We Must Stand with the Valiant Ukrainian People

Following the horrific dastardly secret attack by the Empire of Japan on US naval forces in Hawai’i’s Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to the Congress and to the nation saying: “December 7^th, 1941, a day that will live in infamy…!”

This event ushered in a radical shift and realignment of the world order by bringing the United States into a war with Japan and by entering the war in Europe in defense of our longtime partners against the forces of tyranny.

Following the horrific dastardly secret attack by Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House Oval Office carried live on television, we the people throughout the world can proclaim: “February 28, 2025, a day that will live in infamy…!”

This event ushered in the final installment of an inexorable creeping radical shift and realignment of the world order instigated by Donald J. Trump during his entire political career by placing the United States squarely on the side of the forces of autocratic oligarchical tyranny against our longtime partners in support of our traditional democratic principles.

On January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered his inaugural address in which he announced that “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.“

On February 28, 2025, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office ambushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and said in more than words that we would not pay anything, not bear anything, never meet any hardship, sacrifice and turn on our friends and allies, embrace all our foes to ensure the downfall of liberty and the support of tyranny.

As virtually everyone knows, or at least should know, so-called “Reality TV Shows” are anything but real. Networks manufacture them for the titillation and mindless entertainment of the viewing public.

Donald J. Trump, the sorcerer on his TV show, “The Apprentice,” lured President Zelensky to the White House for the alleged purpose of discussing possible paths forward in ending the Russia-Ukraine War and to sign an initial agreement for Ukraine to hand over a significant percentage of its rare earth minerals as repayment for past U.S. military and humanitarian aid, and for some sort of security agreement for the embattled nation.

Ever for the television fake reality entertainer who lives on lies and deceit, however, Trump’s bait and switch from a diplomatic negotiation standpoint into an obvious made-for-TV ambush of President Zelensky was one of the all-time low points in US diplomacy stemming from his utter insensitivity to the on-the-ground realities of the Ukrainian people. But since Trump apparently never developed the human quality of empathy, I suppose we cannot assume that he could ever understand or feel their pain and suffering.

Far before his rise to his Presidency, Donald Trump served and continues to function as Russia’s Orange Agent by carpet bombing our democratic institutions. He performs as Putin’s puppet. In this position, Trump began attempting to attach his own strings to Ukraine’s President Zelensky to weaken that nation under the hot war against its Russian invading neighbors, but also to advance Trump’s own political objectives.

As Energy Secretary in Trump’s first regime, Rick Perry was charged with pressuring the newly elected Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, to award lucrative government oil and gas contracts to his longtime friends after he attended Zelensky’s inauguration in May 2019.

The possible spark igniting Perry’s resignation as cabinet secretary was Trump’s statement to Republican legislators that it was Perry who asked him to call Zelensky.

Trump, who famously never takes responsibility for his words and actions, argued: “I didn’t even want to make the call,” Trump said. “The only reason I made the call was because Rick [Perry] asked me to. Something about an LNG [liquefied natural gas] plant.”

Bill Taylor, the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, testified in a public congressional hearing that Perry was one of several administration officials involved in a “highly irregular” channel of U.S. policy making toward Ukraine.

This pattern follows Trump’s first attempted quid pro quo with the Ukrainian leader by threatening to withhold armaments unless President Zelensky investigated the son of Trump’s Democratic rival for the U.S. presidency, Joe Biden. This resulted in the House of Representatives impeaching Trump on charges of “abuse of power” and “obstruction of justice,” while the Senate gave him a pass without ever calling a witness.

President Donald Trump said that the Ukrainian President is “no angel” and suggested that Zelensky shares much of the blame for the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

In his first sit-down interview since returning to the White House for a second time, Trump criticized Zelensky, saying that he “shouldn’t have allowed this war to happen.”

“Zelensky was fighting a much bigger entity, much bigger, much more powerful,” Trump told Fox News. “He shouldn’t have done that, because we could have made a deal.”

Trump later went on to accuse Zelensky of doing a “terrible job” and of being a “dictator” by “refusing to have elections” since he became president in 2019.

For purposes of spreading his propaganda, it made no difference to Trump that Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia invaded its sovereign territory in February 2022, thereby suspending elections since millions of Ukraine’s citizens were seeking safe shelter in other nations and because its army was spread throughout the nation battling the advancing Russian military.

The Trump administration failed a primary tenet of diplomacy by announcing — through Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the United States’ (and most likely Russia’s) terms for any peace settlement by taking the possibility of Ukraine’s NATO membership off the table, and by demanding that Ukraine turn over a yet-to-be determined percentage of its territory to the Russian Federation’s autocratic regime of Vladimir Putin.

Trump knows and cares even less about history. He could learn much from some past leaders regarding diplomatic means of resolving conflicts.

For example, President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton brought together Palestinian and Israeli leaders to approach common ground on several issues: Carter’s “Camp David Accords” (1978) and Clinton’s “Oslo Accords” (1993).

Presidents In My Lifetime

I was born on May 27, 1947, a little under two years following the final closure of World War II. Harry S Truman was president of the United States. The first presidential election I was conscious of, though, was in 1956 between the incumbent, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and his Democratic rival for the second time, Adlai E. Stevenson II.

Because my family and many people in my immediate neighborhood favored and voted for Stephenson, I was shocked when he did not win. I understood for the first time at the age of 9 years that my world view was limited and did not reflect the larger country’s reality.

I became engaged in the political process in 1960. I talked with my middle school classmates about the presidential candidates, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy. I believe I presented good and clear arguments why I thought Kennedy would be the better president and that he would make the changes we needed.

I will always remember, Friday, November 22, 1963, the day my president, the 35^th president of the United States was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas.

In our high school third period Senior Orchestra class, the string sections were rehearsing Béla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances as one of the pieces we were preparing for an upcoming concert.

Over the intercom came the halting and serious voice of the school principal announcing that he just received word that the president had been shot, and that he had been taken to the hospital. He concluded by telling us that this was all the information he had at the time.

Some of us, including myself, began crying as our orchestra teacher told us to immediately come back to order as he gave the downbeat to resume our practice. Though I was appalled by his response, I lifted my violin, replaced it under my chin, and pretended to see the musical score through my welling tears.

Moments later the principal informed us that President John F. Kennedy had died. Approximately one-half hour later, he dismissed classes. I walked home in a daze and reached my bedroom collapsing into my grief.

The trauma continued over one year later with the murder of Malcolm X, and in 1968, with the assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Yes, our leaders do have a great impact on our lives and on our souls, positively, negatively, and all along the points in between.

With Trump’s recent Oval Office ambush, abuse, and blame of Zelensky for causing Putin’s attack on Ukraine, I have never been so disgusted and enraged by a U.S. president since Ronald Reagan remained missing in inaction while blaming gay and bisexual men and intravenous drug users for causing the AIDS pandemic.

Trump has taken Reagan’s lead in lodging blame on the victims of tragedies, in this case the Ukrainian people and their brave and heroic leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.

I, however, stand with the vision of democracy. I stand hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder with Volodymyr Zelensky and the valiant and noble Ukrainian people.

Let’s all stand together.