Russia and Ukraine: Patriotism, Nationalism, and Global Hypocrisy
I am amazed by the patriotism of the Ukrainians. That’s first. It’s true patriotism. Patriotism for the love of their country and their right for sovereignty and freedom. I admire their strength and bravery during this time. The way they’re willing to put their lives on the line for their freedom. Everyday citizens are willing to take up arms and fight, including those at home being instructed on how to make Molotov cocktails. I salute their bravery. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not fled to safety. He’s on the streets in combat gear willing to fight for his country alongside his citizens.
This bravery is not the (white) nationalism of Americans. It’s not the type of patriotism I’m used to seeing in America. Here, patriots storm the nation’s capitol and smear their own feces on the wall, climbing up the outside of the building, like animals. It’s shameful and brutish, even more so because it’s done in the name of hatred and white supremacy. I doubt any of those insurrectionists, and the Republican politicians who support them, would stand up and bravely fight an approaching army where their lives were actually on the line. Here, patriots refuse to have their right to carelessly and senselessly infect others with a potentially deadly virus taken away, as they take to the streets to protest mask mandates.
