Oh, Germany!
How you disappoint.
Joining Viktor Orban in Hungary? Who famously said, ‘we don’t want diversity’. The implication being, we are pure!
What’s going on Germany?
You chronically underfund your military, as if you lived in Wonderland.
You grow dependent on Russia for your energy needs,
Year after year after year,
As if you had thought that the Russian bear had lost its claws,
That it had polished them off and now was a cuddly teddy bear.
Never mind Russia’s invasion of Georgia, their ruthless subjection of Chechnya, their annexing of Crimea, their massacring Syrians in support of murderous Assad.
And then you choose to be timid with helping Ukraine.
After sending them band aids and helmets and lotions,
You finally agree to sending some arms.
But you have not been forceful.
You listen to your business sector saying, ‘no, curtailing oil and gas imports from Russia will make things uncomfortable. We understand that sacrifices are honorable but the bottom line is king. We must not inconvenience ourselves too much. Token measures should suffice.’
Oh, ‘wisdom’ sometimes has a very bad odor.
I read that your perceived timidity is actually a calculation, that you do not want to harm your chances of mediating the conflict.
What nonsense!
Do you really think that Putin will pay attention to you?
Oh, sorry. Perhaps they will.
Since you’ve had Gerhard Schroeder planted there all along.
So there was method to your madness. Softening the bear. How farsighted of you. We should all learn from you.
Right. Tell that to the dead Ukrainians.
But you do sell weapons to other nations, like to Egypt, right? And is their ruler a great democrat? No. The man is a dictator. An oppressor of human beings.
Have you not lost your fondness for dictators? Do they still appeal in some way?
Oh Germany!
How would you like to be invaded and others not sacrificing for you?
You’re not alone in being seduced by Putin. He’s made friends in Italy, and Marine Le Pen, the presidential candidate in France has been an admirer.
But for some reason I thought you would be wiser.
And maybe you are and are holding back and will surprise us all. Please do so. I can’t wait.
I don’t know enough about your history to know if you’ve ever defended your land with the fierceness that Ukrainians are doing now, but you’ll agree they are setting an example for the rest of us. And for you, too.
I went to Berlin this last September. Had a wonderful time. Thank you.
I’m an American immigrant. My country is deeply flawed but we’re working on it. And it’s our president, who has stepped up and led the West in countering Putin’s aggression.
Please join us.
PS: The news this morning spoke of 39 Ukrainians killed by a Russian missile in the Donbas area.
Many were at a train station waiting to leave. Men, women and children.
I am sure Putin had his breakfast with no interruptions.
Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts
