Nuclear weapons and MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) will not prevent or stop wars and atrocities.
The most powerful military in the world cannot end this tendency
without using war.
A coalition of democracies is unable to stop wars without waging
one.
Our international system is fundamentally broken and must be
reinvented.
And, our dependence on oil must end.
Humanity has only two ways to maximize and sustain human
freedoms and security for generations to come.
Risk WW III by waging a non-nuclear war against a nation whose leader choose
war over human rights, freedoms, prosperity, security, and sustainability. Or. Seek
a truce and negotiate a peace that will only embolden other nations’ dreams of forceful
border expansion by brutally crushing any human resistance.
We are now faced with a choice between a united world. One where prioritizing human freedom and
security is the only legitimate purpose of government (thank you Thomas Paine!). Or, a divided world with increasing
loss of lives, freedom, security, and precious earthly resources while perpetual
completion for world dominance ends everything for everyone.
In short, ‘the rule of law’ or ‘the law of force’.
Those choosing the ‘rule of law’ have great difficulty in grasping
the fact that such 'law' will need force to be enforced. And that force can only
be applied justly to protect human freedom and security.
And those choosing the ‘law of force’ know that having maximum
force is needed. Along with the willingness
to risk everything for their own dominance.
Backstory: Anne Applebaum,
a very intelligent person emersed in the Potomac mindset expressed her perspective
on this existential problem this way in The Week magazine. “For Ukraine and the West there’s only one viable
outcome, said Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic. The
Ukrainians are fighting not just for sovereignty but for a “set of
universal ideas” - democracy, the rule of law, and an international order“ where
disputes are resolved by institutions and not warfare.” The stakes
couldn’t be higher. If Putin wins, every former Soviet republic and NATO
nations like Poland will be in danger. To deter further NATO involvement, Putin
is stoking fears he’ll use chemical weapons and nuclear weapons, but for the
West, “there is only one rule: We cannot be afraid.” We must focus only on
“a single goal”: making certain Ukraine prevails.
I couldn’t agree more with her summary, but it is incomplete. It will not be settled with any treaty.
Ms. Applebaum's view reflects a profoundly flawed system
inherent in a Potomac/US government (and ‘American’) mindset. A mindset never questioned by elites. “National sovereignty is the cat's meow and
must be protected using ‘Peace through strength!’
For decades Americans have taken pride in our universal
ideas of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness'. But ‘peace via strength’ was never one of
them. Peace (or rather more correctly understood
as ‘human freedom and security’ has always been. And these can only be sustained as a
function of justice for all. And this
requires the universal protection of fundamental inalienable human rights. These were the ideas offered in our
Declaration of Independence. Ignored in
our Constitution until partially upheld by a civil war killing hundreds of thousands
of our own.
And we have yet to make this universal ideal a functional priority
in our foreign policy. Instead, that
priority has always been the protection of national sovereignty through strength.
How’s that been working out for us? When
will we wake up and grasp the fact that this human principle of defending national
sovereignty is fundamentally flawed? And
only capable of leading to Armageddon.
From the creation of our Constitution, we have worshiped it. And repeatedly failed to keep our flag pledge
of ‘liberty and justice for all’. We praise democracy as a solution. But it
has never been one. Thomas Jefferson
defined democracy as “Two wolves and a lamb” deciding what to have for
lunch. And a well-armed lamb contesting
the vote.” Westerner’s love of
democracy continues to ignore the fact that democracies are in decline because strong
populists leaders appeal to a majority.
Masses who feel betrayed by weak leaders and indecisive governments. And policies that protect the rich but have
not protected them from losses of freedom, health, prosperity, and safety. Over
the last 7 decades, our elected leaders have protected an ‘international order’ cemented
into place by the United Nations Charter.
It has only accelerated disorder and has never been consistent in
resolving disputes between nations. It cannot
be relied on to stop wars, genocides, and corruption. Or make sufficient investments in preventing
lethal poverty or environmental destruction, or responding effectively to natural
disasters.
Western leaders always champion the “Rule of Law”. But there is no agreed-upon definition of
this three-word phrase. It allows laws
that rarely protect everyone’s human rights, basic freedoms, or humanity's life
support system – the environment. Free
and fair elections sound nice and important. They offer most people hope. But this
system valuing human participation in government formation and power has never
actually achieved a consensus on “a set of universal ideas”.
As Ms. Applebaum states.
‘We must focus only on “a single goal”.
Ukraine must prevail! But it must be with the single goal of establishing
an enforceable consensus on a set of universal ideals. Ideals that put human freedoms, security, and
a sustainable environment above the protection of national sovereignty and the
right of any nation to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants, to whomever it
wants within its own borders. And can go
beyond its borders if it has nuclear weapons or believes its military is stronger
than the will of another nation’s people to live free and prosper for
generations to come.
The choice is simple.
It’s also urgent.
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