Trump is Right On Ukraine

Call me a Putin puppet, but I agree with Trump on this Ukraine peace deal. Last week’s kerfuffle between Ukraine President Zelensky and Trump in front of the world was the most entertaining exchange of world leaders I have ever witnessed. Trump’s smackdown of Zelensky was music to my ears because I’m sick of the “hate Russia propaganda” I’ve heard my entire life.

As a Baby Boomer who grew up in the 60s, every child in America was indoctrinated to fear the “evil communists” in Russia. Back then, it was called the “Soviet Union” or the U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). I remember in grade school, we were taught to villainize a Russian leader named Nikita Khrushchev, who was the Putin of that era. The fact that I remember that bald-headed, bombastic, rotund man speaks to the profound effect his persona had on my 10-year-old mind.

At that time, Russia was the underlying reason every child in America was subjected to school air raid drills. We filed into the hall and were made to kneel headfirst towards the walls, tucking our heads between our legs so we could kiss our own butts goodbye if the commies dropped a nuclear bomb on our school. I also remember people talking about building atomic-proof bunkers in their backyards, and every big building in the neighborhood had the Civil Defense yellow triangle signs displayed as a place for the public to go in case of a nuclear attack. All because of the evil Russians who were supposedly coming to steal our freedom and enslave us all.

Russia was also the reason for the Vietnam War. As a teenager, I was terrified I would be drafted into the Armed Forces, like so many of the older boys in my neighborhood. Some didn’t come home, and those who did were profoundly changed forever. And it was all because of the evil Russians who were supposedly trying to conquer the world— or so we were told. It was all a lie.

I find it particularly rich for the Democrats who are cheerleading for more war in Ukraine, under the pretext that it will appease Putin, and he will gobble up the rest of Europe unless he is stopped in Ukraine. That argument is the height of stupidity and hypocrisy. Who held George W. Bush and America accountable for invading Iraq and Afghanistan, at a cost of a trillion dollars, while murdering millions of innocent brown people based on a straight-up lie?

The fact of the matter is, America is the most dangerous and imperialistic nation in the world today. I find it straight-up ignorant when I hear Black people criticize Russia. Most do not know or were never taught that Russia is the only European nation not to engage in the African slave trade. Nor did Russia colonize any African countries, as was the case with every other European nation. Russia has never been antagonistic toward any Black or brown people anywhere in the world, to the best of my knowledge. Black people should be embracing Russia and cheerleading for peace.

Again, I stand with Trump on this Ukraine issue.