In just over a year, Ukraine has racked up a grand total of over 200 billion dollars of military and financial assistance, all at the expense of the American taxpayer. As I drive down Lancaster Boulevard in Salem, Oregon and gawk at the newly established homeless campsites, on what once was an ordinary sidewalk in front of a supermarket and fast food joints, it’s hard not to think of all that money wasted on an immoral proxy war. It’s hard not to think about how this particular war had a peaceful solution, rejected in December 2021 with little to no discussion in Washington or the U.S. mainstream media. The refusal of the Russian proposal on a new security architecture was so swift that it really appeared as if the Biden administration and hawks in both parties wanted a war in Ukraine.
As the weeks turned into months, something else became apparent in the Kiev-Washington relationship. It was a strange phenomenon that we’ve seen play out in Hollywood films and, for some, in real life. It’s the sad story of a man who has everything going for him, but, for one reason or another is completely controlled and being used. Perhaps, this plot involves a rich and talented man who unfortunately lacks self-esteem and, therefore, a mail-order bride uses him and maxes out his credit cards, taking him to the proverbial cleaners. How could a country as rich and powerful as the United States be led around by a country as corrupt and backward as Ukraine? With all the need in our society, how is there seemingly a blank check for a country whose president shows up at a state event in sweatshirt and cargo pants, and after already receiving over 100 billion dollars in weapons and financial aid, without any oversight, brazenly demands more money, “I want this weapons system and I want that and I want that!” In his green tee-shirt, he stands in front of the American public as if Ukraine runs the U.S. budget.
The American people have been saying for years, “We want universal health care, more funding for medical research, and better salaries and working conditions for teachers and nurses!” The American people have been declaring for years, “We want shelter for the homeless, more money for mental health programs, funding for child care, and full funding for school meal programs.” These are just some of the demands that the American people have shouted from the rooftops in our cities with crumbling infrastructure and from the hilltops of forgotten rural communities. As people drank lead in Flint, Michigan, we demanded money for water infrastructure, and as 12 million American children struggle with hunger each year, we have demanded the nation’s children be fed. But our resounding shouts and declarations for our tax money to solve these problems have been consistently met with rebukes and cries of “it’s too expensive and we can’t afford it.” We have been met with declarations that it is politically impractical to fully or even partially solve many of these issues. We have been shouted down by the political establishment that we can only fund a fraction of what is necessary because this or that problem is too large to solve all at once. Ultimately, the years have turned into decades and complete solutions have never materialized.
Millions of Americans remain hungry, homeless, and without adequate health care. Millions of Americans suffer from crumbling infrastructure that harms their health and well-being. Yet, a foreigner in cargo pants, at the head of one of the most corrupt countries on earth, shows up in Washington and nothing is too expensive for him. Washington continues to dole out check after check and President Biden says this will continue, “as long as it takes.” The man in the cargo pants and the country he represents is Washington’s mail-order bride, intent on maxing out the U.S. credit card, paid for by our tax dollars. Americans need to tell the White House and Congress that they are being highly irresponsible as well as immoral. And the man in the cargo pants needs to be told to his face, “No more money.”