intramuralist ™

Amidst all the news weekly jockeying for our attention, some issues and events understandably attract significantly more. This past week we saw the war in Ukraine heartbreakingly continue… we saw former Pres. Barack Obama return to the White House and the entire room again excited to see a president… we also witnessed the confirmation of another Supreme Court justice. The 51 year-old Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former appeals court judge with nine years experience on the federal bench, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday.

For years I’ve struggled with how our legislators treat Supreme Court nominees. Something has just seemed off. Let me be a little more blunt. Something has seemed wrong. Disrespectful of people, disrespectful of the process, and wrong.

Part of the difficulty in accurately assessing the wrongdoing is because oh-so-many justify disrespect of the people or process from one side only. That makes no sense to me.

With the confirmation of Jackson — who will serve as the third black justice, the second current black justice alongside Clarence Thomas, and the first black female justice — I heard more acknowledge publicly the lack of integrity long embedded in the process. 

First, from Sen. Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat on the Senate floor last week, when addressing the 4 or 5 senators he believed treated Jackson’s nomination inappropriately:

“We’ve done it, too, on the Democratic side. I’m gonna be first to admit, as I look back in history, there are things that should have been handled better when Republican nominees were before us.”

The admissions continued, as Sen. Chris Coons, the Democrat from Delaware, acknowledged in his sit-down interview with PBS this week. He was asked by PBS, “As you think about the current forces that have increasingly polarized the process and your own votes for Trump’s Supreme Court nominees, do you stand by them? Or do you think in a different world you might have thought about those votes differently?”

Said Coons: “I’ve recently been talking about that with some colleagues. So I was — my office now was John McCain’s office — and I think a lot about John. I was in that exact office with a bipartisan group of senators as Judge Gorsuch was being nominated for the Supreme Court, and a group of us were debating whether we could somehow come up with an agreement to not end the filibuster — the 60 vote threshold for justices — in exchange for allowing Gorsuch to move forward. And as I was digging into his record and philosophy, there was one case, the Hobby Lobby case, where he’d written the circuit court, and I just was really struggling with it. I would say Gorsuch was the closest for me where I knew him, I had a sense of him, his writings.”

Back to the interviewer: “But is it about judicial philosophy or advice and consent?” [Note: all emphasis mine.]

Coons: “That’s the point. That was the point at which I first voted against a nominee for the Supreme Court not based on his qualifications; he’s eminently qualified, great temperament, good writer, strong record of service. But I disagreed with his philosophy.

And Senator [Lindsay] Graham and I had a very forceful exchange at that point, where he said to me, ‘I voted for [Justice Elena] Kagan. I voted for [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor. If you’re not willing to vote for Gorsuch, what’s that mean?’

And so I will own that I’m a part of this problem — and recognize that with Senator Graham saying in this [Jackson’s] process — he’s voting against her — he was the last one on the committee who had a history of voting for qualification, not for or against philosophy.”

And therein lies the problem. Being qualified matters less than sharing political philosophy. On the left. On the right. And we only point it out when the other side does it; we make excuses for our own entrenched pathways of political thinking.

One of the wiser, non-politically-motivated voices in Ketanji Brown Jackson’s judicial pursuit came from the former Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican. Ryan and Jackson are related by marriage. 

Said Ryan: “Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it is unequivocal. She is an amazing person, and I favorably recommend her consideration.”

I wish our politics quit impeding our ability to see who’s qualified.

And amazing. On all sides.

Respectfully…

AR

Asked by a wise friend: “What do you think the biggest problem in the world is?” And, “Who do you think is responsible?”

Our minds wander in well-crafted webs hailing from all sorts of angles…

What’s the problem?

Climate change
Coronavirus
Crime
The economy
Education
Gas prices
Gender confusion
Gerrymandering
Healthcare
Inept political leadership
Inequality
Inflation
Injustice
Militant feminism
Partisanship
Poverty
Supply chain issues
Systemic oppression
Toxic masculinity
A victimhood mentality

And more, of course.

