What Do You Want Zelensky To Do?
A message on Ukraine mainly directed towards Republicans.
Almost as if by design, the elements which would turn off those on the right from supporting Ukraine have been doubled down on recently through what’s been falsely seen as support of progressive ideology. Yet, given that some populist Republicans might not back Ukraine regardless, the nation has little reason to change its stance.
Nevertheless, it's vital for liberal Democrats to look in the mirror and address the extremists within their ranks who contribute to division, especially when they point out such tendencies in the Republican party. This is all the more important because whether the main focus is Russia or China, a divided US only serves to benefit both.
Zelensky’s Dance
Ukrainian President Vlodymir Zelensky finds himself in a delicate position. To gather support against Russian aggression, he's been thrust into the U.S.'s polarized political stage, having to align with Democratic party platforms, such as climate change and social justice. This is evident in his government’s choice of figures like the American trans medic Sarah Ashton-Cirillo as the (recently fired) spokesperson for Ukraine’s military, inserting climate change talking points in his UN Speech, or the more recent embrace of “occult” artist Marina Abramović to be an ambassador for Ukraine.
For most right leaning pundits, any curiosity about the bigger picture behind these decisions is overshadowed by social brownie points they earn through clickbait so they can grow an audience and maintain (or try to maintain) a living by appealing to their specific audience. The plot is of a corrupt puppet Ukrainian government whose president is goose stepping in line with social justice causes and going as far as promoting the Scarlet Woman “Whore of Babylon” Abramović herself so as to usher in an era of global domination by a vampyric technocratic elite.
While the creep of such radical leftism can be seen in the fantasies of lunatics belonging to their respective camp, the idiots of the opposing camp seem to wholeheartedly believe that Ukraine is one step away from state sanctioned gender reassignment.
In reality, Ukraine is as far as you will get from the specter of progressivism till you reach Timbuktu, but what would anyone do in the place of Zelensky when the fate of your country is on the line and the people who sign off on your weapon supplies have to rely on appealing to the far left in order to secure a voting bloc?
In the case of Ashton-Cirillo, MAGA Republican senator J.D. Vance accused the now fired Ukraine Military spokesperson of being an American intelligence operative who “threatens physical violence to anyone who circulates ‘Russian Propaganda”. Given Ashton-Cirillo’s non-answer in a video response to the intel accusation, the idea of the US government wanting an extra layer of protection against leftist insubordination through the promotion of transgender individuals in the war effort is not out of the question. It is, however, ridiculous to assume that Zelensky or anyone within the Ukrainian military would care about these identity issues especially during wartime.
Just like with the promotion of climate change doom and gloom in his recent UN speech (without mentioning Nuclear energy or India/China), anyone in Zelensky’s shoes would have to give lip service to the Democratic party. There is no choice as the dominating populist wing of the Republicans has made it very clear where it stands regarding the war. Even if Zelensky were to swap his olive green outfit for a Griftshop shirt complete with “White Boy Summer” shades, there would be no budging on the issue for the Republicans who either truly believe appeasement works or who know better but want to get elected no matter what.
Having neither the support of Republicans or Democrats means no aid to Ukraine so why would Zelensky not use whatever is available to defend his country?
The Scarlet Woman
In the case of Maria Abramović, there is a particular reason as to why she’s being promoted to be an ambassador for the Ukrainian cause. Maria is a native of Serbia, a nation that flirts with the idea of aligning with Putin's Russia while simultaneously courting ties with NATO and Europe. Their stance on Ukraine, though not as contentious as Hungary's, sometimes leans towards being problematic on account of this coziness with the former. The hope is that due to Maria’s very pro Ukraine stance, she’d have more leverage with the Serbian higher ups who she’s already acquainted with to put pressure on the country so that they distance themselves from Russia more.
While the gut reaction of seeing someone like Abramović would assume she’d be all over a communist occult technocracy, “the devil” lies in the details which most bandwagon pundits would never consider looking into as it would do nothing to boost their likes.
Abramović has been the go-to occultist who certainly plays into the stereotype of elites being into human sacrifice with her “Spirit Cooking” ceremonies and hobnobbing (or should I say hobgoblining) with right wing boogeymen like Lord Jacob De Rothschild. That she took a photo with Rothschild in front of a 1796 painting entitled “Satan summoning his Legions” is such on-the-nose lazy Hollywood writing that it might as well be trolling.
