By Steuart Pittman
The hearts and minds of Anne Arundel County residents are with the people of Ukraine right now.
We watch in horror as Vladimir Putin’s forces surround Ukrainian cities and bomb residential buildings from the sky, killing children, parents, and grandparents by the thousands.
We watch in awe as the Ukrainian people block Russian tanks and shoot down Russian planes.
We are inspired by the words of resistance from President Zelensky, and we celebrate President Biden’s success at coordinating a global economic squeeze on Putin and his oligarchs.
When Putin notes his nuclear readiness, we shudder. We contemplate the need to defend our own country against a man who has spent years paying cyber warriors to drive wedges between our people and their own governments.
We all have a personal relationship with government defined in part by our close encounters: paying taxes, applying for permits, getting a speeding ticket. It’s ok to complain about all of that, and we do.
But when our institutions are truly under attack, we quickly remember that in a democracy, our government is us. We fight for the institutions that we created to protect and serve us.
We will all be asked to sacrifice in this battle against Vladimir Putin’s ambitions. We will pay more for gas and for food. If his war escalates, the costs to everyday Americans could grow.
What we can do today, is to appreciate what we have, engage with one another in a civil manner to make it better, and remember that all across this globe and this county, we have far more that unites us than divides us.
The hearts and minds of Anne Arundel County residents are with the people of Ukraine right now.
We watch in horror as Vladimir Putin’s forces surround Ukrainian cities and bomb residential buildings from the sky, killing children, parents, and grandparents by the thousands.
We watch in awe as the Ukrainian people block Russian tanks and shoot down Russian planes.
We are inspired by the words of resistance from President Zelensky, and we celebrate President Biden’s success at coordinating a global economic squeeze on Putin and his oligarchs.
When Putin notes his nuclear readiness, we shudder. We contemplate the need to defend our own country against a man who has spent years paying cyber warriors to drive wedges between our people and their own governments.
We all have a personal relationship with government defined in part by our close encounters: paying taxes, applying for permits, getting a speeding ticket. It’s ok to complain about all of that, and we do.
But when our institutions are truly under attack, we quickly remember that in a democracy, our government is us. We fight for the institutions that we created to protect and serve us.
We will all be asked to sacrifice in this battle against Vladimir Putin’s ambitions. We will pay more for gas and for food. If his war escalates, the costs to everyday Americans could grow.
What we can do today, is to appreciate what we have, engage with one another in a civil manner to make it better, and remember that all across this globe and this county, we have far more that unites us than divides us.