Who’s responsible?

Democrats
Republicans
Socialists
Google
Social media
Mass media
Academia
Atheists
Evangelicals
Jews
Muslims
The young
The old
The rich
The famous

And also more, of course.

Fascinatingly, we each have an opinion on all of the above. We each, too, oft fall prey to the foolhardy mental refrain, muttering something along the lines of “Thank God I’m not like those other people!”

Better yet… “Thank God I’m not a Democrat!”… “Thank God I’m not a Republican!”… “Thank God I’m not like them!”… The emphasis is always on “them.” And just like that, we absolve ourselves of any contributory role; we blame the totality of life’s biggest problems on someone other than self. To be clear, that’s a really easy thing to do.

Easy, but not necessarily wise. Nor accurate.

As of this writing, there are approximately 7,938,319,197 people in the world. That tells me that there are approximately 7,938,319,197 people contributing to the biggest problems in the world today.

How would it change our mindset if we realized that? How would it change the way we interacted with others? How would it move us from individual postures of unrealized arrogance to those of attractive, contagious humility?

My guess is that as long as we hold someone else wholly responsible — with no admission of individual involvement — via either action, conviction or even quiet disposition — the world’s biggest problems will continue to swell.

Hence, in a world that’s so obviously, incredibly broken, let’s be brokers of peace. Let’s bring peace as opposed to subtly or not so subtly contribute to chaos. Let’s start with humility.

Respectfully…
AR

After the slap heard round the world, I must admit there’s one thing I still can’t wrap my brain around. It’s just conflicting. I don’t understand.

Please don’t assume I understand why Will Smith got up and hit, slapped, whatever-you-want-to-call-it presenter Chris Rock. He was presumably offended at the ridicule of his wife; we do a lot of foolish things when we quickly assume a position of offense.

All sorts of editorials have since run rampant…

From… how Smith should have been arrested… violence is wrong… Smith “stole” the Williams sisters’ story… his succeeding resignation from the Academy… how this hurts his family brand… what wife Jada thinks… what we should all know about alopecia… the defense of black women… how a racist society is to blame… how toxic femininity is to blame… how former Pres. Donald Trump is to blame… how Chris Rock is to blame… how Rock is processing the situation now…

And no doubt cumulating in yesterday’s LA Times editorial entitled “Everybody has an opinion on Will Smith. Why the slap resonated.”

Still, not what most fits on my things-that-make-you-go-hmmm list.

After the slap while Rock was presenting the Oscar to the best “Documentary Feature,” two more awards were acknowledged prior to “Best Actor,” which Smith won for his portrayal of the father of Venus and Serena Williams.

Then…

Even with the stunning slap fresh in their minds, the audience gave Smith a standing ovation.

Envision that with me for a moment. Maybe no more than 30 minutes passes between incident and acknowledgement. The audience still cheers. On their feet. Extended applause.

Hear no judgment from me; that’s not the point. I’m sure it was difficult to know how to act in the present moment; and remember: most of these persons are actors.

But the disconnect comes from a collective group of people who for some reason, increasingly more, oft feel empowered to play a sort of societal moral compass. Actors frequently use their stage and celebrity to shame or belittle persons who hold diverse opinion, not truly valuing those who are different than they.

Maybe the issue is us. Maybe we’ve come as a society to celebrate celebrity so much, that we’ve been lax in examining the character of the one who feels so empowered. Maybe, just maybe, we’ve confused celebrity with credibility. Both have value, but they are distinctly different.

Let us be certain to not suggest all celebrities fit into the above, potential hypocrisy… Sandra Bullock, Queen Latifah, and Denzel Washington, to name a brief few. I’m not aware of any moment they’ve felt justified in their adulthood to publicly shame those of any perspective.

