Today, Russia continued its offensive against Ukraine, striking hard at civilians in Kyiv and Mariupol. The Russian army is gaining ground, but it appears to be sustaining massive losses of personnel and equipment which, in turn, is making leaders focus on grinding Ukraine into submission through sheer brutality.
So, let me get this straight, Madison Cawthorn smuggles multiple weapons into the US capitol then distributes them to his right wing congressional pals? Isn't that an illegal transfer of firearms? If he was taped saying this on Charlie Kirk's show on January 6th, 2021, why isn't he, and anyone else who did the same thing, in jail? Do these people really get a pass just because they hold a seat in the House, (or Senate, if applicable)?
I guess the evangelical Putin lovers are good with the death of the pregnant woman and baby at Putin's hands. This is the party of "life." They have aligned with the devil. I am so disgusted and angry.
I am urging everyone in this group, as we struggle with more than we can grasp or fix, to use your assets and gifts. Use what you have, and work at what you are good at, in other words. If we try to do it all, we will be overcome by overload and a helpless sense of guilt.
Some have wealth; there is much need. Climate, candidates, humanitarian Ukraine issues.
Some are very good with politics. Others, like me, aren’t; we are needed elsewhere.
Some of us are experts in information and teaching, as is our professor.
Some are gifted scientists, already at work on global climate and ecology.
Some are counselors and healers. Keep us healthy and wise, and ethical.
Some are spiritually gifted. There is great power to be used. Love, and Light!
Some are experts at Law, or communication, or government, or motivation.
We need Mothers and Workers and Helpers, to make it all happen.
I could go on, but don’t waste energy on worry or frustration!
Lift where you stand. Use what you have. Employ your gifts. Keep your heads!
Thank you for this as always Professor. My jaw dropped at the Tweet about Cawthorne and although it tracks, and falls squarely into the “no shit, Sherlock” category of politics, it is still just GOBSMACKING to see it laid out there. As always you do this work for us and how can we even quantify how many person-hours of doomscrolling you save us all?!?
Thank you for another profound "Letter from an American." I am grateful every day for the work you do for us assembling, analyzing, and reporting on the important topics each and every day! And accompanying it all with documentation allowing us to get a deeper understanding. Thank you is not forceful enough to convey what you give us your readers.
I wish republicans understood that our country is in the mess we are in, domestically and globally, because they allowed the amplification of Russian disinformation through their online-created echo chamber and validated their anger by voting for Donald Trump in 2016.
I'm sorry, but IMO the biggest threat to our democracy (which I really feel is slipping away from us) is that trump and his minions have gotten away with what essentially amounts to treason and the January 6th plot to overthrow the legitimately elected Biden administration. The DOJ has waited too long and quite frankly many people feel we now live in a country where the rule of law no longer exists. When trump took office, I said he is a Russian agent. There certainly is enough evidence to get him on anything from tax fraud to sedition and everything in between. The U.S. and the world is paying a very heavy price for our years of sitting back and wringing our collective hands and educated minds while the whirling dervish of evil takes over.
Among my S. Sudanese "Lost Boys" (who came to the U.S. 20 years ago after surviving the horrors of their homeland) there has been a constant political dialogue explaining/apologizing about trump and being Black in America. I have found it impossible to explain what is going on now with putin's invasion but they see it pretty clearly - a desperate dictator who will destroy everything for no reason. They are still dealing (remotely) with family members living under unbearable conditions in S. Sudan - watching the war in Ukraine in real time brings back overwhelmingly difficult memories for them. We all feel sickened.
I think the Biden Administration is doing an amazing job walking the gauntlet of a near impossible situation - and that is to keep putin from pulling the chemical/nuclear trigger and starting WWIII. And, of course China is a major part of what has become a complicated 3-D chess game with no room for a miscalculation. This sequence (trump, pandemic, invasion of Ukraine) is taking a big toll on all of us.
Ginni Thomas says she did not help organize the White House rally? She has been hand in glove with Leonard Leo funneling money - which Leo has moved through his shell game apparatus - to right wing extremist groups, including some involved in the rally.
