Masters of War

Kateryna Hyrshchenko, former sous chef and basketball point guard, joined Ukrainian Military. Photo by Alexander Chekmenev 

World War III will be fought with sticks and stones. 

                                                                    -- Johnny Morris, 8, 1956

Growing up during the the post World War II period, I heard many war stories that circulated through our working-class neighborhood. It had been a mere ten years since the war ended and many of the fathers in my neighborhood had served in the military, including my dad.

Since he didn't talk about his wartime experiences, most of what I heard came from the kids I played with on the street.

Horror stories were told about torture techniques practiced by the Japanese in their prison camps. They were called Japs and the gruesome tales, that included genital mutilation, left uncomfortable images in my head. 

One kid named Galen proudly claimed himself a Nazi. He promised revenge in a most disturbing tone of voice that caused my eyes to nearly pop out of my head. I didn't know anything about Nazis.

War surplus materials were extremely popular, purchased at the Army Surplus store downtown -- bomber jackets, army clothes and empty hand grenades.

During one period it seemed as if all the kids had a gas mask strapped over their face. They were much more imposing than the pandemic face masks we've been wearing. They included a can with a filter inside that I presumed was supposed to keep the radioactive gas from reaching your lungs. The masks were free, handed out in separate cardboard boxes at the UA Theater downtown where we innocently went to watch Saturday matinees for 20-cents.

Even at eight or nine, I knew that the gas masks were bogus, how could they possibly save your life. They were simply one of those things that became popular, like hula hoops and yo-yos.

In the early grades, we practiced duck-and-cover exercises by hiding under our classroom desks, to protect ourselves from nuclear attack. I didn't lose any sleep over it, because in my life a nuclear bomb seemed about as real as the cowboys and Indians on television. In fact, Disneyland opened its gates in the mid-Fifties less than 30 miles away with Frontier Land, Fantasy Land and Sleeping Beauty Castle. My kids' world was filled with pretending.

Although the Cuban Missile Crisis between the U.S. and Russia in 1962 threatened nuclear war.

Those days seemed so long ago, until recently, when the prospect of a nuclear weapon being fired became real. We're told that's the reason we cannot help Ukraine militarily, because that would put the United States in direct conflict with Russia, a war of super powers. Since WWII our wars have been proxy wars where we have fought Communism and terrorists groups like Al Qaeda on the soil of other countries -- Korea, Vietnam, Central America, Iraq and Afghanistan. 

That's the way we like it. Don't tread on us here at home. 

Russia's invasion of Ukraine opens up a new war theater for us. Ukraine is a Western democratic country that has chosen our way of life, European style. They look like us, share the same liberal values of individual freedom and a free marketplace. They have a free press, although we have seen how that can be twisted backward with alternative facts here in our own U.S. of A.

Look at Russia, where free expression can have you thrown in prison and tortured. Alternative facts rule in Russia. It's called propaganda, and it helps maintain order. The rules are simple: Shut up and heed the single message of the authoritarian, the dictator. Democracy is too messy and leads to all sorts of problems, like transgender and gay people, and offended segments of the population asking for historical truth, or God-forbid, reparations, and pretty soon it's all chaos. And how do we pay for it? Wouldn't want to put a dent in our affluent life style.

In a suburb near Kiev recently that was occupied by Russian military, a patriot's pamphlet was discovered at a site that had been occupied by Russian military. It contained a page with quotations by the Dalai Lama. The propagandists are expert at twisting words to support their cause. Would the Dalai Lama truly urge patriots to rape and murder a woman?

Our Western ideals and extravagances -- yes, we are wasteful and oftentimes obnoxious -- are under attack by an ancient mode of order that is exemplified by Russian President Vladimir Putin. That is, squash rebellion and liberty with fear. This includes executions, obliteration of lives and homes with  beheadings and bombs, return to the medieval means of control. It worked for centuries. Power equals control. The only principles belong to the authoritarian expressed through loyalty.

It could not happen here, right?

I wouldn't be so sure. Ask the natives who lived here before us, whom we replaced. In the big picture, that wasn't so long ago. Our democracy has been an imperfect experiment yet it has produced periods of peace, wealth and a good life for many. We proudly believe that our Western standards are best, that every nation would want to follow us, as the Ukrainians have.

Authoritarians are multiplying around the world: in Brazil, Venezuela, China and Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban wields control, a darling of the far-right in the U.S. 

Putin's popularity, if you believe our mainstream media, is growing at home. His patriotic rallies -- the epitome of nationalism and mob mentality -- attract throngs of adoring supplicants, ever ready to crush the non-believer. They seemingly will do anything for him. At least his soldiers are proving this to be true.

This mentality starts with fear, aimed at building resentment: You're getting screwed. I will bring order and make things like they used to be. They're soft on crime. They support child pornography and your children are next. You have been screwed by the liberal elites. The mainstream press is your enemy. I'm on your side.

We saw this with the Stop the Steal movement and resulting, farcical at times, insurrection at the Capitol in January, orchestrated from the safety of the autocrat's office. He is not really on their side. Authoritarians want power and control. They pose before the gullible, the innocent, the mistreated. They stir them up with flags and hoopla and hate. This isn't new. History is full of tyrants like Hitler and Putin, whose egotistical aims would have him remembered as the great ruler who saved Mother Russia. 

Because of the threat of nuclear war (fear), Putin may win his war over Ukraine, or at least the parts of the country that contain resources and shipping ports that support his power. The war could go on for years.

The questions for us in the U.S.: 

Are we going to fall victim to regressive authoritarianism? Are we willing to give up our individual rights for this type of dictatorial control? It's called fascism. 

There is no perfect system or person or political party. Our flaws make us real. Our ideals give us purpose. If our unique experiment in democracy is to survive, we must give a little. Make concessions. Forgive trespasses. Hold to the truth as best we can. You see it your way. I see it mine. That's okay.

Let's figure out a solution together, lest our remains be sticks and stones with no one left to use them.