And to be clear, celebrity or not, we hold a lot of perspective — just as the LA Times editorial page suggested. What’s also true is that not every perspective or opinion needs to be shared. Also, celebrity or not.

Actors indeed have a gift. Their talent and expertise is in entertainment.

Such is a keen reminder. Entertainment is one thing. Influence is another.

When an actor then attempts to influence us in the socio-economic-political arena, let us remember that it’s ok that they, too, hold strong opinion, but their credibility is not established by their celebrity… What’s their expertise? How thoroughly have they researched the issue? What diverse voices are they listening to? Are they living in a likeminded bubble? And in arguably the number one credibility killer, are there any they feel justified to shame?

No disrespect, friends.

I’m simply conflicted that celebrities found reason to stand.

Respectfully…

AR

To illustrate the main point of today’s post, we could focus on the recent, 94th Academy Awards. But Hollywood seems increasingly less popular and even lesser in touch with the totality of society. Sometimes I think we celebrate the wrong things. This year’s show, no less, got exponentially more attention; granted, it had nothing to do with the movies.

We could also illustrate our main point by focusing on the pair of NCAA final fours: Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova will grind it out on the gridiron for the men; UConn, Stanford, South Carolina and Louisville will compete for the women’s crown.

That’s the point: a singular crown… society’s passion for a sole victor.

Seven years ago we penned a post that to this day still makes me smile. It’s simply a sweet way God works when the wisdom comes from the mouth of a babe. We think we know so much; sometimes the “babes” know more… and we can actually see it/learn from it/grow if we are humble and willing enough to learn.

The Intramuralist then focused on our need to always “pick one” — emphasis on the one. We make everything a competition… from TIME’s “Person of the Year” to People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” to “Best New Artist,” “Best Picture,” “Best Actress” and “Best Actor” — the latter to whom there’s little need to pay more attention to at the moment. 

The point is that we crave picking one. 

I’m simply not sure that’s always necessary or wisest. I’m also not alone in that thinking.

Hence, in illustrating the main point of today’s post, allow me to share a bit of a common pastime. According to the American Gaming Association, roughly 70 million NCAA Tournament brackets are filled out each year. A majority of us submit more than one, with it estimated that some 40 million Americans take part in this process. Our family is no different. Seven years ago, my “babe” taught me more… 

I was keenly struck by something I found wadded up. This sheet was crumpled in the corner in one of my son’s upstairs bedrooms (…I know… shocking that I would find anything on the floor of a teenager’s room…).

Yet when I slowly unfurled this crumpled sheet, I found a goldmine of wisdom. Here, roughly designed with undoubtedly valiant efforts at perceived symmetry, was a bracket created by my 13 year old, sports fan son with special needs.

He did not use a pre-printed bracket, however; he crafted his own.

On both the left and the right, he drew slots for 16 teams, thus including 32 entries. But this bracket had a different title up top. It said nothing about the Men’s NCAA Tournament Championship. Instead, boldly printed on the top of the page was:

“BRACKIT FOR BEST MAN AND TEAM”

Then down the sides of the page, I sat still as I read the names. 

There I would find the listings of my son’s father…

… and his brothers… 

… some aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, too.

I did chuckle at one point — realizing Josh must have ran out of names to write — when added to his most creative “brackit” were LeBron James, the University of Florida, and Zipper, our cat. But I loved and absolutely admired his precious list.

My only pondering was why he never completed the bracket — why it was instead crumpled up and discarded to his floor. 

So I soon found my sweet son and asked him, “Tell me. Why no best man and team?”

To which my wise son instantly responded. The babe didn’t miss a beat. He said, “There are lots of good teams. It doesn’t matter. Winning and losing are the same… if you win, you’re awesome; if you lose, you’re still awesome.”

No one had to win.

