Can the Conscience of Humanity be Shaken?

Hi Fay
It is a clearly articulated different point of view from the current narrative promulgated by the current administration and news media.

Some questions:
Why do you think Mr. Putin considers NATO such an existential threat?
What interest of the United States is served by “continual provocation of Russia?
What is the relationship and impact on this conflict of geopolitical issues like warm water ports and shipping lanes, wheat production and other agriculture in Ukraine, corruption and an aging population and educated populace decline in Russia?
Who is more of a puppet president Poroshenko or Zelensky?
What happens to Ukranians in Donbas and Crimea if they go back to Russia?
If Donald Trump is reelected in 2024 after three years of war in Ukraine and gives Ukraine back to Russia will there be anything left?
Is a nuclear war win-able?
Might nuclear fallout counteract CO2 and methane and reduce global temperatures?

There are two sides to every argument. Two or more combatants to every war. I get that a large mutual defense organization like NATO could easily be perceived as a threat after 1941, Stalingrad, Leningrad, and twenty million dead and forty years of “Cold War.”
I get that the US and perhaps Russia are always fighting the last war.
I also get that the US Government puts out propiganda to its own people as much as the Russians do -see war in Iraq and Vietnam among others. So knowing either side’s true intentions is difficult.

But Ukraine is being destroyed. It’s peoplke are being displaced in large numbers.
And even if we accept Professor Mearsheimer’s view that this is mostly the West’s fault, What do we do now -short of finding out the solar radiation filtration qualities of nuclear fallout?
A

“brother” Alan’s .. please forgive the delay responding to your thought-full questions:
Why do you think Mr. Putin considers NATO such an existential threat?
I would love to be able to see inside his mind .. and heart .. ask him this question. History does shed light.
In Truth – only God knows the real truth. “Nothing is hidden from His sight”
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” – Hebrews 4
I read several articles and find this one most insightful
The Real Reasons Putin Feels Threatened by NATO .. Here’s what was missed by the foreign policy ‘realists’ who made the case against enlarging the alliance.
https://www.thebulwark.com/the-real-reasons-putin-feels-threatened-by-nato/

What interest of the United States is served by “continual provocation of Russia?
My first thought is that power blinds and binds
.. blinds to Wisdom
.. binds to darkness
Wisdom is the one quality that true leaders need. Sadly, the world is greatly lacking in wisdom .. and the majority of “leaders” are emaciated when it comes to wisdom.
Their desire is for power. Power almost always corrupts. Power is like GREED – never satisfied

What is the relationship and impact on this conflict of geopolitical issues like warm water ports and shipping lanes, wheat production and other agriculture in Ukraine, corruption and an aging population and educated populace decline in Russia?
As to declining “educated” populace:
http://mjltm.org/files/site1/user_files_a9608a/admin-A-10-1-74-3045779.pdf
The decline in “educated” people is not unique to Russia. Though there are many self-contributing challenges in Russia.
This one point is crucial .. I hope you might consider what I elaborate here:
Education just might be the key.
The key to Peace. The key to a productive & prosperous world.
The key to right-minded leadership & governance so greatly lacking globally.
The question every nation should consider a high priority is: What does it mean to be “educated”?
Increasingly “education” has been corrupted by GREED and self-seeking/self-serving POWER-Agenda’s: this corruption is producing an entitlement mindset and-or a victim mindset that adversely effects cultures & society’s everywhere. Corruption of the mind enters the soul and spirit .. eventually the heart. At its root it is spiritual in nature.
We must consider that it is our thinking that creates our actions. This applies in each life and it collectively to each nation & tribe.
In the USA .. though some of this plays out in other countries .. these few examples (there are many, many more)
.. CRT-critical race theory. Presented in sweet-sounding polished platitudes. When it is pure POISON.
.. the push to twist and-or or erase history is DELUSION that creates illusions & unreality. The result is CHAOS. (just look around)
.. it is wrong-minded: to be more concerned with tearing down historic statues & renaming schools .. than actual teaching
.. COVID is another complicating factor that did much harm to students. Those in “power” continue to misinform .. misuse & manipulate in ways that rob students.
The point is that wrong-focus will produce wrong-outcomes. This principle is as sure as gravity. Throwing money at brick & mortar does NOT produce “educated” people.
This book is a treasure ..
Since antiquity, the Great Tradition has defined education first and foremost as the hard work of rightly ordering the human soul, helping it to love what it ought to love, and helping it to know itself and its Maker.
Understanding the formation of the soul in wisdom, virtue, and eloquence took precedence over all else, including instrumental training aimed at the inculcation of “useful” knowledge.
Edited by historian Richard Gamble, this anthology reconstructs a centuries-long conversation about the goals, conditions, and ultimate value of true education. Spanning more than two millennia, from the ancient Greeks to contemporary writers, it includes substantial excerpts from more than sixty seminal writings on education. Represented here are the wisdom and insight of such figures as Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Cicero, Basil, Augustine, Hugh of St. Victor, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Erasmus, Edmund Burke, John Henry Newman, Thomas Arnold, Albert Jay Nock, Dorothy Sayers, C. S. Lewis, and Eric Voegelin.
In an unbroken chain of giving and receiving, the Great Tradition embraced the accumulated wisdom of the past and understood education as the initiation of students into a body of truth.