Who are these people arming themselves against? Do they think we all own the same high capacity pistols and assault rifles as them? Do they really believe we have the same desire to form irregular militias to enforce our views at the ballot box, in legislatures and courts? The only weapons I own are the strength of my convictions and the power of the pen, to mark my ballot. If they are hoping for a shooting war over political power, they're going to have to shoot at themselves. I'll let sanctioned forces like the police, the military and the national guard bear arms on my behalf, in the assurance that they all swore to defend the constitution. God help us all if our law enforcement and military turn against the principles on which our nation was founded and has operated for over 200 years. If they want to act like the patriots of old, how about those tri-corner hats, muskets and flintlock pistols...
After the fall of the Soviet Union, David Duke spent 5 years in Russia. There been cross pollination between American and European racists since before WW2. Putin has been their Great White Hope for years.
"American focus on the horrors unleashed on Ukraine has clarified our own struggle between democracy and authoritarianism here at home."
For some of us perhaps. But I am wondering what democracy loving American citizens are prepared to suffer in opposition to the very possible voter fraud and manipulation that may usher in a Republican majority in both the House and the Senate in the mid-terms. Are enough Americans awake to the real threat? I don't know.
Are a sufficient number of Americans prepared to do what is necessary to ensure democracy's continuation here? I don't know.
Professor Richardson, Your details about our democracy and how close to losing it on Jan 6: “At the same time, the findings of the January 6 committee reveal that the pro-Putin wing of the Republican Party appears to have been willing to overturn our own liberal democracy so long as it could get what it wanted” are a perfect lead into the PBS FRONTLINE interview I just now finished. An absolute must watch and the follow up episode will be March 15. “Putin’s Road to War”
“In an interview for the FRONTLINE documentary “Putin’s Road to War,” journalist Julia Loffe discusses Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — and why she believes the Russian leader is now “more dangerous than he’s ever been at any point in the last 22 years.” I hope sometime in the next week to take a deep breath. And you, too, Heather. Thank you!
Thank you for your clear, dispassionate distillation of the day’s events. Even after reading your letters I get so overwhelmed that I just want to crawl in a hole and whimper. But then I remember that we once had a “civil” war fought over slavery, that the American Nazi party marched in New York as Hitler tightened his grip on power in Germany, and threat of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago. We managed to overcome each crisis in the past. My hope that we can eventually get through the current crisis (and your letters) gives me the courage to stop whimpering, crawl out of that hole and face the day again.
Taking a cue from what HCR touches on as to the religious implications of the war on Ukraine, this past Sunday, I came upon this very probing essay by centrist Evangelical Christian David French on the not insignificant religious part of the equation that is driving Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. I think it is a very important consideration that has heretofore largely not been as prominent on the radar screen but which is VERY pertinent. Putin, allied with the Russian Orthodox Church, is, in essence, seeking a return to Russian greatness not just from a secular chauvinistic, global political standpoint, but out of a religious mission rooted in the Russian Orthodox Church. This isn't at all strictly about politics. French goes into detailed explanations and evidence to back up the idea that this is very much a "holy" war and it makes total sense. He also asserts that this shows the worst of Christianity when a church allies itself with and becomes a mouthpiece for a state-sponsored war on another Christian nation. As he says, it's easy to see why our founders were so careful to avoid any mention of a state-sponsored church. But, he also is inspired by how the world, especially the religious world, is coming together for good and going out of its way to help Ukraine. Here's the bulk of his essay, a long-ish read, which I highly recommend...it is interesting and makes a LOT of sense. I read French's blog on Substack every Sunday and always find his viewpoint refreshing compared to so many of his Evangelical brethren. I do disagree with him at times, but he is someone who does actually THINK and is often very critical of his fellow Evangelicals (he is VERY anti-T***p, BTW).
"As you watch the horror unfolding in Ukraine, you are watching two immensely important, competing religious events unfold in real time. First, Russia’s invasion is laced with religious elements. In many ways, it’s a religious war, representing religion at its worst. Second, as we watch the Ukrainian and international church race to Ukraine’s aide, we’re seeing Christianity at its best. In one stark moment, we are seeing the extremes of what Christians can do, for evil and for good. Let’s start by describing the evil.
"There are times when you read an essay so illuminating and informative that you think about it for years. That happened to me in December 2014, several months after the Russian invasion of Crimea. The essay was by former National Security Agency analyst John Schindler, and it was called 'Putin’s Orthodox Jihad.' An Orthodox Christian himself, Schindler provided an analysis of Putin’s Russia I’d seen nowhere else.
