Dimensionally Barrett

I have my sincere doubts that anything I proffer here will be of moment or of value to the historical record. That said, the situation in the Ukraine should be examined from several perspectives other than “Putin’s a maniac!” (a not unwarranted observation) or “Ukraine should be free!” (no argument there) or “Make Peace! Not War!” (also, a fine sentiment.) Maybe better to say “in addition to”? This might be one of the few times where I don’t feel a need to delve into antecedents or review the history between two nations. I don’t even necessarily feel a need to look at Putin’s reasons for invading. There are plenty of analyses that speak to this and are worth reviewing that my regurgitation wouldn’t add any value to.  What we have before us is the fact that yet another world power has invaded and tried to subjugate another independent state. There are some narratives surrounding this that I think are worth looking at, however superficially. I want to start with a more high-level ...

Photo credit: United Nations Like so many, I’ve been attempting to process the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. As a friend of mine messaged me yesterday, “We have been suffering like this for forty years.” Not that our presence assuaged any of that suffering, but withdrawing they way we are certainly isn’t helping. I haven’t looked at polls to see how this is tracking with American citizens but I do understand that Republicans are pig-piling on Biden for the mess that this exit is. Frankly, in terms of the actual mechanics and operational aspects, I wouldn’t expect anything else. Our departure from Vietnam wasn’t exactly elegant. I would argue that this is far worse, though. For humanitarian reasons alone, leaving behind a country to deal with the Taliban and now, ISIS-K, is a horrible failure of policy and a miserable act of bad faith. We are not going to be able to grant everyone safe harbor or for that matter, a guarantee of safely making it out of the country. Releasing names ...

  If the past year and a half has been brutal for most, it has been several magnitudes of uglier for refugee populations. Imagine fleeing your country for fear of your life because of natural disasters, war, or violent social environment. Refugee crises have expanded because of climate change, civil wars, violent coups, and situations where families and individuals are threatened with execution for attempting to speak truth to power and to fight for change(1). Let’s be clear: no one wants to be a refugee . However, few seem willing to show support to refugee populations, despite a majority around the world being in favor of allowing refugees into their countries(2). In so-called “developed” nations, we denigrate or dehumanize those fleeing political persecution or war. We turn them back at borders (3), we leave them adrift at sea (4), and this puts a lie to the values of inclusion and assistance we purport to believe in. Recently, Vice-President Kamala Harris had a succinct mess...