Thank you for this post, it does offer a different perspective on gratitude. You say “The Russian system relies on a televisual spectacle that assures Russians that everyone else is just as corrupt, and so they should love their own Russian corruption because it is Russian.”. Perhaps this also applies to the United States? We’re told we’re the home of the free and the land of the brave, a model to the rest of the world etc., but are we? Our REPRESENTATIVE democracy is now controlled by oligarchs and plutocrats by virtue of Citizen’s United, gerrymandering, lobbies etc. and headed full speed even further down that road with unbridled, unregulated capitalism driving our economy. As you have said, change doesn’t happen gradually, it happens dramatically, look at Syria, Iraq, Iran, and the Soviet Union to name a few. They changed overnight. Let’s not think it can’t happen here just as quickly.
We still have actively opposing voices, within states and municipalities as well as in the federal government. There is little activism in Russia due to the horrendous punishments incurred covertly if not overtly. Less than half the voting population voted for Trump with many of them also voting for Democratic Senators, Congresspeople, etc.. We should not feel overwhelmed, certainly in light of Ukraine's situation. We have suffered a blow that might have been avoided by some 150,000 voters in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylania which would have given the Electoral College to Harris. We can rise up, unite, reassess our strategy in communications. We must.
Perhaps, but there needs to be a serious review of the DNC platform as it has all but forgotten the folks that use to be Democrats. They’ve found a home under the MAGA umbrella.
I don't think Democrats forget about folks but I do agree that Democrats have generally done a poor job of communication. Too much divisiveness with identity politics ("He outed me!") and too little policy. Too much running apart from Biden who did lots of good things that needed explaining and highlighting in terms of what those things did for the people in the area. Too much focus on Trump who didn't need any more focus and too little on the specific issues to various communities. Too much capitalization of the latest catastrophe or doom or final act or last straw -- multiple times per day, even! Too much focus on fear and not enough focus on what do people want. And I don't think that folks have found a home under the MAGA umbrella (which only covers those holding the umbrella...) but decided not to vote or protest voted a third party candidate out of frustration/desperation with feeling at home with the Democrats' communications.
As one who inevitably forgets my umbrella, I certainly will remember your excellent image: Whatever the make of umbrella, "it only covers those holding it."
Much of the Mump advocacy (also much of the now defunct Republican party) is for stuff that really well off and already 'privileged' people could enjoy with little advocacy for others to reach levels where they could also enjoy.
I almost hate to say it, but I tend to agree with both of you. I do think the Democrats forgot about too many of the “little people” as they decided neoliberalism was the “wave of the future.” I’m talking at least since Clinton’s first term. As an 83 years old, white, male Anglo-Saxon, most of whose progenitors were in this country before it became a country, but one who could see what was happening around him, I was telling friends in the 1990s that things were going wrong in America. Things have generally gone downhill from there, but not equally for all of us. The Democrats, whom I do NOT consider myself among, need to bring forward more of their younger leaders who are not enamored of or beholden to neoliberalism. An American plurality still believes in the liberalism that made the country so much better during the middle third or so of last century. Unfortunately, the Democrats who used to represent such folks have trailed after the Republicans in pursuit of big capital and its limited largesse. I would love to consider myself a Democrat, if that party ever returned to those liberal values, but I suspect my limited time on this planet will expire before they do so or a new party takes their place. May you younger folks eventually live in more liberal, more equitable times!
I have been joking lately that the USA has been a one party state for a while now and they only allow the opposition in periodically to clean up the mess to keep the masses from catching on, only to come back and make things even worse.
A wonderful and thoughtful post, Dr. Tim. I am always awed by your insights. I hope you will share more and as much as you can. It helps us all to understand at a deeper level that is extremely important. We do have work for us to do! https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/what-is-our-next-job?r=3m1bs
Elections have consequences, especially free and fair ones, years ago the Ukrainians chose to be free of the russian yoke which they had labored under for decades, everything that has happened there is a result of that choice for freedom. They have paid and will continue to pay a very steep price for their freedom, so too have the russians for their lack of it. Supporting Ukraine is a no brainer to me, if you believe in our constitution and it’s hope for mankind, the people of Ukraine are our natural allies, if you have the capacity to help, why wouldn’t you. We can and we should 🙏
Thanks Dr Snyder for sharing the gratitude all Americans, especially those at the levers of power, should have for Ukraine. Your wisdom and insights are very much needed and appreciated. I hope that Trump and his sycophants and loyalists are listening and that they’ll continue to support the Ukrainian’s fight for freedom and democracy.