Out of the mouth of babes… oft they are wiser than we…

Respectfully…

AR

As multiple media voices seem to amplify their chosen angle, it’s helpful to know who is who and what their bias is in order to avoid manipulation, fake news and misinformation. To be clear, sources on both the left and right engage in intentional manipulation, fake news and misinformation. Just as we watched last week’s developments in the Ukraine, the hearings surrounding Supreme Court judicial nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and the current state of both our national economy and local school boards, bias is rampant. On all sides.

Hence, allow me to share the updated analysis from the more articulate AllSides, a respectful, noninflammatory organization, which acknowledges it’s actually okay to be biased; in fact, there most likely is no such thing as totally unbiased news. But hidden bias is the problem. In the words of AllSides, “hidden media bias misleads, manipulates and divides us.”

Think widely sharing a perspective from either CNN or FOX News is helpful in discerning truth? … Are we convincing or dividing?

Are we helping form objective opinion? … Or are we unknowingly participating in attempts to manipulate opinion?

My sense is the CNN’s and FOX News’s of the world only fuel the likeminded; it seems more the fruitless act of preaching to a partisan choir — or subtly shaming those who’ve yet to sing our desired tune. Hence, the Intramuralist believes it to be prudent to be intentional in what we read, listen to, and share, promoting reason and objectivity.

Based then on multi-partisan, scientific analysis — online content only — here is AllSides recently released, updated Media Bias Chart. In these findings — analyzing the results of their blind bias study for February — NPR moved from “center” to “lean left” (remember: this is for online content only — no radio is relevant here). Insider moved from “center” to “lean left.” Newsmax moved from “lean right” to “right.” And NewsNation was added, with an initial rating of “center.” (Cheers to those in the center, if I may…)

The current analysis looks as follows:

Remember that AllSides differs from other bias assessments because data is gathered from people across the political spectrum. It’s not based on just one biased individual nor on singular methodologies, algorithms or homogenous groups. They have been assessing media bias since 2012. Also, if one searches their site, one can easily glean how they arrived at a particular rating bias. They are not attempting to manipulate us; they are attempting to help us not be manipulated.

Respectfully…

AR

No doubt we learn from one another. If willing.

We sharpen one another. We grow. Become wiser. Learn more. And as passionate about our perspective as we may be, it is always prudent to invite the respectfully-stated perspective of another… especially from those closer to the situation and outside our insulated, likeminded “tribe.”

With what continues to evolve and digress in Ukraine, I invited a trusted friend — who has a far closer vantage point than most — to speak a little more into the issue. What’s it like inside Russia?

Listen. Learn. This isn’t fluffy stuff.

But it’s reality for another part of the world…

In the big-bangs era of the 80s, my university roommate, AR Miller and I used to stay up till 3am discussing whatever questions about life and the universe were niggling at us that day. Our bond was an insatiable joy in the art of curious wonder and reflective learning. Pay attention, look back, look right, look left, look ahead. Talk to each other. 

I’ve worked my last 26 years consulting for small businesses in Eurasia and Russia, assisting families displaced by war. My foundational language-culture primer came from an ethnic Chechen, “You have to understand, shame, not guilt, drives us. We step towards the future with our faces to the past.” 

Try that! Stand up. Walk forward while facing backwards. What’s that like? It changes your point of view. It changes the directional labels. It changes the frame of reference. What defines “forward?” And what is “backwards?” 

Putin’s Kremlin has for 20 years held hostage an extraordinarily diverse citizenry as he faces the past, stepping towards his preferred future of a nationalistic, anti-western (even xenophobic), Russian-dominated Eastern Orthodox, totalitarian state. The 1800s were labeled “the great game” between the British, Ottoman and Russian empires. The 2000s, may one day be known as “the great get back.”

What does Mr. Putin want? By his own words, to avenge a generational dishonor — to create the conditions that Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia are heeled under the central authority of Moscow’s Kremlin and Russian Orthodox Patriarchy. 