"The essay is long and complex, but at the risk of oversimplifying the argument, Schindler described an ideological 'fusion' between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the FSB, Russia’s intelligence service. This fusion culminated 'in the 2002 dedication of an Orthodox church at the Lubyanka, the FSB—and former KGB’s—notorious Moscow headquarters.'
"This ideological fusion, Schindler argued, was at the heart of Putin’s emerging ideology. In essence, Putin didn’t just seek Russian greatness out of a sense of secular national chauvinism, but out of religious mission, and that mission was rooted in the ROC.
"Moreover, the church provided the core of the Russian moral argument against the west. Again, here was Schindler:
"'ROC agitprop, which has Kremlin endorsement, depicts a West that is declining down to its death at the hands of decadence and sin, mired in confused unbelief, bored and failing to even reproduce itself. Patriarch Kirill, head of the church, recently explained that the “main threat” to Russia is “the loss of faith” in the Western style, while ROC spokesmen constantly denounce feminism and the LGBT movement as Satanic creations of the West that aim to destroy faith, family, and nation.'
"Indeed, Russia even adopted a term called 'spiritual security,' which 'gives the ROC a mission in defending Russia from negative Western spiritual influences, in partnership with Moscow’s intelligence agencies.'
"Since Schindler’s piece—little-noticed at the time—the evidence of Putin’s religious motivations has grown overwhelming. As Giles Fraser argued in the British website Unherd, 'Putin regards his spiritual destiny as the rebuilding of Christendom, based in Moscow.'
"But what does this have to do with Ukraine? It turns out that Kiev is of central importance in Russian Orthodoxy. It’s the birthplace of the ROC, the church’s 'Jerusalem' according to the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill:
"'Ukraine is not on the periphery of our church. We call Kiev "the mother of all Russian cities." For us Kiev is what Jerusalem is for many. Russian Orthodoxy began there, so under no circumstances can we abandon this historical and spiritual relationship. The whole unity of our Local Church is based on these spiritual ties.'
"Now, let’s add one final ingredient. In 2019 large numbers of Ukrainian parishes separated from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was formerly under the ROC, to join a new Orthodox Church of Ukraine. In a February report describing the religious dimensions of the war, Schindler noted that 'the schism rendered Moscow white-hot with rage. The ROC viewed this as a direct attack on its "canonical territory" and on world Orthodoxy itself.'
"To make this as simple as possible, Putin has fused Russian identity with the ROC, sees his nation and his church as a bulwark against western decadence, and is now not just attempting to seize his church’s 'Jerusalem' but potentially forcibly reuniting his church after a schism it rejects. There are nationalist, historical, and strategic reasons for Putin’s move against Ukraine, but the religious elements are real, and important.
"The religious dimension of this conflict is yet another reason why the Cold War analogies are incorrect. As I’ve said before, Putin isn’t trying to recreate the Soviet Union. The better analogy is to the deeply religious Russian Empire that existed before the Russian Civil War.
"This is the church at its worst, when it weds itself to state power and wields the sword to advance God’s kingdom on earth. We are watching the deep darkness of malevolent Christendom, a religious movement that will slaughter innocents to fight 'decadence' and bomb hospitals to combat 'sin.' When you see Putin’s armies advance, you can think, this is why our nation rejects established religion.
"But when great evil arises, great good answers. And in this case, the great good is also in the church. Yes, it’s represented by individual Christian Ukrainian soldiers laying down their lives in defense of their nation and their homes, but it’s also represented by a very different kind of institutional Christian response.
"I’m thinking, for example, of the report that the average Baptist World Alliance Church in Ukraine is 'feeding and sheltering 100 people.' I’m thinking of Samaritan’s Purse setting up an emergency field hospital outside of Lviv, Ukraine. I’m thinking of churches like First Baptist Church of Robertsdale, Alabama, sending a team to Moldova to help Ukrainian refugees.
"I’m also thinking of my colleague Harvest Prude’s moving story about the bonds between Christians in the United States and Christians in Ukraine:
"'It’s personal for us in the Southern Baptist world,' Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, told The Dispatch. 'Most folks don’t realize it, but Ukraine has the second largest population of Baptists in Europe.' In churches across America, Leatherwood said, pastors are utilizing prayer guides and partnering with Send Relief and other organizations helping on the ground.