I am grateful you published this essay (updated) again. I forwarded to many people then, as I will again now. Interesting that it appeared in my inbox almost simultaneously with a post by Alexander Vindman *about Ukraine’s efforts abroad. I was unaware of their growing influence in that sphere as well- and am beyond amazed that they have the capability, foresight, perseverance etc to carry out efforts on foreign soil while fighting for their lives at home.
All of Ukraine’s ongoing efforts deserve so much more coverage in the media. I’m so grateful you are stepping into that breach. Thank you.
[*“From Syria to Sudan
How Ukraine Battles Russian Forces Abroad - Alexander Vindman, December 16]
Unmentioned here (due to its earlier original publication date) is yet another reason for gratitude to Ukraine: Ukraine's fierce resistance to Russian military aggression has exhausted the Russian military to the extent that Russia has abandoned its support for the Assad regime in Syria, thereby ridding that nation -- and the Middle East -- of a horrible authoritarian ruler. Thank you for that blessing, too, Ukraine!
"The Russian system relies on a televisual spectacle that assures Russians that everyone else is just as corrupt, and so they should love their own Russian corruption because it is Russian." Putin, in his 25 years, has managed to throttle democracy in the bathtub. He's managed to recreate Peter the Great's world where the nobility live like kings in their dachas and on their yachts and the rest of the country struggles. And effective disinformation that permeates the information sphere makes it all seem OK.
Having just completed reading for and attending a class on Post-Soviet Russia, as a Senior Auditor, l have been enlightened about the manipulation of the general population in Putin’s Enterprise, INC.
In the 1980’s it became clear that Communism had failed the Soviet Union,but the transition to Capitalism was fraught with rampant poverty and criminal gangs.
The rise of the oligarchs was fueled by corruption and mafia bosses and their networks.
Putin, who is referred to as a “psychopathic, dick-head” by our esteemed professor, travels to Russia with her family. The abundance of food, supermarkets, gadgets and delightful theme parks for children, attest to a clever ploy to pressure “the billionaire class”, to win over the rest of the urban population, by funneling wealth into the hands of the powerless.
The theatrics are astounding, but so we’re Nazi Death Camp disguised as “work camps”, and faux model-Trablinka, designed to fool representatives of The Red Cross and foreign agencies about conditions as the “Concentration Camps!
At my end the link to Carol of the Bells did not connect. I found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCXyg6HkuDo which may be the same event? If not then a year newer? Worth watching and hearing regardless.
Thank you for this framing of the Ukrainian- Russia war. Please post it yearly- or more often. If there were no heart at the center of this valiant fight it would be doomed - but you have shown us the value and meaning of the Ukrainian stand - and why we must stand with them. I feel renewed and strengthened in my commitment to the sup port of Ukraine.
Ukrainians' acts of resistance are also a form of dignity. I see pictures and videos of Kharkiv almost every day, with its bright and colorful Christmas lights and decorations, as if to tell the Russians, "Фак you, Russia, we won't allow you to ruin our Christmas!"
Then there is the dignity of staying and fighting, unintentionally embarrassing everyone who were certain Ukraine would fold in a matter of days: "We should think back to the period immediately before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine when everybody knew that it was going to happen. The widespread assumption across a lot of Western analyses and, apparently, Western governments as well that there would not be effective resistance and Ukraine would soon be under Russian domination altogether."
-- Interview of Keir Giles, 12/4/24
"Europe will act only when Russia causes disaster"
Those people still seem to be thinking that Ukraine will fold and that all the expenditures by the West will be for naught. They need to believe in Ukraine at least as much as they fear Russia.
Hi, Roxanna. What I find so very vexing about those in the West who are currently in power is that they think eastern Europeans in general and Ukrainians specifically, are like children who have to be told by their Western "betters" how to fight their war. All of the high-tech weapons, especially the very latest in drones, defense systems, and mine-detonating equipment (Safe Terrain) that have been developed by Ukrainians ought to tell them otherwise but in fact, it seems rather to annoy them that Ukrainians are fighting back.