As to corruption:
Corruption is everywhere .. multiplying faster than the corona virus
As to warm water ports:
Strategic value: The Port of Sevastopol is considered a key hold for maritime routes between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, and, therefore, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The port is one of the few warm deep-water ports available to Russia in the Black Sea.
But geography is destiny and Russia’s actions in Ukraine have both historical precedent and current relevance.
https://thefederal.com/news/warm-water-ports-key-factor-in-russian-foreign-policy-calculations/
As to grain/Wheat production:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-04-05/will-russia-s-war-in-ukraine-cause-wheat-shortages-raise-food-prices-more
The $120 Billion Global Grain Trade Is Being Redrawn by Russia’s War in Ukraine
Deliveries from Ukraine and Russia, which account for about a quarter of the world’s grains trade, are becoming complicated, spurring food-security worries.
And
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/05/ukraine-grain-theft-russia-hunger-war/ May 5th 2022
And
The city on the Black Sea, Ukraine’s largest port, is a major gateway for grain shipments, and its blockade by Russia already threatens global food supplies. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy pointed out Russia’s blockade of ports on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov won’t allow Ukraine to export vital products.
“If we cannot export wheat, barley, sunflower, sunflower seed oil, then it means that people in North Africa and Asia will be lacking food and the prices will go up,” Zelenskyy said. “Later, there could be new chaos and a new migration crisis.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/10/ukraine-russia-invasion-putin-updates/9713002002/ (5-10-22)

As to declining population in Russia .. which is very notable:
While officials blame the coronavirus for the rising mortality rate, the growing unwillingness of Russian people to have children has exacerbated the crisis.
For the first time in the history of modern Russia, the natural population decline reached 1.04 million people.
Although the Russian government points at the pandemic as a cause of decreasing population, experts say that the trend had started way before the health crisis struck the world.
The increase in the retirement age, the quality of medical care in the region, declining living standards and numerous other challenges Russians face are among the reasons why the country is facing a population decline for the fourth year in a row.
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/why-the-population-decline-in-russia-has-hit-its-highest-in-history-54327
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23003689/putin-ukraine-russia-donbas-energy-feint

Who is more of a puppet president Poroshenko or Zelensky?
This question makes me look up .. only God knows the answer.
Had you included Biden .. “heads up” .. he’s the winner
When it comes to “puppets” .. the question one must always be most concerned about: Who is pulling the strings?

What happens to Ukrainians in Donbas and Crimea if they go back to Russia?
Only God knows that answer.
Given the significant decline in population .. Russia needs people. Hopefully they will show themselves a good “Motherland”
Insightful article and maps .. on Putin’s strategy .. more
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60938544

If Donald Trump is reelected in 2024 after three years of war in Ukraine and gives Ukraine back to Russia will there be anything left?
I have been called a “prophetess” but again, only God knows this answer.
Not sure why a re-elected President Trump would take such a path.
Had he remained President .. I am made to wonder if world peace would have been maintained. Many have expressed that a significant contributing factor to this war is the weakness of our current President.
This article is very eye-opening .. highly encourage reading !!
For years, Mearsheimer has argued that the U.S., in pushing to expand NATO eastward and establishing friendly relations with Ukraine, has increased the likelihood of war between nuclear-armed powers and laid the groundwork for Vladimir Putin’s aggressive position toward Ukraine. Indeed, in 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, Mearsheimer wrote that “the United States and its European allies share most of the responsibility for this crisis.”
This is great-power politics, and what the Russians want is a regime in Kyiv that is attuned to Russian interests. It may be ultimately that the Russians would be willing to live with a neutral Ukraine, and that it won’t be necessary for Moscow to have any meaningful control over the government in Kyiv. It may be that they just want a regime that is neutral and not pro-American.
We should be pivoting out of Europe to deal with China in a laser-like fashion, number one. And, number two, we should be working overtime to create friendly relations with the Russians. The Russians are part of our balancing coalition against China. If you live in a world where there are three great powers—China, Russia, and the United States—and one of those great powers, China, is a peer competitor, what you want to do if you’re the United States is have Russia on your side of the ledger. Instead, what we have done with our foolish policies in Eastern Europe is drive the Russians into the arms of the Chinese. This is a violation of Balance of Power Politics 101.
.. when push comes to shove, strategic considerations overwhelm moral considerations. In an ideal world, it would be wonderful if the Ukrainians were free to choose their own political system and to choose their own foreign policy.
But in the real world, that is not feasible. The Ukrainians have a vested interest in paying serious attention to what the Russians want from them. They run a grave risk if they alienate the Russians in a fundamental way. If Russia thinks that Ukraine presents an existential threat to Russia because it is aligning with the United States and its West European allies, this is going to cause an enormous amount of damage to Ukraine. That of course is exactly what’s happening now.
So my argument is: the strategically wise strategy for Ukraine is to break off its close relations with the West, especially with the United States, and try to accommodate the Russians. If there had been no decision to move NATO eastward to include Ukraine, Crimea and the Donbass would be part of Ukraine today, and there would be no war in Ukraine.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-john-mearsheimer-blames-the-us-for-the-crisis-in-ukraine

Is a nuclear war win-able?
All war is “senseless .. senseless.” – Cormac McCarthy – The Road
If anyone has read this dark book (or seen the movie) .. you would pray for death in such an event.
Another old movie: “Testament” originated out of the fear of nuclear war during the Cold War. The fact that the US and USSR could, within a half an hour, launch their ICBMs

Might nuclear fallout counteract CO2 and methane and reduce global temperatures?
If you are worried about rapid, catastrophic changes to the planet’s climate, then you must be worried about nuclear war. That is because, on top of killing tens of millions of people, even a relatively “minor” exchange of nuclear weapons would wreck the planet’s climate in enormous and long-lasting ways.
In the short term, the effects of ocean acidification would get worse, not better. The layer of smoke in the atmosphere would destroy as much as 75 percent of the ozone layer. That means that more UV radiation would slip through the planet’s atmosphere, causing a pandemic of skin cancer and unimaginable other medical issues
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/03/nuclear-war-would-ravage-the-planets-climate/627005/