"I have friends who’ve spent time in Ukraine. Our churches are praying for Ukraine. They’re sending people and goods to Ukraine, flooding Eastern Europe with tangible support for a people who are suffering from terrible harm.
"In this circumstance, national borders and national identities matter far less than the Christian brotherhood with Ukrainian churches and the shared humanity of Ukrainian refugees.
"This is Christianity at its best. It’s not pacifistic. Its members are resisting tyranny with the force of arms. But its focus isn’t on conquest, but rather compassion. A religious war is being met with a religious response, and that religious response represents the true face of the faith that Putin purports to defend.
[...]
"I’ve been frankly surprised at the number of people who’ve asked me why we don’t intervene directly to save Ukraine. In an extended piece for The Atlantic, I tried to explain in detail why direct intervention would be extraordinarily perilous. Vladimir Putin just might try to fight—and win—a limited nuclear war:
"'Since the dawn of modern warfare, the world’s most powerful countries have inflicted terrible destruction on the nations they conquer. But nuclear weapons raise the stakes higher still. It’s vitally important that Americans understand the true nature of Putin’s forces, and the doctrines that might dictate their use.'
"'It’s one thing to confront a potential nuclear conflict when both sides know they’ll lose. Mutual assured destruction kept the peace even during the darkest days of the Cold War. It’s another thing entirely to confront a potential nuclear conflict when one side believes it can win. That’s the most dangerous confrontation of all, and we may be close to that now.'"
Oh my gosh. I thought tRUMP, his enablers and cronies said there were no weapons brought into the Capitol. I've always been leery of guys in wheelchairs with blankets over their laps. Once in an airport, the TSAs had me stripped practically naked as I set off all the alarms (titanium hips) while they pushed a guy in a wheelchair with a heavy blanket over his lap and never said a word to him. I made sure he wasn't on my flight before I got on. A chunk of C3 the size of a wheelchair makes a pretty good bang. Do they check Cawthorn before he enters the Senate?
As horrible as the war is, it has jarred people who have ignored and sidestepped those among us who have aligned themselves with white supremacists, oligarchs, and dictators. Thanks for confirming what many of us were starting to see ourselves. Hard to know how to say or word it when it took something and someone as vile as Putin to shake cowards who were letting their party slide into what it has. Fingers crossed all the way around.
So, let me get this straight, Madison Cawthorn smuggles multiple weapons into the US capitol then distributes them to his right wing congressional pals? Isn't that an illegal transfer of firearms? If he was taped saying this on Charlie Kirk's show on January 6th, 2021, why isn't he, and anyone else who did the same thing, in jail? Do these people really get a pass just because they hold a seat in the House, (or Senate, if applicable)?
I guess the evangelical Putin lovers are good with the death of the pregnant woman and baby at Putin's hands. This is the party of "life." They have aligned with the devil. I am so disgusted and angry.
I am urging everyone in this group, as we struggle with more than we can grasp or fix, to use your assets and gifts. Use what you have, and work at what you are good at, in other words. If we try to do it all, we will be overcome by overload and a helpless sense of guilt.
Some have wealth; there is much need. Climate, candidates, humanitarian Ukraine issues.
Some are very good with politics. Others, like me, aren’t; we are needed elsewhere.
Some of us are experts in information and teaching, as is our professor.
Some are gifted scientists, already at work on global climate and ecology.
Some are counselors and healers. Keep us healthy and wise, and ethical.
Some are spiritually gifted. There is great power to be used. Love, and Light!
Some are experts at Law, or communication, or government, or motivation.
We need Mothers and Workers and Helpers, to make it all happen.
I could go on, but don’t waste energy on worry or frustration!
Lift where you stand. Use what you have. Employ your gifts. Keep your heads!
Bless you all.
Thank you for this as always Professor. My jaw dropped at the Tweet about Cawthorne and although it tracks, and falls squarely into the “no shit, Sherlock” category of politics, it is still just GOBSMACKING to see it laid out there. As always you do this work for us and how can we even quantify how many person-hours of doomscrolling you save us all?!?
Thank you for another profound "Letter from an American." I am grateful every day for the work you do for us assembling, analyzing, and reporting on the important topics each and every day! And accompanying it all with documentation allowing us to get a deeper understanding. Thank you is not forceful enough to convey what you give us your readers.