Even if we were to overdose on redpills and assume that puppet masters behind the scenes continue to engage in what were historically acceptable practices for empires like that of the Phonecians, Abramović’s own views beyond any or her art show a healthy detestment for Communism and socialism. Being one of the pillars of the Globalist New World Order conspiracy where the lowly masses are supposed to “Live in the Pod and Eat the Bugs”, it might be surprising to know that Abramovic’s views from growing up in Communist Belgrade are not so different from your average 4chan “traditional aesthetics” poster:
“Perpetual shortages of everything, drabness everywhere. There is something about communism and socialism—it’s a kind of aesthetic based on pure ugliness.”
Indeed, the archetype of “The Scarlet Woman” (or Aleister Crowley’s “Babalon”) is one that liberates the divine feminine both from a Theocratic system empowered by organized religion or the totalitarian system empowered by ideologies like Nazism or Communism. While artistically playing to the tastes of some tasteless elites who may take this occult stuff seriously, Maria’s end goal in her own words does not match up to this idea of a global control system.
And while order is certainly needed to maintain balance with the liberation of the divine feminine, Ukraine has been a far greater example of this order mixed with liberty in comparison to Russia or even the United States to a certain degree. The reason for this latter comparison has to do with fighting for one’s future existence as a nation as opposed to the fear of confrontation in a country like America with far less to lose.
The Politics of Fear
Zelensky realizes that there is no way out at the moment other than to align with the Democrats, but what currently unites both parties is the overwhelming fear of helping Ukraine “too much”. Their mutual concern is whether Putin launches a nuke on account of losing the war, or the idea that a destabilized Russia presents more danger than this aforementioned scenario.
For the Biden Administration, this comes mainly from figures like national security advisor Jake Sullivan and his National Security Council who are scared that Putin might press the red button. Others presenting themselves as “realists” follow in the footsteps of George Bush Sr. who saw the USSR as “the Devil you know”. The USSR, however, never threatened nuclear retaliation over conventional warfare or proxy conflicts, recognizing the dire consequences of a full-scale nuclear showdown between the superpowers. In addition, the Soviet Union had what could be described as a “balance of powers” with the Communist Party keeping a check on the KGB and vice versa, whereas today Russia answers only to one man.
That there are actual realists like Anthony Blinken within The Biden Administration who understand the importance of quickly arming Ukraine is already far more than can currently be expected of the Republicans. Yet, the slow progress can be linked to the same fearful mindset that allowed unrest neighborhoods to burn in 2020 and capitulated to progressive pressures. That Zelensky now pretends to align himself with some of these measures is due to a lack of other alternatives. But unlike Zelensky, Democrats DO have a choice in gatekeeping their party from leftist extremists, yet chose not to.
While it makes sense in the short term to forge an alliance with the fringe so as to control them as in the case of Democrats and the far left, at what point does the tail start wagging the dog? While the traditional idiom was “politics is the art of compromise”, there is a limit to how much you can do so with an ideology uncompromising in its ultimate vision of reality. You can delay the more extreme elements from manifesting or even strike a deal with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to support aiding Ukraine, but will such control ever be enough?
Just as in the case of Russia, displays of violence that go unopposed will let the perpetrators know just how far they can push without getting a blow to the nose.
Short of Democrats and liberals in general who self censor because of wanting to control the far left, the majority will simply be too scared to speak out even if they sense an impending problem. Effective resistance against Russia runs into this same problem for both parties (though much more within the Right) who think they can “reason” with Putin instead of giving him the bloody nose he deserves.
On the other hand, because the enemy is right at their doorstep, Ukraine does not have the luxury of being scared or the ignorance of attempting diplomacy but must act in defense of their existence. Same goes for Catholic Poland as well as the less religious but equally high-trust Baltic states, all of which are preparing for the worst instead of trying to appease Russia.
Yet unlike Western Europe and especially the well armed United States, Russia poses far more of a threat to these neighboring countries, and it is precisely because of understanding this threat that leaders like Zelensky make the only choice on the table.