To synthesize from Alexsandr Verkhovsky, of the Sova-Center for information and analysis, Dominic Rubin, Fiona Hill, Anne Applebaum, Catherine Belton (UK), Oliver Bullough (UK), Karen Dawisha (U of Miami, OH), Mr. Putin is a man aggrieved from a visceral shame of dishonor unavenged; when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) broke up in 1991, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Caucasus Eastern Orthodox republics of Georgia and Armenia, opted for independence, rather than alignment with Russia. Mr. Putin leveraged his KGB foreign service experience, his law school education to become St. Petersburg’s foreign business kingpin. He meticulously, patiently developed a financially opaque global patron/client loyalty network of Oligarchs (super rich people) pilfering and privatizing state companies, so long as they paid tribute. Simultaneously, he decimated Chechnya, annexed Ukraine, decimated Syria, and is now again, decimating Ukraine. Putin never hesitates to wield first-strike, brutal, coercive violence to abuse power, to get subjects and clients to heel. Ukraine is just the most recent example. The result of this are people fear-conditioned into loyalty alignments, “subjects” not citizens. Since 2008, Putin carefully kicked out thousands of foreign NGOs, charities, and imposed increasingly central authority onto 90 nationalities across 11 time zones, where individuals are rendered powerless. 

People inside of Russia are humiliated now, and deeply self-reflective: “Putin’s abusive power is a big problem, but not the sole problem.” We have a symptom of historical, authoritarian racism, where whole nations are relegated to the status of soil, dirt, and graves. While Slavic Russians are the majority, there are 4 million Tatar, 6 million Bashkir; 10 million people and 45 tribes in the North Caucasus — The Circassians, Chechens, Ingush, Nogai, Balkar, Kumyk, 34 tribes in Dagestan alone; Armenians, Georgians, Azerbaijanis; Tuvans and 40 more Siberian tribes; the Kalmyk Buddhists. The soil of the Jews had already been taken during the Holodomor and Holocaust — what once was the Pale of Settlement is now Belarus and Ukraine, ethnically cleansed. The consequences have already cast their shadows over many generations.      

Respectfully…

~ Name withheld

As we’ve been poignantly reminded in recent weeks how fragile and precarious the world can be, emotions seem to be running a little higher. And when emotions run high, it’s easy to become fixated on specific people. (With the unfortunate plethora of media bias and hence agenda, some seem especially fixated — lookin’ for blame in all the wrong places — dare I semi-humbly suggest.)

But if there was one person that would be wise for each of us to at some time focus on as countries continue to clash, in and out of cease fires, my sense is it would be the refugee… the one who has been forced to leave their home due to war, persecution or disaster.

The 1951 Refugee Convention specifically defines a refugee as “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” They are protected by international law.

I’m grateful they are protected. But my goal today is to make this a little more personal.

According to the United Nation’s refugee agency (UNHCR) — and this number keeps changing — millions of Ukrainians have fled their home country and crossed over into Central Europe.  Poland and Romania have each welcomed significant populations of displaced persons.

As the Polish border guard service tweeted, when their welcomed refugee count topped 1 million, “This is a million human tragedies, a million people banished from their homes by the war.”

A million human tragedies…

As has been noted here — Ukraine, Poland, Romania — they are some five, six thousand miles away. It’s easy to dismiss what’s far away. It’s easy to not dwell on what we don’t see. It’s easy to care lesser. We tend to care most about what’s most in front of us, issues and experiences in which we can more clearly envision and relate to an aspect of the overall impact.

I don’t want to do that with the Ukrainian people. If I’m honest, as someone who believes with my whole heart that all are created in the image of God and therefore we should be treating all as such, I don’t want to be dismissive of any.

And so my mind continues to contemplate the question of a wise friend…

“How am I actively sitting in the suffering of others?”

Is it out of sight/out of mind?

That doesn’t seem right.

Is it, “Well, it depends on who’s supporting that group of people politically. If _______ supports them, so will I.” Fill in the blank with whomever you wish; the reality is that such shows my compassion and care is selective.