I wish republicans understood that our country is in the mess we are in, domestically and globally, because they allowed the amplification of Russian disinformation through their online-created echo chamber and validated their anger by voting for Donald Trump in 2016.
I'm sorry, but IMO the biggest threat to our democracy (which I really feel is slipping away from us) is that trump and his minions have gotten away with what essentially amounts to treason and the January 6th plot to overthrow the legitimately elected Biden administration. The DOJ has waited too long and quite frankly many people feel we now live in a country where the rule of law no longer exists. When trump took office, I said he is a Russian agent. There certainly is enough evidence to get him on anything from tax fraud to sedition and everything in between. The U.S. and the world is paying a very heavy price for our years of sitting back and wringing our collective hands and educated minds while the whirling dervish of evil takes over.
Among my S. Sudanese "Lost Boys" (who came to the U.S. 20 years ago after surviving the horrors of their homeland) there has been a constant political dialogue explaining/apologizing about trump and being Black in America. I have found it impossible to explain what is going on now with putin's invasion but they see it pretty clearly - a desperate dictator who will destroy everything for no reason. They are still dealing (remotely) with family members living under unbearable conditions in S. Sudan - watching the war in Ukraine in real time brings back overwhelmingly difficult memories for them. We all feel sickened.
I think the Biden Administration is doing an amazing job walking the gauntlet of a near impossible situation - and that is to keep putin from pulling the chemical/nuclear trigger and starting WWIII. And, of course China is a major part of what has become a complicated 3-D chess game with no room for a miscalculation. This sequence (trump, pandemic, invasion of Ukraine) is taking a big toll on all of us.
Ginni Thomas says she did not help organize the White House rally? She has been hand in glove with Leonard Leo funneling money - which Leo has moved through his shell game apparatus - to right wing extremist groups, including some involved in the rally.
Who are these people arming themselves against? Do they think we all own the same high capacity pistols and assault rifles as them? Do they really believe we have the same desire to form irregular militias to enforce our views at the ballot box, in legislatures and courts? The only weapons I own are the strength of my convictions and the power of the pen, to mark my ballot. If they are hoping for a shooting war over political power, they're going to have to shoot at themselves. I'll let sanctioned forces like the police, the military and the national guard bear arms on my behalf, in the assurance that they all swore to defend the constitution. God help us all if our law enforcement and military turn against the principles on which our nation was founded and has operated for over 200 years. If they want to act like the patriots of old, how about those tri-corner hats, muskets and flintlock pistols...
After the fall of the Soviet Union, David Duke spent 5 years in Russia. There been cross pollination between American and European racists since before WW2. Putin has been their Great White Hope for years.
"American focus on the horrors unleashed on Ukraine has clarified our own struggle between democracy and authoritarianism here at home."
For some of us perhaps. But I am wondering what democracy loving American citizens are prepared to suffer in opposition to the very possible voter fraud and manipulation that may usher in a Republican majority in both the House and the Senate in the mid-terms. Are enough Americans awake to the real threat? I don't know.
Are a sufficient number of Americans prepared to do what is necessary to ensure democracy's continuation here? I don't know.
I do know the Ukrainians are.
Professor Richardson, Your details about our democracy and how close to losing it on Jan 6: “At the same time, the findings of the January 6 committee reveal that the pro-Putin wing of the Republican Party appears to have been willing to overturn our own liberal democracy so long as it could get what it wanted” are a perfect lead into the PBS FRONTLINE interview I just now finished. An absolute must watch and the follow up episode will be March 15. “Putin’s Road to War”
https://youtu.be/kSNo2FPQDQw
“In an interview for the FRONTLINE documentary “Putin’s Road to War,” journalist Julia Loffe discusses Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — and why she believes the Russian leader is now “more dangerous than he’s ever been at any point in the last 22 years.” I hope sometime in the next week to take a deep breath. And you, too, Heather. Thank you!
Thank you for your clear, dispassionate distillation of the day’s events. Even after reading your letters I get so overwhelmed that I just want to crawl in a hole and whimper. But then I remember that we once had a “civil” war fought over slavery, that the American Nazi party marched in New York as Hitler tightened his grip on power in Germany, and threat of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago. We managed to overcome each crisis in the past. My hope that we can eventually get through the current crisis (and your letters) gives me the courage to stop whimpering, crawl out of that hole and face the day again.
