Ukraine is all over the news and social media these days.
We should certainly be in prayer for those in Ukraine, but we should also be paying attention.
I am no expert in foreign affairs, but there
are certain aspects of
the events in Eastern Europe that have intrigued me and don’t require any expertise to learn from. The double standard of what many of our politicians praise over in Ukraine – versus here in the U.S., for instance – is striking.
Some inconsistency is seen with President Biden recently reversing himself in regard to sanctions on the building of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. He is now sanctioning the pipeline, in order to “hold Russia accountable for their aggression.”
But, if shutting down a fossil fuel pipeline is how you hurt Russia in a way that is just short of an act of war, then why would you shut down the Keystone pipeline in your own country that benefits both us and Canada?
In February – when Russia was getting ready to invade – there was a lot of hoopla about the need for Ukraine to defend its borders. They needed to have a strong defense against people coming into the country without the consent of the home country.
If it’s so commendable for Ukraine to defend
its borders, then why can’t we expect that from the leadership of our country?
Then Russia invaded and the Ukrainians
started defending their homeland. We saw the Ukrainian government handing out guns to citizens, specifically guns that many on the Left in our country want to ban in America.
And yet, it was seen as commendable when the Ukrainians did it.
The patriotism of the Ukrainians has been lauded as well. The love for their country and the duty many felt to defend it was praised.
On the Left, culturally – as well as in many mainstream churches – there is very little room for patriotism. Love for country is routinely condemned as “Christian nationalism” by both. While some churches do take patriotism to an idolatrous level, most American Christians just love God and their country.
Too bad they don’t live in Ukraine, I guess.
Finally, the response to the women and children fleeing out of the cities – while the men 60 and under have been ordered to stay and defend their homeland – has been roundly applauded by
our politicians and celebrities. We all know true heroism when we see it. The hypocrisy here should be apparent to all who have read this far. We are constantly told that there is no difference between men and women, and yet when we see a real situation where men step up and act like real men, everybody cheers.
Deep down, we all know what is right and good. Much of what is virtuous contradicts the popular ideologies promoted in our society today (primarily by schools and media).
It’s past time to encourage our children and fellow citizens to celebrate the good and right here in the U.S., as well as in Ukraine.
Scott Kamps is the new bi-weekly columnist for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, thestableguy@frontier.com.