That, too, doesn’t seem right.

Friends, I have no easy answer this day. I continue to hear selfless stories of volunteers and servant-hearted citizens assisting refugees at the border. It’s tireless work. How do we best help those who’ve been forced to flee?

How do care for those who’ve left family behind? … family they may never see again? How do we serve those caught up in this humanitarian crisis?

No answers. No simple solutions. Thankfully, no less, miles between are incapable of minimizing the power of prayer. I still question what more we can do… money, donations, care…

Today, though, I just didn’t want to ignore the perilous, heartbreaking plight of those on the other side of the planet. I didn’t want us to fail to focus on the refugee. 

That doesn’t seem right either.

Respectfully…

AR

We were walking to the gym in the morning Florida sunshine, as is our regular Monday routine. My son — for those of you who don’t know him — is this vivacious, articulate, musically-gifted 20 year old. There are days he claims to be a rap star. I just think of him as a star. 

He happens to have Down syndrome, but no, it’s not what defines him. I happen to be about 5’8”, an avid sports enthusiast, and have a really weird birthmark that somehow resembles the combined landmass of Europe and Asia. None define me either.

Sometimes he likes to still grab my hand while walking. It’s a sweet thing. Sometimes, too, there is genuine need for directional help.

On this recent day, we were a little early in our pursuit. Such caused the traffic to be a little fuller, most at the onset of their day. We came to a decently busy two-way stop, with the other road freely flowing. Let me try to help you envision the scenario a little better…

We stood still at the stop sign. A white sedan was stopped at the sign across the street, waiting to turn. The traffic between us was neighborhood-slow but also steady.

In our neighborhood, which is sort of the bomb of nearby ‘hoods, in my opinion — we do community well — but consistent with our community desire to honor and care for, pedestrians always have the right of way. That means stop sign or not, cars are encouraged to stop, allowing the walkers to proceed.

But on this particular day, the cars that were coming from the free-flowing cross-street didn’t slow to a point where I was comfortable stepping out into the street immediately with my son. I couldn’t tell for certain that they were going to stop for me. And so instead of strolling right through the cross-section, I stopped. Josh and I paused for maybe an extra 2 seconds, possibly 3.

The gentleman in the car waiting to turn reacted immediately. He honked. At me and Josh.

Now no doubt compared to all that’s going on in the world today, this story pales in comparison. I agree. Yet knowing God cares about all things big and small and uses them to teach each of us in our every day, I couldn’t help to just shake this story. I kept thinking about the man in the car, his reaction, and how when I made eye contact with him in his car — and his approximate 3 year old in the back seat — how he just glared. At me and Josh.

Friends, let’s give him some grace. Really — no judgment. We’ve all had moments when we’ve chosen to honk. And no doubt several of us still adamantly insist that such was the exact right thing to do.

But I keep thinking about one question…

What did the man in the car not know?

What could he not see — what did he not realize — that prompted him to justify the honk? … the glare? … the clear impatience?

He couldn’t see the needs of my son. He didn’t know he sometimes struggles with directions and crossing streets. He’s a 20 year old, growing young man.

He couldn’t tell that I was actively gauging the oncoming traffic. He couldn’t tell that in my assessment, the cross traffic hadn’t yet committed to stop.

And he couldn’t tell that we had zero intent to inconvenience him. We had no desire to impact him negatively. I was solely focused on the safety of my own kid — no doubt the same reason his kid sat protected in the car seat behind him.

He and I were both protecting our kids. He and I both had places to go. The situations just looked a little different. We weren’t in any competition with one another, but he couldn’t tell that because our destinations differed.

So the question that comes back to me in yes, just a simple scenario, is: where do I honk? … especially when the destinations differ?

Where do I justify glaring at another — and maybe still hang on to a mistaken judgment — because I don’t know what I don’t know?

