I really appreciate your disclaimer in the beginning of this post, and in fact just this entire post as well. I was in a bizarre situation earlier this morning because I found myself essentially arguing for brinkmanship, which as someone in the left side of the spectrum with only an undergraduate level of education in international relations, though a continued interest in reading and learning about it after, I had never really found myself arguing that position with any actual conviction. This also isn't my specific area of study in international relations either geographically or topically, but I know that I sincerely hope for Ukrainian self-determination. I don't know what Putin's red lines are with any certainty, and I am legitimately worried that he will escalate with a tactical strike in Ukraine. However, I sincerely believe the risks outweigh the reward for him, and I think there are a number of reasons to call him on his bluff. They are pumping out serious amounts of propaganda into the US conservative information ecosystem right now to portray Biden as a nuclear threat, and the way they're framing things makes me think his threats are hollow. Is it worth the existential risk to call him on it? I don't know, there's a reason I'm in grad school to be a librarian right now and not working for the State Department. I also don't know what victory for Ukraine even looks like at this point either, and I'm not happy about the decision to send landmines that accompanied the other loosening of restrictions. I'm also unhappy with Biden's willingness to continue sending weapons to Netanyahu, but that's a different issue entirely.
Thanks, I appreciate you writing. I find that as often happens during wartime, rational public debate on this issue has become very difficult. On the one hand, the last thing that I want to do is be associated with the far left or the far right and their shameful whitewashing of Russia's actions. On the other hand, that often seems to create a situation where any criticism of the way this war is conducted or the effectiveness/wisdom of the way the West is handling it becomes impossible to state without being called a Russian patsy. And I just chafe at that because I think it can lead to groupthink and a lack of critical thinking. So I think this war has created a difficult situation for those of us on the left and I appreciate you sharing your insights about how it has affected you. I think more people feel torn and confused about this (myself included) than is apparent if you just look at Twitter or something. It's nice we have this space here to talk about it.
I really appreciate your disclaimer in the beginning of this post, and in fact just this entire post as well. I was in a bizarre situation earlier this morning because I found myself essentially arguing for brinkmanship, which as someone in the left side of the spectrum with only an undergraduate level of education in international relations, though a continued interest in reading and learning about it after, I had never really found myself arguing that position with any actual conviction. This also isn't my specific area of study in international relations either geographically or topically, but I know that I sincerely hope for Ukrainian self-determination. I don't know what Putin's red lines are with any certainty, and I am legitimately worried that he will escalate with a tactical strike in Ukraine. However, I sincerely believe the risks outweigh the reward for him, and I think there are a number of reasons to call him on his bluff. They are pumping out serious amounts of propaganda into the US conservative information ecosystem right now to portray Biden as a nuclear threat, and the way they're framing things makes me think his threats are hollow. Is it worth the existential risk to call him on it? I don't know, there's a reason I'm in grad school to be a librarian right now and not working for the State Department. I also don't know what victory for Ukraine even looks like at this point either, and I'm not happy about the decision to send landmines that accompanied the other loosening of restrictions. I'm also unhappy with Biden's willingness to continue sending weapons to Netanyahu, but that's a different issue entirely.
Thanks, I appreciate you writing. I find that as often happens during wartime, rational public debate on this issue has become very difficult. On the one hand, the last thing that I want to do is be associated with the far left or the far right and their shameful whitewashing of Russia's actions. On the other hand, that often seems to create a situation where any criticism of the way this war is conducted or the effectiveness/wisdom of the way the West is handling it becomes impossible to state without being called a Russian patsy. And I just chafe at that because I think it can lead to groupthink and a lack of critical thinking. So I think this war has created a difficult situation for those of us on the left and I appreciate you sharing your insights about how it has affected you. I think more people feel torn and confused about this (myself included) than is apparent if you just look at Twitter or something. It's nice we have this space here to talk about it.