Critical crossroads
To sum up the present danger, there is currently an overly prolonged war from populist Republican isolationism and liberal Democrat reluctance to actually defeat Putin once and for all. This is as much an opportunity to slowly bleed Russia dry as it is for the US to become overwhelmed by the growing discontentment on both sides. So a message for both in in order:
Message to Liberals: The embrace of identity politics might seem necessary to ensure the far left's allegiance, but there's a danger in this tactic. While it may appease in the short-term, such dependence risks driving the party deeper into illiberal practices. Neglecting these issues might seem inconsequential now, but an over-reliance on far-left ideologies can pave the way for future fractures and vulnerabilities as we are already seeing with the state of the US border, rising crime rates, and a growing populist movement against anything outside their bandwagon consensus.
Message to Conservatives: Ukraine's alignment with Democratic priorities on climate change and identity politics is not an endorsement of these ideologies. Rather, it's a strategic necessity. In the absence of significant Republican support, Ukraine has little choice but to align with the preferences of those willing to offer backing. This shouldn't be seen as an ideological shift but as a pragmatic response to their geopolitical situation. It's crucial for Republicans to recognize this nuance and consider the broader implications of withholding support.
Supporting Ukraine has incurred the current cost of around just 6% of total US defense spending, while populist inspired isolationism to focus on the very real domestic problems exclusively means ignoring the equally real threat of Russian (thus Chinese) expansion on the world stage. And just like the leftists and criminals were emboldened towards violence in 2020 by a party who thought they could control or reason with them, an aggressor will have nothing to fear from those who give it nothing to be afraid of in the first place.
The more divided our union is at the moment, especially on issues of offense spending (offense being the best defense), the more emboldened Russia and China will be to take what they like. At best if Ukraine falls, a far greater percent of our entire military budget will have to go for the eventual hot war against Russia in Poland and the Baltics. At worst, our domestic problems will encircle the US in a ring of isolation as some former allies either fight World War III while others raise the white flag. This possibility of nations surrendering is even more likely should the precedent be set of treating Putin’s nuclear threats as enough to give up without a fight.
Such a scenario as the above is likely to occur if fear, apathy, and short term gain override making the right decision. And in order to make such a decision, overcoming the instinct to judge figures like Zelensky over whatever generates juicy headlines is key. Just as important, however, for the other side is to resist a leftist appeasement that further divides us and gives an opening for the real enemies to take charge.
Ukraine has very few supporters. Many of them are unhinged libs or neocons. It only has just one country that's able and willing to supply it with somewhat enough weaponry. Poland, Germany, France, UK can't do it, since this war burns through personnel and gear at a horrific rate.
Its back against the wall, its choices limited.
"Neutral" people simply expect it to surrender, demilitarize, and then figure it out with Russia how much of its land should be transferred so it can have peace until Russia rebuilds its stocks and annexes the rest.
I do think Ukraine is still making a mistake giving prominent roles to lunatics like Cirillo. It will be hard to recover after the war is done. And I generally don't want Western progressivism normalized in the area at all. This is a national survival struggle, not for democracy or whatever other idiocy Washington is selling. Nobody dies for transgender rights and gay marriage, to be clear.
It is both sad and horrifying how much of the political Right has been subverted -and co-oped, by Russian propaganda (and it has been). I used to roll my eyes about it circa 2016, but now its being laid pretty bare. Especially when you look at the rhetoric coming out in response to Trudeau and Zalenskyy's recent "Canadian SS-gate."
There exists a spectrum ranging from the unapologetic "muh baste Putin" Vatnik types to the more ambivalent "muh negotiated settlement"/ "muh 45 Billllllllion dollars to corrupt Ukraine." I find the latter more dangerous now -over a year and a half into the war, because their arguments actually resonate with the average Republican voter who just wants less taxes and "woke" being shoved down their throat.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's any convincing them anymore. My dad who is a MAGA sycophant -has backtracked on (and outright denied) his over 10 years of Pro-Putin statements, but has fallen back on the above latter arguments.
The "I'm not Pro-Putin (Russia), buuuuuuut -[insert]"
-"muh tax payin' dollars!"
-"muh corrupt Ukraine!"
-"Muh Nuclear War!"
-"Muh Southern Border!"
It doesn't matter what the facts are -or what counter-arguments you have, they will always fall back on the above rhetoric -even if you're able to refute said points. And it gets frustrating -often arguing pointlessly, and descending into incoherence.
Case and point was the third Ukraine stream on BTR -Gio knew he was wrong, but he couldn't accept it. And most of these people are no different.