Ukraine. Yes, The Ukraine in Eastern Europe.

What has that got to do with the people of Stanly County, USA?

Everything, I say, if you know your history, specifically the history of tyrants and autocrats like Hitler and now, Putin, who would do anything, go anywhere, fight anyone, destroy at will, because they believe they can do so to get power.

It is stunning to me, thinking about my Republican father who fought in the trenches of WWII and in the Battle of the Bulge for freedom’s sake, that anyone would suggest that we ignore Putin’s war against the Ukrainian people and just “concentrate on our country.”

So first, this is about freedom versus slavery under autocracies. Do we really want to see countries overrun by Putin so that he can gain more power? Don’t we want our European allies to live in peace with freedom to choose their own way like we do?

Then, let me remind anyone who is thinking that we don’t need to support Ukraine what Mitch McConnell said last week in Munich at a gathering of some world leaders: “…giving money to Ukraine ‘is not an act of charity’ on America’s part…If Putin were given a green light to destabilize Europe, invading and killing at will, the long-term cost to the United States in both dollars and security risks would be astronomically higher than the minuscule fraction of our GDP that we have invested in Ukraine’s defense thus far.”

So think again, you who believe we should abandon Ukraine. Think very hard about the consequences.

Nancy C. Bryant
Norwood