are the targets of the bombs, and shells, cannot continue unabated. Yet it will do exactly that until the point of no return is reached. Ukraine will be a pile of rubble beneath which are the bodies of women, children, the elderly. The stench of those bodies and the stench of a failed humanity and its leaders will overwhelm the world. And the world?
Well, the world is now facing a Middle Ages situation, where rampant hunger is the reality, not in one or two countries, but in all - and yes, here in America too. There is no escape from this tangled web of interdependence and toppling dominoes. Like it or not, that is the world today, a global economy, a mutual interdependence and we are shattering it as we speak. All day. Every day. Since February 24th. With no end in sight, and the possibility of turning it around fading every day, more and more.
Exacerbating the whole situation is the rot within and without this beleaguered country of ours. We have allowed lies to become the currency of the day. We have accepted traitors as our leaders, elected them, knowingly, even approvingly, to office. We have chosen rabid hatreds and extremist religion over temperance and brotherhood and acceptance of all. We have elevated damning behavior to an art and we are suffering, will continue to suffer, the inevitable consequences of this mess of ours. Frankly, at this point, I see no open, available, doors, windows, cubbyholes, any openings whatsoever to salvation.
To be honest, I have no real clue as to the decision I would make were I in a leadership position. Would I have the courage of my convictions? Would I be able to sentence billions to disastrous lives, incomparable to anything they have ever known? Would I be the cause of the extinction of mankind, the Sixth Extinction we are hearing of more and more? Thankfully, I am not there, never want to be either, and yet, there we all are. Like it or not, it is a fact, a brutal reality.
For now, I will read carefully, will follow the suggestions of experts - amass extra cash, available for quick withdrawal from a nearby bank. Try to buy at least some of the most endangered products, perhaps freezing some perishables. It is overwhelming, this situation. Truthfully, I believe there is nothing, no actions, that can truly alleviate the possible awful future we face no matter the untenable, unthinkable, yet there it is - decision and choice.
It is summed up in the closing sentences of an essay in yesterday's NYTimes, written by Thomas Friedman.
"If Putin's plans...all fail...I fear that he would be a cornered animal and he could opt for plan D - launching either chemical weapons or the first nuclear bomb since Nagasaki. That is a hard sentence to write and an even worse one to contemplate. But to ignore it as a possibility would be naive in the extreme."
Now chew on that. We have brought this upon ourselves. We elected and got the leaders we deserved, have we not? Now - the mess. The existential mess. The one that will end all wars for sure - unless enough people survive and live to fight again - this time for the most elementary basics of life, and with stones and sharpened spears. So much for the mighty Ozymandias and his believers. So much for us.
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