97 Comments
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Bill Corbett's avatar

I have more respect for Ukraine’s people than I do for some of my own countrymen. Stay safe, we need your voice.

Fay Reid's avatar

Agreed Bill, since I have NO respect for trump slime or his 'army' of ill informed maggot slithering along behind him spewing the empty garbage as they go.

Andrea Chiou's avatar

Oh the poetry (and reality too) of that last thought. I am so glad your music wasn’t working for this to have been penned.

CHRISTA DOWLING's avatar

Thank you, Professor Snyder. Indeed, your letters or comments remind us that the 'free' world we are privileged to live in...is also a world of fragility.

Phil Balla's avatar

Yes, Christa, fragility.

But this comingled, too, with many other qualities.

In my inbox this morning I also have a Substack from Sarah Kendzior, whose career also began with studies and writings from the world where Timothy Snyder's nexus also began. That is, the old empire of the red star.

But Sarah ended up in the American Midwest, about the time a hundred years earlier when another central European, a lover of beer, and doves, and two sisters also ended up, one summer, with about the same serendipity Timothy ended his summer on the banks of his Ukrainian river.

He was listening, too, this Czech guy. So we have the symphony, "From the New World," and also the book celebrating its birth, "Dvořák in Love," by Josef Škvorecký (Paul Wilson,

translator).

Elizabeth K. Baker's avatar

We, in the west, are lucky to see what Ukraine has done for democracy in the world. We have to learn to live, love, teach, and fight like Ukrainians. Thanking you Professor Snyder for all you do to speak truth to power and reveal humanity to us in every post.

Milton Strauss's avatar

This was a powerful post. Thank you.

Larry Schulz's avatar

Hi,Tim,

So well put. The lady with the red finger nails and prosthetic hand is an enduring image of the Ukrainian struggle, as is the David Chichkan's painting of Lesya Ukraïnka. Please keep up your "running" for eventual daylight in eastern Europe. Long live Ukraine!

Jim Tackett's avatar

Beautiful, poignant. Thank you.

M. Layfield's avatar

My hope is that the Ukrainian people know that the majority of Americans want peace for them. We want them to have what they need, and more than anything, we admire their tenacity.

Kit Flynn's avatar

Of all the awful things The Bloated Yam has done, the refusal to rally to Ukraine's side is among the worst.

Kate Delano-Condax Decker's avatar

"The Bloated Yam" sounds particularly descriptive and accurate to me! :-) !!

Kit Flynn's avatar

Alas, I didn't have the imagination to think it up on my own. Kiwiwriter47 first penned it and I quickly adopted it as I refuse to use The Yam's real name.

Jill Stoner's avatar

Lovely! Makes me want to run around Lake Merritt this morning in Oakland CA. And paint my nails red.

GENEVIEVE JAMES's avatar

I love the sound of your voice, which is like a balm as a witness to violence and injustice. Your quiet way of speaking out loud enables me to feel which resonates in me over time.

Sam Ramer's avatar

Thanks for this particularly insightful and moving insight into the Ukrainian experience. It’s a great example of how much we can learn or see from observing the meaning of details that we encounter that tell a story we might otherwise miss!

Tina Wilson's avatar

Beautifully written, as always.

Martha Jones Eberle's avatar

"The Ukrainians have held off the Russians by sticking together." They VALUE their democracy, having lived under dictatorship before. Would that Americans value the same -- we have it so much better, yet we are babies, .... wanting everything, not just enough for ourselves.

BARRY GANDER's avatar

Beautiful and whimsical. You had a good run.

Robert Walden's avatar

Slava Ukraine. Stay safe. We need you back here in the USA.