"WHAT IS LIKE ..."

  "What is like free." So asked a group of Ukrainian farmers way back in 1991 according to Sen. Ernst. All they wanted to know was what did it mean to be free, to be independent, to be able to develop plans and chase dreams without fear of governmental repression and oppression. 

Why or how did this statement come our way? Because at least there are some remaining few GOP members who can still see the truth behind the obfuscating fog of mis and dis information, all the attempts to impose upon us the same type of false democracy to be found in too many countries, including Russia!

The object or target of this anecdotal tidbit was Madison Cawthorn, the oh so obvious criminal, moral pervert, who continues to remain in office, allowed to run, despite his criminal ties and behavior. Who called Zelensky a thug!!!Unreal! "What is like" indeed! What is like if we could find ourselves back in a country of law and order bracketed on all sides by fair behavior, by attempts to address unfair practices, to truly watch over our democracy, the expected - but not the norm any longer - behavior of governmental figures. 

"What is like" to find ourselves in a surreal situation wherein we watch every night, every day, no matter the hour, the devastation that is now Ukraine, a land where all the citizens wanted was to know and live "what is like free." To be free of domination by Russia, free to live as Ukrainians, not as 'pressed' Russians, captured off their ship of state as were American sailors pressed into service in the British Navy, one of the reasons underlying the War of 1812. Actually, the American Revolution Part II, as Britain finally realized that no, the 'colonies' were no longer - they were American, the United States of America. Short and sweet, music to our ears. We knew the answer, fought for the answer of "What is like free".

Now we need to ask and answer once again - "what is like free', to stand by and watch a county, an entire country, with millions of citizens, be bombed into dust and stand by and do nothing!! What is like to hear a knowledgeable person state, in response to a question about possible use of chemical or biological weapons by Russia against Ukraine, that as difficult as it would be, as much as "it pulled our heartstrings' - we have to do nothing!!!!!Now we need another answer to "what is like". What is it like for our decision makers to write off a country and its people?

Yes, I know we have just authorized billions in aid to Ukraine. But c'mon! It has to get there, and that takes time. It is worthless if it does not arrive in time and if it is not what is needed - like airplanes, like belief by enemies that there is might behind statements of NATO and other countries, rather than just a load of bombast and hot air. Exactly what we have now. To our shame.

Trump told his benighted adherents to "fight like hell"- an otherwise wonderful statement if the fight was for Democracy, for the country, for sanity, for unity, for justice. However, it was instigation to do the polar opposite. We need to take heart from the statement of Garland that ALL who committed criminal acts on J6 will be prosecuted. Hallelujah and amen! About time. I, and many others are tired of seeing Trump and his coterie of liars skate through and around the justice system. About time that he actually face the music and do the time. If only Garland will follow through. If only the GOP will restrain their worst members, their actual traitors to this country, along with dangerous idiots like Tucker Carlson who parrots Russia on a daily basis, who is our own modern day equivalent of "Tokyo Rose".

Back to "what is like" in relation to Ukraine. How do we sit there and play blind to the signs of destruction, of the 'rubblelizing' of an entire country? Do we actually believe that doing nothing will protect us? Will keep Putin out of our lives? Will not inflict violence upon us? Well, back to the sale of the bridges of Brooklyn!! Why would he stop at the border of Ukraine? Why would he not sate his possibly unsatiable appetite for conquest, for reestablishing the Russian Empire, with him as the new Tsar? Why? The answer is that we are being consciously and unconsciously blind to the truth, to the historical imperatives which teach us the standard paths and behaviors of tyrants. We continue to ignore the lessons that should have been taught and caught and continue on our merry ways, deaf to the cries of the wounded. Deaf to the weeping of the bereaved. Deaf to the plaintive pleas of people, just like us, wanting to know "what is like free". To live a life without the threat of existential extermination hanging on a fraying thread over their country?

Indeed, 'what is like free' for us to remember that tyrants, tyranny, its spread, is unstoppable, unless we stand up to it, call its bluff, and take on the consequences, for there would be. No NATO nation is free and clear of attack and able to be sure of continued national integrity. None. None of the non NATO nations, particularly in that area of the globe, or former SSRs, not a one of them, is free of concern, free of threat, free to always know, to retain faith in an answer to the question of "What is like free"? 

We here in America are blessed to know the answer to that question. We live that life. We know what it means to be free. Granted, we have those within us who would change that equation. Hopefully, we have enough who will resist the siren call of false guarantees, of appeals to the basest parts of our thinking, the dirtiest emotions given vent. What is like? We know what is like and we had better remember to ensure its continued presence for us. 

A while ago I tripped on an almost invisible difference in height between one tile and another. Over I went. Brother! I heard that crack. I felt that crack. I knew I was not getting up alone from this one. No way. Sure enough, aid had to be called.   followed by a long period of healing and therapy. However, the damage was done. There is and always will be limited use of the arm. The ache is always there, will be there always, but further damage will be contained if I do right and make sure I remain upright and not fall upon my left arm and shoulder!

We, as a nation, need to do the same. We have broken some bones in our body politic these past years. Now we must make sure to stop that path, to watch our step, to do the right thing, to be brave and stand up to bullies, to know, deep down and for always, that we must maintain, keep in place, firm up weakened foundations. That will allow us to answer that question of 'what is like free' with a positive answer.

What is like if some within our government, some rampaging through our cities armed and crazed, if they had their way? You simply do not want to go there! Yet you, we, must, if we are to keep the negative answer out of the equation and persist in the true defense of democracy, and its existence, its possibilities available to and for all. What is like to live in a world like that? Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Would that we actually achieve it. Would that we remember appeasement to the wrong, the dark side, to the Darth Vader impulse within us does not work!! It does not. And the harm that will descend upon us if we do not do the right thing is beyond comprehension.

Our cities as piles of rubble. Our parents wailing over the bodies of their children. Our elderly parents, deserted, left alone to survive in a strange new world. Our children left as orphans, to live as prisoners of evil. It happened in Chechnya. It happened in Syria, in Aleppo. It is happening in Ukraine. And it can, most manifestly so, happen in NYC or Boston or Miami or LA or Topeka or any number of small towns and farming areas. No one and nothing are immune to tyranny and its gluttonous appetite. No one. Not even us.

What is like free? Formulate your thoughts and answer - truthfully, honestly, and see if you like it.

What is like free? Well, you tell me and the rest of the world.