Taking a cue from what HCR touches on as to the religious implications of the war on Ukraine, this past Sunday, I came upon this very probing essay by centrist Evangelical Christian David French on the not insignificant religious part of the equation that is driving Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. I think it is a very important consideration that has heretofore largely not been as prominent on the radar screen but which is VERY pertinent. Putin, allied with the Russian Orthodox Church, is, in essence, seeking a return to Russian greatness not just from a secular chauvinistic, global political standpoint, but out of a religious mission rooted in the Russian Orthodox Church. This isn't at all strictly about politics. French goes into detailed explanations and evidence to back up the idea that this is very much a "holy" war and it makes total sense. He also asserts that this shows the worst of Christianity when a church allies itself with and becomes a mouthpiece for a state-sponsored war on another Christian nation. As he says, it's easy to see why our founders were so careful to avoid any mention of a state-sponsored church. But, he also is inspired by how the world, especially the religious world, is coming together for good and going out of its way to help Ukraine. Here's the bulk of his essay, a long-ish read, which I highly recommend...it is interesting and makes a LOT of sense. I read French's blog on Substack every Sunday and always find his viewpoint refreshing compared to so many of his Evangelical brethren. I do disagree with him at times, but he is someone who does actually THINK and is often very critical of his fellow Evangelicals (he is VERY anti-T***p, BTW).
"As you watch the horror unfolding in Ukraine, you are watching two immensely important, competing religious events unfold in real time. First, Russia’s invasion is laced with religious elements. In many ways, it’s a religious war, representing religion at its worst. Second, as we watch the Ukrainian and international church race to Ukraine’s aide, we’re seeing Christianity at its best. In one stark moment, we are seeing the extremes of what Christians can do, for evil and for good. Let’s start by describing the evil.
"There are times when you read an essay so illuminating and informative that you think about it for years. That happened to me in December 2014, several months after the Russian invasion of Crimea. The essay was by former National Security Agency analyst John Schindler, and it was called 'Putin’s Orthodox Jihad.' An Orthodox Christian himself, Schindler provided an analysis of Putin’s Russia I’d seen nowhere else.
"The essay is long and complex, but at the risk of oversimplifying the argument, Schindler described an ideological 'fusion' between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the FSB, Russia’s intelligence service. This fusion culminated 'in the 2002 dedication of an Orthodox church at the Lubyanka, the FSB—and former KGB’s—notorious Moscow headquarters.'
"This ideological fusion, Schindler argued, was at the heart of Putin’s emerging ideology. In essence, Putin didn’t just seek Russian greatness out of a sense of secular national chauvinism, but out of religious mission, and that mission was rooted in the ROC.
"Moreover, the church provided the core of the Russian moral argument against the west. Again, here was Schindler:
"'ROC agitprop, which has Kremlin endorsement, depicts a West that is declining down to its death at the hands of decadence and sin, mired in confused unbelief, bored and failing to even reproduce itself. Patriarch Kirill, head of the church, recently explained that the “main threat” to Russia is “the loss of faith” in the Western style, while ROC spokesmen constantly denounce feminism and the LGBT movement as Satanic creations of the West that aim to destroy faith, family, and nation.'
"Indeed, Russia even adopted a term called 'spiritual security,' which 'gives the ROC a mission in defending Russia from negative Western spiritual influences, in partnership with Moscow’s intelligence agencies.'
"Since Schindler’s piece—little-noticed at the time—the evidence of Putin’s religious motivations has grown overwhelming. As Giles Fraser argued in the British website Unherd, 'Putin regards his spiritual destiny as the rebuilding of Christendom, based in Moscow.'
"But what does this have to do with Ukraine? It turns out that Kiev is of central importance in Russian Orthodoxy. It’s the birthplace of the ROC, the church’s 'Jerusalem' according to the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill:
"'Ukraine is not on the periphery of our church. We call Kiev "the mother of all Russian cities." For us Kiev is what Jerusalem is for many. Russian Orthodoxy began there, so under no circumstances can we abandon this historical and spiritual relationship. The whole unity of our Local Church is based on these spiritual ties.'
"Now, let’s add one final ingredient. In 2019 large numbers of Ukrainian parishes separated from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was formerly under the ROC, to join a new Orthodox Church of Ukraine. In a February report describing the religious dimensions of the war, Schindler noted that 'the schism rendered Moscow white-hot with rage. The ROC viewed this as a direct attack on its "canonical territory" and on world Orthodoxy itself.'
