Despite feeling anti-war, like the Quakers, I currently want Ukraine to win the war against Russia, Putin’s Russia. I’ve changed my heart on this, because of several discussions and also what I saw this Sunday past on 60 Minutes. I saw the President of Finland being anti-Russia, and was so impressed with her ability to lead her country–which shares a long border with Russia–by wanting to join Europe, not Russia, in the future. Marin asserted that she was a human being; others in her nation were critical of video showing her acting in a sexy way, but I think we’d better stop right now and define human being and leader: being able to act in a sexy way is a gift! Marin showed that she is a full person, even a young one who feels human feelings and enjoys expressing them–there is nothing wrong with that! To the contrary–I have struggled with my own sexuality enough to tell you that Marin is a healthy woman. She should be a leader. And her expression of worry about Russia has made me change my mind–I see that her country and the Ukrainians are beautiful folks who don’t deserve aggression directed at them–by conservatives or Putin’s Russia. Plus, Zelensky is maintaining his leadership, and seems–believably–after all this time–a good man, too. Meanwhile, Nature has spoken in Turkey and Syria, with tens of thousands murdered by earthquakes: surely this is enough destruction for Western Asia and Eastern Europe!
The war has focused my mind more on Russia (unfortunately, bad news tends to have this effect). I, frankly, know extremely little about the different cultures who make Russia home. I had a doctor who was Russian, and we would speak a tiny bit of the language together (nyet; da; etc.); she was very nice. I remember her scolding me for being so concerned that my finger was crooked or had a small lump–“You are a human,” she wisely said. I’ve seen pictures of Russian horses called Akhal tekes that have a coat that shines like metal. And those funky towers in Moscow! How many films or pictures could they feature in! I recently found a picture of a woman with a sign in blue and yellow that says, in Russian, “Give them peace, and us, freedom of speech,” so I know that not all Russians are misled; plus, my first name is Catherine, spelled the same as Russia’s empress Catherine the Great. Please, media, get in there and show some of my cousins’ Latvian culture, and that of the other folks who live in those northerly lands. People are dying of ignorance here!
Now, when I say “People are dying of ignorance here,” I could also be referring to Americans who don’t know who the American enemy is, and get the wrong and stupid ideas from folks like Trump–but also from Republican rich guys. A lot of folks fail to figure out that their real enemy is not the Democrats, who actually look out for people like them, but the GOP, which wants to do away with food stamps and Medicare! Glomming onto the flag will not solve their problems. We have a sick world here–it be illin.’ We ALL need help, and taking away assistance for human needs is not the correct first step towards recovery. And I do not digress!
If you’ve seen this website–especially the Patriotic section–you know how big a fan of the American flag I am (see flag poems), and how my ancestor likewise was (“Poem to Old Glory,” 1941). I am such a big fan that it feels like sacrilege to modify the Stars and Stripes by using banners with different colored elements, even to convey “respect for the Rule of Law.” So get your dirty paws off Old Glory, I say! I like you, poor whites, and I am poor and white myself. I am the descendant of a baby born on the Mayflower ship. But hitting yourself in the head–trust me, take my word for it–is not a successful tactic for thriving on this planet!