We grimace after we fill up the gas tank of our vehicles with gasoline or our oil tank to keep our homes warm. Record high prices are being experienced during this time of very high inflation in the overall economy, boosted further upwards as the cost of transporting goods skyrockets due to discontinuing to purchase Russian produced oil and its impact is felt nationally. However, behind that grimace at the gas pump is the realization that this is like my contribution toward helping to try to maintain freedom in a sovereign, democratic country under attack by a military lead by a former member of the KGB in Russia.
The war crimes experienced by the peaceful people in a non-aggressive country are being witnessed on our televisions in the safe comfort of our homes as our country, a part of the NATO alliance, cannot risk military involvement to come to the aid of Ukraine, a risk that would have the potential to trigger World War III. So, the bottom line is that when we say ‘ouch’ at the gas pump, that sting is like an inoculation against totalitarianism in the Ukraine. I, for one, feel that freedom is worth the price, and that it helps fund a message to Russian President Putin, that a large and powerful Soviet Union is history, his dreams of leading a resurrected version cannot be realized, and he should come out of isolation and wake up to the world as it is today.
David Elberfeld
Dunbarton