Thread by @JRubinBlogger

If we have been looking for something that might unify polarized, divided democracies, defending Ukraine (and by extension, freedom) from Russian shock troops might fit the bill.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday sat yards away from his advisers in his marble fortress. He seemed both unhinged and diminished, a menacing, soulless figure dwarfed by a giant table. The we see Zelensky, out on the streets of Kyiv with his people

We have the perfect distillation of good and evil. Freedom and repression. Kindness and cruelty. The authoritarians don’t look “smart” or strong; they look scared and befuddled.

It’s as if we woke up from a slumber not to a dystopian nightmare where selfishness, indifference and moral obtuseness dominate but to an energized atmosphere where collective decency, seriousness and sacrifice can flower. Time for self-reflection and readjustment is here

Insightful leaders have a unique opportunity. Perhaps now is the time that contented, materialistic citizens are ready to make sacrifices. Gosh, if people are dying for their country, maybe Americans really should pay more for gas to squeeze Russia.

If Ukrainians are willing to assemble molotov cocktails and die for their country, maybe Americans can bestir themselves to vote — and insist that every legal voter gets access to the polls and every ballot gets counted.

Isolationism shouldn’t be our goal; it’s something we should force on our enemies. We solidify alliances not out of charitable instincts but because, properly organized, they become a massive force multiplier for us.

Our leaders have asked too little of us, racing to catch up to the mob’s prejudices and fearing to confront them with necessary trade-offs and reasonable sacrifices. We have asked too little of ourselves.