Sunday, March 6, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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“We are going to be OK.”
And with that sentence, President Joe Biden assured Americans across this country that a cleareyed, experienced grown-up is in charge of what is fast becoming the most dangerous set of circumstances this world has faced since the advent of World War ll.
No, I haven’t forgotten the Cuban missile crisis. In fact, when President John F. Kennedy stared down a nuclear-armed and dangerous Soviet Union in 1962, his leadership set the bar for Cold War maneuvering around and through the anxiety of mutually assured destruction (MAD).
For those who were basically born yesterday, MAD refers to the United States and Soviet Union’s strategic stalemate as they butted heads around the world trying to bring country-size recruits to their side of the Iron Curtain. If you need more than that, consult the library. Or Google.
Suffice to say, both countries had and have the current ability to blow themselves up and take the rest of the world with them into nuclear oblivion. Hence, the stalemate since rational actors tend to act rationally before they push any big red buttons.
In today’s world, we know that President Biden is a rational actor. He is doing his best to stop the madness of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine without testing the limits of that dictator’s capacity for rational acts.
The fact that he could bring together practically the entirety of the free world and those not quite so free to stand as a unifying block to Putin’s immoral and destructive desires in Ukraine speaks volumes about the American president’s leadership.
The next volume in the story, however, has to be about the American people themselves. Will we also show the kind of unity of purpose that the rest of the world has shown so far against Putin? Will we, knowing that life will get a bit more difficult for us because of the sanctions being imposed on Russia and its leaders, stay the course until sanity and morality prevail once again?
If we can’t come together for this fight against the evil that is Russia’s Putin, how can we expect to lead the rest of the world to hang in there ? To “go get him” as President Biden exhorted at the end of his address.
Because that is what those who appreciate freedom and liberty must do and do now.
Living through the Cold War had its anxious moments to be sure. But, whatever challenges that were created between the combatants, they were nothing compared to what a hot war would have entailed.
Russia still has its nukes. So do we. And so do other countries, no matter how much we wish that were not the case. In that respect, MAD remains a strategic impediment to all-out war. Barring any further signs of madness!
But any fear Americans might have about facing off on the nuclear battlefield must be tempered by our absolute imperative to lead this world toward a more peaceful and prosperous life.
Not entering the ground war in Ukraine for fear of escalation into a war against Russia and its nuclear power is a rational position. I fear, however, that the time may come when watching the total destruction of Ukraine and its people will overwhelm any desire we may have to avoid a confrontation.
I hope that time doesn’t come and I really hope the Ukrainian people can withstand the onslaught and repel the invaders. But, as my Mother always taught me, hope is not a productive strategy. But, still, I hope.
As a backup plan, however, it seems the prudent and responsible move going forward is to build upon what President Biden has been able to achieve.
America needs to plan for Cold War 2.0.
This world is a dangerous place and there is little reason to believe it will get less dangerous anytime soon. Those countries around the world which genuinely want peace and prosperity can come together to say “no” to the Russias of the world and the Putin wannabes.
It wasn’t that long ago that Europe’s democracies faced total destruction at the hands of another dictator. That lesson has been learned. Freedom is fleeting. It has to be earned everyday because it can disappear in the blink of a dictator’s eye.
But, just like the first Cold War, this one will need a leader. The United States under President Biden has stepped into that breech. He needs to continue marching on. And we, all of us, need to be marching right behind him.
We are witnessing every night the destruction and devastation that results when this world allows the bullies to have their way. Once they succeed, they do not stop.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a modern-day profile in great courage. He is leading his countrymen on an impossible journey. And, yet, each day that passes brings with it the possibility of success.
We need, however, to prepare for that time when the news is not so good. We need to be ready to face that Russian bear — with all of his nukes and all of his bluster — the same way JFK and Ronald Reagan, and almost every other president of the United States did when they were called to act.
When Americans are able to come together to do that, President Biden’s words will ring true.
And, then, we will be OK.
Brian Greenspun is editor, publisher and owner of the Sun