I love how God teaches us…

Every day. In the ordinary. If we don’t shake the stories too soon…

Respectfully…

AR

The former actor… comedian…  Now the sixth and current president of Ukraine. A few notes first about the man, who seems quickly becoming more…

He was a political outsider when announcing his candidacy just over 2 years ago. He was said to be for the people and against the so-called elite. He positioned himself as anti-establishment and anti-corruption. He has intentionally worked to unify his country, bringing together the Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking populations. There’s a reason a recent tweet has gone viral, reading: “BREAKING: every woman in your life now has at least a small crush on Volodymyr Zelensky and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.” As some have responded, “The men, too!”

Like many, I find myself refreshing my news feed often these days, appalled by Russia’s aggression and attracted to the leadership of Zelensky. There’s simply something solid when asked if we can help him exit, his response is: “The fight is here. I need ammunition — not a ride.” There’s something admirable about a leader who instead of hiding in a basement or bomb shelter, says to the cameras on the street, “We are here. We are in Kyiv. We are defending Ukraine.”

Zelensky won the presidency with 73.2% of the vote. My sense is that number would be even higher now.

No doubt Zelensky’s style and stand has resonated across the world. As respected Intramuralist favorite David French articulates, Zelensky’s “moral and physical courage stands out in an age when so many politicians shrink from the moment, when they wilt under pressure, bowing to Twitter mobs rather than maintaining even an ounce of integrity in the face of adversity.” Allow me to humbly share more…

“… It’s sometimes hard to gauge in real time whether any given moment, no matter how dramatic, is truly culturally or historically significant. Not every viral video matters, and we’re quick to create (and forget) both heroes and villains. 

But there is something about Zelensky’s stand that is different. There’s something about it that’s penetrating far beyond his country’s borders and touching the hearts of Americans across the political spectrum. It means something real, something we should remember.

Part of the importance rests in Zelensky’s identity. Nothing about his past suggests that he was ready to potentially become Ukraine’s Churchill. Indeed, in the run-up to the Russian invasion itself, there were a lot of reasons to wonder whether he was, in the words of a ‘New York Times’ essay by a Ukrainian journalist, ‘seriously in over his head.’

I’ve spoken to a number of knowledgeable people who questioned not only Zelensky’s presidency (Has he done enough to root out corruption? Has he surrounded himself with friends and cronies?) but also his preparation for the Russian invasion. Did he downplay the threat of Russian attack for too long? Did he mobilize too late?

The best argument for Zelensky was that he was an ordinary man caught in extraordinary times. Because evil often leaves virtue with few good choices, he had no clear path. Mobilize too soon, and you can cripple your economy and perhaps provide pretext for a Russian attack. Mobilize too late, and you’ve granted the invader a military advantage. Moreover, when exactly do you tell your people that the Russians are coming? After all, there were disagreements about the likelihood and extent of the Russian attack right until the moment it launched. 

But extraordinary times are also when ordinary men can become heroes. We’ve become accustomed to dealing with brand-managed politicians—men and women who sometimes act more like messaging machines than leaders or legislators. We’re just as accustomed to moral cowardice. Politicians fold to Twitter mobs. They say one thing in green rooms and another thing on television because they’re terrified of the activist base, or mean words from Mar-a-Lago. 

It’s not that we’re even experiencing a political class full of ordinary people in extraordinary times, but rather too often it seems as if they’re small people, who shrink even smaller the bigger the moment. There are exceptions here in the United States, but they’re exceptions. There is a reason why public trust collapses. There is a reason why angry cynicism grips our land. 

In these circumstances it is breathtaking to witness actual courage. It’s even more breathtaking when that courage is both moral and physical. He’s not just speaking against evil, he’s quite literally standing against evil–when evil seems to possess all the power, and virtue feels so weak.  

And this reminds us of something important about leadership. It’s one thing to say, ‘I will lead you.’ It’s another thing entirely to say, ‘I am with you,’ and to demonstrate it by laying your own life on the line…” 

We’re with you, Mr. President. May God bless your boldness, courage, leadership and resolve. We are watching, praying, and cheering you on.

