America’s concern for Ukraine is now palpably on the wane. The war is dragging on, Kyiv isn’t winning, and the United States is in an uproar over Supreme Court rulings, Jan. 6 committee hearings, inflation, a potential recession. Problems: We have them.
But to understand the stakes in this war, it helps to personalize them. Ukraine’s fight isn’t just about its own freedom. To borrow a line from “Fiddler on the Roof,” it’s about keeping the czar “far away from us.”
It’s also a reminder of what we are struggling to keep at home. A nation that welcomes immigrants, particularly poor ones. A nation in which it’s safe to loudly speak our minds. A nation that upholds the rule of law. A nation whose leaders — current or former — can’t just get away with an “almost sublime contempt for truth.” A nation that keeps faith with those struggling for freedom abroad. A nation that won’t sit still when freedoms slip away at home.
Happy Fourth of July.
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