Volodomyr Zelenskyy was a television star who won the presidency in Ukraine and became a leader who united his nation. In the process, he became a source of inspiration to all people who believe in freedom: He has bravely stood up for his people and shows no fear of Vladimir Putin despite Russia’s overwhelming military strength.
Donald Trump was a television star who won the presidency and immediately set about trying to set his nation at war with each other and tear apart our democracy. He refused to represent people who weren’t part of his base, coddled dictators around the world and groveled at Putin’s feet.
Which begs a tongue-in-cheek question: What the heck is wrong with American TV?
Ukrainian TV gave its nation a modern hero, while our TV gave us an authoritarian-leaning vandal. Are the brains of American viewers being rewired somehow so that we can’t recognize bad character when we see it?
Joking aside, the paths of the two nations’ TV stars offer a value lesson for Americans. Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians have a lot they can teach us.
They’re showing us the astonishing power that comes when people put aside their political and personal differences and unite behind a common cause.
They’re demonstrating to us how free people react to authoritarian regimes. They instinctively recognize them as enemies and rise up as one against them. They speak out against anyone who apologizes for those despots, or excuses them, or actively supports them. You don’t hear their political leaders or major media commentators calling Putin a genius or asking viewers to question why Putin is seen as a danger to democracies.
Maybe this partly explains why Americans have watched the Ukrainians’ resistance so closely — it speaks to the best ideals of our nation. Unity. Self-sacrifice in the name of helping others. An insuppressible love of freedom. The righteousness that comes with fighting for liberty. Perhaps we’re watching the Ukrainian heroes with longing because we yearn to return to who we once were.
Today, our values have been corrupted by leaders bent on protecting and representing the interests of only white heterosexual Christians, while tormenting everyone else.
Trump and the Republican Party’s right-wing extremist leadership would have us see each other as the enemy, not a clear and present danger like Putin. They would have us believe there’s something to admire in authoritarianism — and that it will cement their place atop the social order.
The Ukrainians know better. They suffered under autocracy for decades as part of the Soviet Union. At least 4 million Ukrainians died during the Holodomore — the 1932-33 famine engineered by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Untold numbers were killed or sent to gulags for mere suspicion of expressing dissent, practicing a certain religion, consorting with enemies of the state, etc.
After becoming independent in 1991 amid the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainians are showing the world that they have no intention of going back to being oppressed after three decades of freedom. Heroic soldiers are throwing themselves against a militarily superior force to protect their nation. Civilians who just weeks ago were going to their jobs and living normal lives have lined up to become armed defenders. At terrible cost, so far they have stopped a monster in his tracks.
Then there’s Zelenskyy, who’s become a symbol of freedom and moral authority around the globe.
As Putin slaughters pregnant women, children, people standing in bread lines and other innocents, Zelenskyy stands his ground and rallies Ukraine’s defenders. He also draws the world into the cause of defending Ukraine by providing military and humanitarian aid, as he did during his video address to Congress last week.
“The courage and bravery of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people continue to inspire,” Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., said after Zelenskyy’s address. “As President Zelenskyy said, Ukraine truly is at the forefront of the fight for democracy. Putin’s warped vision of reuniting the Soviet Union must never be allowed to come to fruition, and we must defend the resolve of the Ukrainian people in their fight against it.”
Indeed, we must.
It’s time for Americans to follow the Ukrainians’ example. We need to unite with them — and with each other — in defense of freedom wherever it’s being threatened. And that includes in our own country.