The Great Britain of 1776-81 was hardly akin to Putin’s Russia in political terms, but in one sense, that they were one of the most powerful military forces in the western world at the time, they certainly were. The American militia, what one British officer referred to as ‘a rabble in arms’, was in comparison so completely unprepared, untrained, unequipped, and often inadequately led as to have appeared mad to even have made the effort, and many thought so at the time.
One may, and many have had contradictory thoughts about the colonial motivation to separate themselves from England. My sense, as one who taught the period for many years, is that it was largely akin to what motivates a grown child to leave home and strike out on his or her own - something utterly necessary if one is to mature properly. And so we did. And perhaps the Ukrainian motivation is not entirely dissimilar.
But the huge risk of our military struggle to do so is often overlooked by those who have not studied the war. In this, I think there is much that aligns that part of our history with the Ukrainian struggle. The dogged courage of the American militia and later the Continental line under conditions of often extraordinary physical hardship, lack of support on the part of many of our own, failure of supply, and sometime overwhelming oppositional odds is utterly astonishing.
We tend to encapsulate our achievement in the legends of Lexington, Concord, and Valley Forge, and that period of time is certainly an exemplar. But it is hardly the only one. Indeed, the winter of 1777-78 was not the harshest of the war. And in celebrating that period of endurance, we can forget the series of disasters that led up to it, and at the same time the two unlikely American victories, equally hard won that presaged our ultimate triumph. Indeed, few American military achievements equal it.
Two further similarities. We could vey likely not have finally won our independence with the help of France. And we did not finally beat the British forces into submission - we just wore them out.
So our struggle to invent a nation, the first of its kind, and the exemplar so many in the world have sought to emulate should convince us that to encourage and to support all who do ought to be a part of our DNA.
Hello, Professor. I am trying to donate to Safe Terrain but am being blocked. I have contacted the United24 website to see if they can help. I have donated successfully in the past, so do not know what is wrong. So frustrating!
Lynell Abbott
UPDATE: While I could not donate to Safe Terrain, I was able to donate in general. So that's a good thing. Thanks for keeping Ukraine top of mind, Professor.
'Gratitude to Ukraine (2024)' is an important and worthy message.
I also think that some well educated and deeply caring human beings in the US, Europe,
Canada and other countries do not think of the humanitarian issues here in the US, such as food scarcity for more than 40 million Americans, widespread gun violence, homelessness,, lack of affordable housing, mental health problems that are particularly affecting children; social and economic inequities as well as BIG Lies are huge contributors to the hatred and destabilization within the country. The US has caused horrific problems and continues to bring suffering to countless numbers living here and outside the country. Unfortunately, Americans are often identified as the enemy as the Russian, Chinese, African, Israeli...people are also so accused.
I'm reading this in a restaurant trying to not let the tears in my eyes turn to crying. I'm thinking of Zelenskyy and how he has not allowed the clodish Trump to rob him of his dignified generosity of spirit.
What continues to astonish me , as a Jewish American whose grandparents, fled,Eastern Europe, is that Putin’s attempt to forcefully take over the Ukraine has back-fired. Instead of engendering indifference in the eyes of the world, the military attack by Russia, has resulted in sympathy and support for the independence and esteem of the Ukrainian people and its leadership.
As the bullying continues, so does the support for unfortunate nation and it’s people, once again caught in the crossfires of pernicious trouble.
Previously the territory, known as “the bread basket of the world”, and an ungovernable republic, has risen in esteem. Since the first covert attack in 2014, Ukrainians have shown valour and unity in their determination to remain independent of their former master, Russia.
Babette, I too, am Jewish American but whose parents were victims of the Holocaust. In my heart of hearts, I feel that when the Ukrainians voted for Zelenskyy, a Jewish actor, that that incensed Putin. Now that he is a hero in his country, Putin is even more upset and determined to destroy the country. Everything, so far, has backfired on him and that has to do with Biden shoring up countries to protect Ukraine against the most evil man since Stalin and Hitler.
