Carnes: ‘I want to die angry, not scared’
The above words were spoken by two female 20-somethings from their apartment in Kiev last week.
I’m one of those who has the TV on in my office all day, every day, as background noise and to keep an ear out for anything major around the planet, like, oh, let’s say, a global thermonuclear war, ala “WarGames” with Matthew Broderick or perhaps a Kardashian sighting in Vail Village.
There is a channel on DirecTV which allows one to watch six channels at once, and I can view CNN, FOX, MSNBC, BBC and, for some reason, two weather channels.
I consistently switch between the four news channels throughout the day for a number of reasons, but mainly for a constant balance of propaganda, which they all do, and, of course, to rarely be subjected to commercials.
The two young ladies making the statement were on one of the channels, but to be perfectly honest I was so upset upon hearing their declaration I didn’t pay attention, instead choosing to record the powerful phrase before the next virtual bomb blasted my ears.
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An entire nation of cold, frightened, hungry, confused and, yes, now angry ordinary citizens are doing whatever they possibly can to prevent a narcissistic sociopath from taking over their country and starting World War III.
While Putin nonchalantly claims to only be taking back what used to be a part of Russia, Americans need to remember Alaska used to be a part of Russia too.
He is following the well-worn historic playbook of Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein and all the others who did their best to discredit the media while carrying out genocide of their own people and neighbors.
By manipulating the weak little puppet man who pretended to be our leader for a few years, Putin came oh-so-close to having the United States pull out of NATO, but now has resorted to using Ukraine as a fulcrum to leverage Russia’s standing on the world stage.
Putin has now criminalized the spreading of “fake news” about the military (meaning anything he disagrees with or does not wish to hear), is equating sanctions with declarations of war and has cut off social media so he can continue claiming his goal of de-nazifying Ukraine.
If that were true, I’m pretty sure they’ve eliminated all of the Jewish Nazis at this point, so hey, they can now return home.
In the meantime, for the two young ladies and the millions just like them along with the thousands of men, women and children being needlessly slaughtered for doing nothing more than living in the wrong place at the wrong time, what are you willing to sacrifice?
If we completely cease purchasing Russian oil, then we must be prepared for higher gas and food prices just like every other nation. Some of you I’m sure will whine like a 6-year-old in your profound ignorance and say it’s all a political ploy by (insert whichever group you hate at the moment) and that it’s “simply too much of a burden to bear.” (For the record, I also saw footage of a 6-year-old as he succumbed to his injuries from shrapnel.)
Personally I’d rather pay more at the pump and the grocery store than simply sit back and allow Putin and his puppets to lay the framework for WWIII.
A lot more.
Dying, angry or scared, will never be the answer.
Richard Carnes, of Avon, writes weekly. He can be reached at poor@vail.net.