Why Does Everything Not Go Well?

Why Does Everything Not Go Well？

It has been almost 4 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. At first, we believed that Russia would soon give up because of the concerted economic sanctions by Western nations, but Russia seems to be more resilient than expected.

We are saddled with a number of problems, including Covid-19, climate change, inflation, food shortages, frequent earthquakes, electric power and water shortages and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.　

Over the past several months, we have learned that TV news, political commentators, and defense experts are not reliable sources for understanding the war situation. These experts seem to rely on secondary information from other sources, and in many cases, we were gulled by their wishful thinking.

Although Russia is not economically and technologically advanced by world standards, it has abundant natural resources and food, as well as nuclear weapons. With that said, Russia is engaged in an out-of-date, outrageous invasion of another country to capture its territory.

I have several questions. 

First of all, what do the Russian people think about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to capture its territory at the cost of millions of victims?

Second, why can nobody stop the dictator? Why do Russians not stop Putin who is obsessed by the illusion of the Great Russian Empire?

Millions of Russian intellectuals and wealthy people have left the country to protect themselves from political persecution. Don’t they have any responsibility to protect the country or to do something to make Russia return to normal? Do they not feel responsible for all the global problems including inflation, food shortages, and increasing numbers of refugees because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

We understood that the Russian government keeps a tight lid on information, and no correct information is provided to people due to propaganda. Is this true? I doubt it as nowadays SNS and the internet are widely available to everyone, which will indicate what is happening in Ukraine and how Russians behave in their neighboring country. It pains me that more and more young Russians just disregard reality.

In Japan, after losing World War II, the democracy-based education system has been introduced and we were forced to learn how peace is important and that we should never repeat the mistake of waging a war of aggression. Therefore, Russia’s violent action is something we would never forgive. Do Russians have different moral and ethical beliefs?

I just wondered if the Russians are in favor of Putin who tries to seize Ukrainian territory, or have Russians been educated that those surrounding countries should be a part of Russia because they used to belong to Russia? Outrageous!

Even if ideas and principles are different by political and social systems, we are supposed to share the basic common values as human being in the world.

Seventy years have passed since the Russians invaded the northern islands of Japan to capture them. My father left a farewell note explaining how Russians invaded to the Chishima Island only 3 days after the end of WWII.  It was a violation of mutual non-aggression pact between Russia and Japan. These islands legitimately belong to Japan, but the Russians do not have any intention of returning them to us. Russians remain the same in essence no matter how long it may take.

Overall, the past hangs heavy over the present. We all should be morally accountable to the next generation for what our generation did to make the world a more trusting, peaceful, and safe place.

Posted on June 29, 2022