Thank you for this post, it does offer a different perspective on gratitude. You say “The Russian system relies on a televisual spectacle that assures Russians that everyone else is just as corrupt, and so they should love their own Russian corruption because it is Russian.”. Perhaps this also applies to the United States? We’re told we’re the home of the free and the land of the brave, a model to the rest of the world etc., but are we? Our REPRESENTATIVE democracy is now controlled by oligarchs and plutocrats by virtue of Citizen’s United, gerrymandering, lobbies etc. and headed full speed even further down that road with unbridled, unregulated capitalism driving our economy. As you have said, change doesn’t happen gradually, it happens dramatically, look at Syria, Iraq, Iran, and the Soviet Union to name a few. They changed overnight. Let’s not think it can’t happen here just as quickly.
We still have actively opposing voices, within states and municipalities as well as in the federal government. There is little activism in Russia due to the horrendous punishments incurred covertly if not overtly. Less than half the voting population voted for Trump with many of them also voting for Democratic Senators, Congresspeople, etc.. We should not feel overwhelmed, certainly in light of Ukraine's situation. We have suffered a blow that might have been avoided by some 150,000 voters in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylania which would have given the Electoral College to Harris. We can rise up, unite, reassess our strategy in communications. We must.
Perhaps, but there needs to be a serious review of the DNC platform as it has all but forgotten the folks that use to be Democrats. They’ve found a home under the MAGA umbrella.
I don't think Democrats forget about folks but I do agree that Democrats have generally done a poor job of communication. Too much divisiveness with identity politics ("He outed me!") and too little policy. Too much running apart from Biden who did lots of good things that needed explaining and highlighting in terms of what those things did for the people in the area. Too much focus on Trump who didn't need any more focus and too little on the specific issues to various communities. Too much capitalization of the latest catastrophe or doom or final act or last straw -- multiple times per day, even! Too much focus on fear and not enough focus on what do people want. And I don't think that folks have found a home under the MAGA umbrella (which only covers those holding the umbrella...) but decided not to vote or protest voted a third party candidate out of frustration/desperation with feeling at home with the Democrats' communications.
As one who inevitably forgets my umbrella, I certainly will remember your excellent image: Whatever the make of umbrella, "it only covers those holding it."
Much of the Mump advocacy (also much of the now defunct Republican party) is for stuff that really well off and already 'privileged' people could enjoy with little advocacy for others to reach levels where they could also enjoy.
I almost hate to say it, but I tend to agree with both of you. I do think the Democrats forgot about too many of the “little people” as they decided neoliberalism was the “wave of the future.” I’m talking at least since Clinton’s first term. As an 83 years old, white, male Anglo-Saxon, most of whose progenitors were in this country before it became a country, but one who could see what was happening around him, I was telling friends in the 1990s that things were going wrong in America. Things have generally gone downhill from there, but not equally for all of us. The Democrats, whom I do NOT consider myself among, need to bring forward more of their younger leaders who are not enamored of or beholden to neoliberalism. An American plurality still believes in the liberalism that made the country so much better during the middle third or so of last century. Unfortunately, the Democrats who used to represent such folks have trailed after the Republicans in pursuit of big capital and its limited largesse. I would love to consider myself a Democrat, if that party ever returned to those liberal values, but I suspect my limited time on this planet will expire before they do so or a new party takes their place. May you younger folks eventually live in more liberal, more equitable times!
I have been joking lately that the USA has been a one party state for a while now and they only allow the opposition in periodically to clean up the mess to keep the masses from catching on, only to come back and make things even worse.
A wonderful and thoughtful post, Dr. Tim. I am always awed by your insights. I hope you will share more and as much as you can. It helps us all to understand at a deeper level that is extremely important. We do have work for us to do! https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/what-is-our-next-job?r=3m1bs
Elections have consequences, especially free and fair ones, years ago the Ukrainians chose to be free of the russian yoke which they had labored under for decades, everything that has happened there is a result of that choice for freedom. They have paid and will continue to pay a very steep price for their freedom, so too have the russians for their lack of it. Supporting Ukraine is a no brainer to me, if you believe in our constitution and it’s hope for mankind, the people of Ukraine are our natural allies, if you have the capacity to help, why wouldn’t you. We can and we should 🙏
Thanks Dr Snyder for sharing the gratitude all Americans, especially those at the levers of power, should have for Ukraine. Your wisdom and insights are very much needed and appreciated. I hope that Trump and his sycophants and loyalists are listening and that they’ll continue to support the Ukrainian’s fight for freedom and democracy.