"To make this as simple as possible, Putin has fused Russian identity with the ROC, sees his nation and his church as a bulwark against western decadence, and is now not just attempting to seize his church’s 'Jerusalem' but potentially forcibly reuniting his church after a schism it rejects. There are nationalist, historical, and strategic reasons for Putin’s move against Ukraine, but the religious elements are real, and important.
"The religious dimension of this conflict is yet another reason why the Cold War analogies are incorrect. As I’ve said before, Putin isn’t trying to recreate the Soviet Union. The better analogy is to the deeply religious Russian Empire that existed before the Russian Civil War.
"This is the church at its worst, when it weds itself to state power and wields the sword to advance God’s kingdom on earth. We are watching the deep darkness of malevolent Christendom, a religious movement that will slaughter innocents to fight 'decadence' and bomb hospitals to combat 'sin.' When you see Putin’s armies advance, you can think, this is why our nation rejects established religion.
"But when great evil arises, great good answers. And in this case, the great good is also in the church. Yes, it’s represented by individual Christian Ukrainian soldiers laying down their lives in defense of their nation and their homes, but it’s also represented by a very different kind of institutional Christian response.
"I’m thinking, for example, of the report that the average Baptist World Alliance Church in Ukraine is 'feeding and sheltering 100 people.' I’m thinking of Samaritan’s Purse setting up an emergency field hospital outside of Lviv, Ukraine. I’m thinking of churches like First Baptist Church of Robertsdale, Alabama, sending a team to Moldova to help Ukrainian refugees.
"I’m also thinking of my colleague Harvest Prude’s moving story about the bonds between Christians in the United States and Christians in Ukraine:
"'It’s personal for us in the Southern Baptist world,' Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, told The Dispatch. 'Most folks don’t realize it, but Ukraine has the second largest population of Baptists in Europe.' In churches across America, Leatherwood said, pastors are utilizing prayer guides and partnering with Send Relief and other organizations helping on the ground.
"I have friends who’ve spent time in Ukraine. Our churches are praying for Ukraine. They’re sending people and goods to Ukraine, flooding Eastern Europe with tangible support for a people who are suffering from terrible harm.
"In this circumstance, national borders and national identities matter far less than the Christian brotherhood with Ukrainian churches and the shared humanity of Ukrainian refugees.
"This is Christianity at its best. It’s not pacifistic. Its members are resisting tyranny with the force of arms. But its focus isn’t on conquest, but rather compassion. A religious war is being met with a religious response, and that religious response represents the true face of the faith that Putin purports to defend.
[...]
"I’ve been frankly surprised at the number of people who’ve asked me why we don’t intervene directly to save Ukraine. In an extended piece for The Atlantic, I tried to explain in detail why direct intervention would be extraordinarily perilous. Vladimir Putin just might try to fight—and win—a limited nuclear war:
"'Since the dawn of modern warfare, the world’s most powerful countries have inflicted terrible destruction on the nations they conquer. But nuclear weapons raise the stakes higher still. It’s vitally important that Americans understand the true nature of Putin’s forces, and the doctrines that might dictate their use.'
"'It’s one thing to confront a potential nuclear conflict when both sides know they’ll lose. Mutual assured destruction kept the peace even during the darkest days of the Cold War. It’s another thing entirely to confront a potential nuclear conflict when one side believes it can win. That’s the most dangerous confrontation of all, and we may be close to that now.'"
Oh my gosh. I thought tRUMP, his enablers and cronies said there were no weapons brought into the Capitol. I've always been leery of guys in wheelchairs with blankets over their laps. Once in an airport, the TSAs had me stripped practically naked as I set off all the alarms (titanium hips) while they pushed a guy in a wheelchair with a heavy blanket over his lap and never said a word to him. I made sure he wasn't on my flight before I got on. A chunk of C3 the size of a wheelchair makes a pretty good bang. Do they check Cawthorn before he enters the Senate?
As horrible as the war is, it has jarred people who have ignored and sidestepped those among us who have aligned themselves with white supremacists, oligarchs, and dictators. Thanks for confirming what many of us were starting to see ourselves. Hard to know how to say or word it when it took something and someone as vile as Putin to shake cowards who were letting their party slide into what it has. Fingers crossed all the way around.