World War Two is fresh in the minds of my generation. We recall the tension of not knowing whether we would win intense battles in two parts of the world.
We remember the way joy erupted when the war ended favorably to our side, and friends and family came home. Sadly, not all of them.
Now we see another power, Russia, crushing its neighbor Ukraine, headed toward Europe. There is no way to stop this invader without risking nuclear war - if we credit Russian threats. What must today’s generation do?
The modern generation must consider the same kind of choice made by the World War Two generation. You (and we of the prior generation who have lived into the twenty first century) must answer the question, “Can we allow any nation destroy the people of a neighboring nation at will?” Are other people’s lives and freedom worth contending for?
There is no assurance of success if the decision is to contend on behalf of Ukraine and take serious risks in an effort to protect Ukraine and Europe from the same fate they suffered under Nazi Germany.
Still it is a choice dropped in your younger laps, and to some extent into the laps of us older folks.
In the twentieth century America chose to join in Europe’s fight against invading and murdering Nazis and Asia’s fight against murdering Japanese militarists. That was before nuclear weapons came along. Do we today have the courage to confront enemies that threaten modern war?
Americans of the World War Two generation accepted the fight to defeat militarists in Germany and Japan. The militarists of 2022 are no less a threat. Shall we confront them? Will we confront them, and will we endure the finish?
God knows. God can show us the way. We’d better ask Him.
Douglas Smith, March 15, 2022
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