I am grateful you published this essay (updated) again. I forwarded to many people then, as I will again now. Interesting that it appeared in my inbox almost simultaneously with a post by Alexander Vindman *about Ukraine’s efforts abroad. I was unaware of their growing influence in that sphere as well- and am beyond amazed that they have the capability, foresight, perseverance etc to carry out efforts on foreign soil while fighting for their lives at home.
All of Ukraine’s ongoing efforts deserve so much more coverage in the media. I’m so grateful you are stepping into that breach. Thank you.
[*“From Syria to Sudan
How Ukraine Battles Russian Forces Abroad - Alexander Vindman, December 16]
Unmentioned here (due to its earlier original publication date) is yet another reason for gratitude to Ukraine: Ukraine's fierce resistance to Russian military aggression has exhausted the Russian military to the extent that Russia has abandoned its support for the Assad regime in Syria, thereby ridding that nation -- and the Middle East -- of a horrible authoritarian ruler. Thank you for that blessing, too, Ukraine!
"The Russian system relies on a televisual spectacle that assures Russians that everyone else is just as corrupt, and so they should love their own Russian corruption because it is Russian." Putin, in his 25 years, has managed to throttle democracy in the bathtub. He's managed to recreate Peter the Great's world where the nobility live like kings in their dachas and on their yachts and the rest of the country struggles. And effective disinformation that permeates the information sphere makes it all seem OK.
Having just completed reading for and attending a class on Post-Soviet Russia, as a Senior Auditor, l have been enlightened about the manipulation of the general population in Putin’s Enterprise, INC.
In the 1980’s it became clear that Communism had failed the Soviet Union,but the transition to Capitalism was fraught with rampant poverty and criminal gangs.
The rise of the oligarchs was fueled by corruption and mafia bosses and their networks.
Putin, who is referred to as a “psychopathic, dick-head” by our esteemed professor, travels to Russia with her family. The abundance of food, supermarkets, gadgets and delightful theme parks for children, attest to a clever ploy to pressure “the billionaire class”, to win over the rest of the urban population, by funneling wealth into the hands of the powerless.
The theatrics are astounding, but so we’re Nazi Death Camp disguised as “work camps”, and faux model-Trablinka, designed to fool representatives of The Red Cross and foreign agencies about conditions as the “Concentration Camps!
At my end the link to Carol of the Bells did not connect. I found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCXyg6HkuDo which may be the same event? If not then a year newer? Worth watching and hearing regardless.
Thanks, Doug. Needed your link to listen/watch.
Thank you for providing the history of "The Carol of the Bells" and "Shchedryk". Wonderful connectivity.
Thank you for this framing of the Ukrainian- Russia war. Please post it yearly- or more often. If there were no heart at the center of this valiant fight it would be doomed - but you have shown us the value and meaning of the Ukrainian stand - and why we must stand with them. I feel renewed and strengthened in my commitment to the sup port of Ukraine.
Ukrainians' acts of resistance are also a form of dignity. I see pictures and videos of Kharkiv almost every day, with its bright and colorful Christmas lights and decorations, as if to tell the Russians, "Фак you, Russia, we won't allow you to ruin our Christmas!"
Then there is the dignity of staying and fighting, unintentionally embarrassing everyone who were certain Ukraine would fold in a matter of days: "We should think back to the period immediately before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine when everybody knew that it was going to happen. The widespread assumption across a lot of Western analyses and, apparently, Western governments as well that there would not be effective resistance and Ukraine would soon be under Russian domination altogether."
-- Interview of Keir Giles, 12/4/24
"Europe will act only when Russia causes disaster"
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/12/04/europe-will-act-only-when-russia-causes-disaster-chatham-house-fellow/
Those people still seem to be thinking that Ukraine will fold and that all the expenditures by the West will be for naught. They need to believe in Ukraine at least as much as they fear Russia.
Hi, Roxanna. What I find so very vexing about those in the West who are currently in power is that they think eastern Europeans in general and Ukrainians specifically, are like children who have to be told by their Western "betters" how to fight their war. All of the high-tech weapons, especially the very latest in drones, defense systems, and mine-detonating equipment (Safe Terrain) that have been developed by Ukrainians ought to tell them otherwise but in fact, it seems rather to annoy them that Ukrainians are fighting back.