Respectfully…

AR

As one who asks and encourages the asking of good questions, it’s fascinating the plethora of questions we all have about Ukraine… what’s going on… how far will this go… what will happen to the Ukrainian people… how much more will this inflate prices here… and how should we wisely, unitedly respond.

So many questions — 50 to be exact — from ABC, CBS, NBC and more… from Bloomberg, Harvard, and FiveThirtyEight. Watch out for the overly slanted accounts… none intentionally included here…

Some of these questions have been answered. Others will never be. Alas, we’ve been collectively asking these past 2 weeks…

1. As West Unites on Ukraine, What About China and India?
2. Are the U.S. and Europe Breaking Up?
3. The Beginning of the End for Putin?
4. Can China do more to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine?
5. Can oil and China help Russia survive Western sanctions?
6. Can Russia’s Sanctions Pain Be China’s Gain?
7. Can Ukraine defend itself?
8. Could Ukraine be Putin’s Afghanistan?
9. Did China Have a Clue?
10. Do We Want Small Wars or World Wars?
11. Does Biden’s Presidency Hang on the Crisis with Russia?
12. How are Russia’s friends and allies reacting to Ukraine invasion?
13. How far will Putin go – and how far will America go to stop him?
14. How far will Russia go?
15. How high can oil—and gas—go?
16. How is China reacting to the Russia-Ukraine crisis?
17. How long can Ukraine hold out?
18. How Much Oil Does the U.S. Import From Russia?
19. How much trade does Russia do with China?
20. How Should President Biden Respond to Putin’s War?
21. How will Russia’s war affect China?
22. How will sanctions against Russia impact Americans?
23. Is a Russia-NATO Clash Over Ukraine Ahead?
24. Is Putin looking for an exit?
25. Is Sleepy Joe Biden Making Vladimir Putin Blink?
26. A Modern Churchill? Zelensky…
27. What Cities Is Russia Targeting in Ukraine?
28. What Do Americans Think About War?
29. What Does It Mean to Defeat Putin?
30. What does Putin want in Ukraine?
31. What is a no-fly zone, and why has NATO so far rejected calls for one over Ukraine?
32. What is a Russian oligarch and how do you pronounce it?
33. What Is China Learning from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?
34. What is NATO, and why is Russia so insecure about Ukraine joining the US-led alliance?
35. What Is Russia to Us?
36. What message was Biden sending to Putin?
37. What options does Biden have to lower gas prices?
38. Who Is Volodymyr Zelensky?
39. Why Did Biden Admin Share Russia Intel With China?
40. Why has the letter Z become the symbol of war for Russia?
41. Why is Russia invading Ukraine and what does Putin want?
42. Why Is Russia Invading Ukraine and What Is Happening on the Ground?
43. Why is Russia invading Ukraine – and will there be a war?
44. Why is Russia invading Ukraine? Could it be the start of WWIII?
45. Will Biden Cut A Deal With Putin & Abandon Zelensky?
46. Will China’s support for Russia hold as condemnation over Ukraine grows?
47. Will Sanctions Force Putin to Back Down in Ukraine?
48. Will the war in Ukraine make Joe Biden popular at home?
49. Will the West Ban Russian Oil Imports?
50. Will the west place an embargo on Russian oil and gas supplies?

Keep asking, friends… Keep listening, too… 

Respectfully…

AR

[Sources referenced include but are not limited to: ABC News, American Greatness, The American Mind, AP, BBC News, Bloomberg, Brookings, CBS News, CNN, DW Akademie, The Economist, Financial Times, FiveThirtyEight, Foreign Affairs, Fortune, Good to Know, The Guardian, The Harvard Gazette, The Indian Express, National Review, NBC News, New York Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Nextgov, Ottawa Citizen, Politico, Rasmussen Reports, Stimson, Substack, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal.]