“O thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto -”In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
– Francis Scott Key, “The Star-Spangled Banner” (last verse)
The United States of America was founded on the principle that every society has the right to choose how and by whom they will be governed, and that they should defend their right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, even by force if need be.
In 2014, and again in 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, illegally moving its military forces over the border and using them to kill Ukrainians with the goal of depriving them of their liberty and their right to self-governance and self-determination. Ukrainian soldiers are giving their lives to defend their homes, their families, and their freedom.
The current administration of the United States has chosen to appease, then capitulate to, and finally outright support the Russian government’s aggression. They claim that Russia is not the agressor and wants peace, while Ukraine is in the wrong and wishes to continue the war.
Lies do not become truth, no matter how emphatically, nor from how grand a throne they are proclaimed. These things are no more true than the claims of those who deny the holocaust or seek to justify the massacre at Tiananmen Square. In blaming the victim for the actions of the perpetrator on a grand scale, they are among the most harmful lies that can be told. To accept them would be to repudiate what the United States of America has stood for for 250 years.
I am not eager to make political statements, much less in public. But at some point it becomes necessary to speak up, not in order to convince others but simply to avoid becoming complicit through silence. And so I say: I do not, and never will, embrace these lies. To the people of Ukraine, and to all those who are obliged to defend their freedom with their lives, I support you and admire you.
To the leaders of my country who by their words or their silence support these lies, I say: when the oppressor comes to take your freedom, I will speak up even for you. But I will not support your policies, I will not vote for you, and I will do what I can to see that you do not hold sway over my country any longer.
As always, the opinions expressed here are my own, and should not be assumed to reflect those of any organization with which I am affiliated.
