The Ukraine war has raged for more than a year now. The U.S., with NATO following its lead, has contributed massive amounts of military aid to Ukraine, while resisting all calls to engage in diplomacy aimed at ending the bloodbath and restoring peace. The latest move to escalate the war occurred just this weekend, with Pres. Biden’s agreement (a reversal of prior position) to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and to train Ukrainian pilots in how to use them.
Alternative media on both the right and left now seem to agree that Ukraine is a “proxy” war aimed at degrading Russia militarily and economically (and, it is hoped, internal support for Putin), with little concern for how much death and destruction the Ukrainian people have to endure. The proxy war continues to be aggressively prosecuted even as the world economy suffers both direct and indirect effects of the fighting, and even at the risk of escalating the conflict all the way to a potential “game over” nuclear confrontation – a prospect that should have every level-headed citizen, and certainly social workers, demanding a diplomatic solution, not more war.
Interpretations of the proxy war goals by right and left differ dramatically, however. The right points to Biden administration “liberal” (if not “socialist”) ideology, and specifically to an intention to impose “diversity” and “LGBTQ” values on the rest of the world, beginning with the socially/religiously conservative Russian Federation. The left, on the other hand, points to a desperate attempt by the U.S. and its Western capitalist nation allies to maintain what remains of the post-WWII “unipolar hegemony” now being challenged by Russia, China, and a host of other nations suffering from U.S. dominance.
Which perspective makes the most sense to you?
The Southern Miss School of Social Work 