In recent weeks, the threat of an ominous showdown between Russia and the rest of the western world seems to have loomed beyond proportions as each side increased its rhetoric. Russia on the one hand is apparently peeved at the Ukrainian government for cosying up to western powers and Kyiv’s intention to join Nato.
Nato, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or Atlantic Alliance is ‘an international political and military organisation with the aim of guaranteeing the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.’ Currently, there are 28 member states.
With Ukraine sharing a 2300-kilometer border with Russia, the latter is obviously perturbed by the Ukrainian intention, and rightly so. It would put Nato troops right on its border if Ukraine is accepted into Nato, and that is something which the Russians are uncomfortable with.
President Putin dispatched over 100,000 troops and mechanised infantry to bolster his intentions of not giving up so easily. Following this development western leaders started criss-crossing the Atlantic in an effort to defuse or resolve what could potentially turn out to be a very explosive situation.
The US President Joe Biden made it very clear that Moscow’s actions would be met with severe economic sanctions, enough to possibly cripple the Russian economy. The chairman of the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee pontificated that it would be “the mother of all sanctions” that would be levied against Russia in the event of an invasion of Ukraine.
The common view
It was an ideal opportunity to gauge what the man on the street in America thought of all of this. After all, these proceedings could possibly spell doomsday for all if the opposing parties stuck to their guns and began a conflict that could conceivably end in a global disaster.
My first contact was Victor, an Uber driver who happened to pick me up on a long drive. During our time together in the confines of his vehicle, I brought up the question of the current conflict regarding Ukraine. Victor was initially not too forthright but eventually opened up to tell me that it was a manufactured crisis by the world’s arms dealers who needed conflicts to keep their obscene profit margins going.
Victor who traces his roots to Soviet-held Hungary believes that ‘what will be will be’ regardless, as long as the bottom line is profit to someone. Driving all day, Victor does not keep in touch with global events and expects politicians to do the right thing.
Elaine, a middle schoolteacher was not aware of the crisis until I brought it up to her. “Frankly, with the Covid and my students and trying to ensure their safety I could care less about what happens over there. There is enough on my plate right now to even think of anything else. In fact, the only pressing thing on my mind right now is that I have to file for my taxes soon.”
Couldn’t care more
Steve, a retired aviation professional, bluntly stated that “Americans should stand up to Russians just as we did against the Commies and the Vietcong. The Russians are trying to reclaim the grandeur. If our government authorises the use of force, I’m all for it.”
Cindy, a jewellery maker in Los Angeles says she’s turned off the news ever since Ted Cruz (a state senator from Texas) took off with his family to sunny Cancun while his Texas constituents suffered the worst cold and frost in history.
Or Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, who insists that children should remain unmasked and unvaccinated and who celebrated the ban on school mask mandates for children, while more and more kids were getting Covid. The only time I ever voted was during the last Presidential elections and that was only to keep Trump out of office.” Nah, I don’t need to watch the news as all it does is give me heartburn. Let them do what they want. I cannot change anything.
That is precisely a point of concern for many of us across the world as American politicians do what they want, and some of it dramatically affects us in regions far and wide beyond US borders. Somewhere along the way, it seems to me the American people have lost their voice and their will in the political process, not realising that what happens in America does not always stay in America.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi sociopolitical commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Twitter: @talmaeena
