Freedom inspires people to accomplish great feats. The ability to freely express one’s thoughts, freely choose one’s path, to act and create – these are the fundamental values that make our lives brighter and more meaningful. A person is born absolutely free. Yet from the very first moments of life, from our first steps, constraints begin to apply. And the further we go, the more of them there are. The more degrees of freedom a person gains, the greater the responsibility for exercising them, and therefore, the more limitations arise. Is this a good thing? Probably yes, because if one person’s freedom is directed at depriving someone else of theirs, then barriers must be set. All of this – freedom and responsibility, permission and prohibition – should serve the benefit of humanity.
The desire for freedom, the sense of liberty, is inherent not only to individuals but also to entire communities, peoples, and nations. Upon entering America, which statue looms largest? The Statue of Liberty. The American people are imbued with a sense of freedom. The French, who gifted this monument to the Americans, recognized and understood this. Perhaps it’s a somewhat trivial example, yet it holds a profound truth. From the fragments of immigrants of various nationalities, the spirit of freedom managed to weave a single, free, and invincible nation. And it is precisely freedom that stands as the greatest achievement and value of that nation. Nor is it limited to just that one: it seems there is no country in the world whose people do not yearn to be free and independent.
The Ukrainian nation is no exception. For centuries divided and oppressed by various empires, it finally became independent, sovereign, and free in its aspirations and development. Then disaster struck: once again, the Muscovite sought to enslave Ukrainians, invading us with war. They also babble about freedom, but they mean the “freedom” to kill, to rape, to destroy, to carve up the world. That is the freedom of a beast, which has nothing in common with human freedom. Can a downtrodden, dull people, trained for centuries to obey, to worship tsars, to fear violence and death, suddenly become freedom-loving? Meanwhile, the desire for freedom – a free and prosperous life – has been passed down among Ukrainians from generation to generation, beginning with the Cossack liberties and continuing to this very day. This is evidenced by the popular assemblies (viche), by the Maidans, and by the determination with which Ukrainians defend their homeland from the Muscovite murderer.
Today, the barrier between these two peoples – between freedom and coercion – has taken the form of a frontline. And not a virtual or rhetorical one, but a real military front, with blood and suffering, hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded. It is a battle not for life, but to the death. Something must die – freedom or bondage. At present, it appears that Ukrainian freedom is temporarily weaker than Rashist tyranny. On the frontline, the Moskals have achieved certain local victories, seizing additional Ukrainian territories, destroying and killing more and more, all the while declaring themselves “osvoboditeli” (liberators). Liberators from what? From our land, our lives, our freedom? Right now, they do indeed have a temporary advantage, yet the time will come when we truly liberate our land from this Muscovite plague. Because they, like a real plague, are spreading across the healthy body of Ukraine.Why has this happened? First, Ukrainians did not anticipate such treachery from their neighbor. Second, our capabilities were significantly smaller. And third, our partners and guarantors were not as sincere in their willingness to help and lend a shoulder. Let us not hide the truth – there were also certain oversights and shortcomings on the part of Ukrainian leadership in organizing an effective defense.
For three years now, the wound on Ukraine’s body – and on Europe’s – has been bleeding. It is time to heal it. Who will help us do this? The European countries? Only a few of them have supported us passionately and selflessly. The rest either remained in a lethargic slumber of complacency and indifference until just recently, or even openly undermined us. There is hope for the newly elected President of the United States – Donald Trump – who may prove more decisive than his weak-willed predecessor, President Biden, who, like a short-sighted doctor, administered “just enough medicine” so we would not die but never fully recover. Although in his initial statements Trump has shown two faces – on one hand supporting Ukrainians, on the other claiming to understand the aggressor – there is hope that he will mature to grasp the true bestial nature of Russian fascists, bring about an end to the war, and establish a just peace. All the more so since he presented himself as a peacemaker. But if, God forbid, he takes another path, the freedom-loving American people will guide him onto the right course. Because that nation truly is governed by its people: there is real democracy there, regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in power. They have a robust system of separation of powers, checks, and balances. And most importantly, a societal understanding of good and evil, truth and falsehood, what is permitted and what is forbidden, and of the true values of human life.
Long live and prosper, America! Glory to Ukraine!
Author: Myroslav Grekh