The Great Britain of 1776-81 was hardly akin to Putin’s Russia in political terms, but in one sense, that they were one of the most powerful military forces in the western world at the time, they certainly were. The American militia, what one British officer referred to as ‘a rabble in arms’, was in comparison so completely unprepared, untrained, unequipped, and often inadequately led as to have appeared mad to even have made the effort, and many thought so at the time.
One may, and many have had contradictory thoughts about the colonial motivation to separate themselves from England. My sense, as one who taught the period for many years, is that it was largely akin to what motivates a grown child to leave home and strike out on his or her own - something utterly necessary if one is to mature properly. And so we did. And perhaps the Ukrainian motivation is not entirely dissimilar.
But the huge risk of our military struggle to do so is often overlooked by those who have not studied the war. In this, I think there is much that aligns that part of our history with the Ukrainian struggle. The dogged courage of the American militia and later the Continental line under conditions of often extraordinary physical hardship, lack of support on the part of many of our own, failure of supply, and sometime overwhelming oppositional odds is utterly astonishing.
We tend to encapsulate our achievement in the legends of Lexington, Concord, and Valley Forge, and that period of time is certainly an exemplar. But it is hardly the only one. Indeed, the winter of 1777-78 was not the harshest of the war. And in celebrating that period of endurance, we can forget the series of disasters that led up to it, and at the same time the two unlikely American victories, equally hard won that presaged our ultimate triumph. Indeed, few American military achievements equal it.
Two further similarities. We could vey likely not have finally won our independence with the help of France. And we did not finally beat the British forces into submission - we just wore them out.
So our struggle to invent a nation, the first of its kind, and the exemplar so many in the world have sought to emulate should convince us that to encourage and to support all who do ought to be a part of our DNA.
Hello, Professor. I am trying to donate to Safe Terrain but am being blocked. I have contacted the United24 website to see if they can help. I have donated successfully in the past, so do not know what is wrong. So frustrating!
Lynell Abbott
UPDATE: While I could not donate to Safe Terrain, I was able to donate in general. So that's a good thing. Thanks for keeping Ukraine top of mind, Professor.
I had problems too, but keep trying. No sure what the problem is, but it may take 2 or 3 attempts.
try contacting your card company.
'Gratitude to Ukraine (2024)' is an important and worthy message.
I also think that some well educated and deeply caring human beings in the US, Europe,
Canada and other countries do not think of the humanitarian issues here in the US, such as food scarcity for more than 40 million Americans, widespread gun violence, homelessness,, lack of affordable housing, mental health problems that are particularly affecting children; social and economic inequities as well as BIG Lies are huge contributors to the hatred and destabilization within the country. The US has caused horrific problems and continues to bring suffering to countless numbers living here and outside the country. Unfortunately, Americans are often identified as the enemy as the Russian, Chinese, African, Israeli...people are also so accused.
I'm reading this in a restaurant trying to not let the tears in my eyes turn to crying. I'm thinking of Zelenskyy and how he has not allowed the clodish Trump to rob him of his dignified generosity of spirit.
What continues to astonish me , as a Jewish American whose grandparents, fled,Eastern Europe, is that Putin’s attempt to forcefully take over the Ukraine has back-fired. Instead of engendering indifference in the eyes of the world, the military attack by Russia, has resulted in sympathy and support for the independence and esteem of the Ukrainian people and its leadership.
As the bullying continues, so does the support for unfortunate nation and it’s people, once again caught in the crossfires of pernicious trouble.
Previously the territory, known as “the bread basket of the world”, and an ungovernable republic, has risen in esteem. Since the first covert attack in 2014, Ukrainians have shown valour and unity in their determination to remain independent of their former master, Russia.
Babette, I too, am Jewish American but whose parents were victims of the Holocaust. In my heart of hearts, I feel that when the Ukrainians voted for Zelenskyy, a Jewish actor, that that incensed Putin. Now that he is a hero in his country, Putin is even more upset and determined to destroy the country. Everything, so far, has backfired on him and that has to do with Biden shoring up countries to protect Ukraine against the most evil man since Stalin and Hitler.