All cultures tell themselves flattering fables, manufactured myths designed to show them in a favorable light, to emphasize the better angels of their natures.
Ask a random American (such as myself) what we stand for, and there’s a fair chance he’ll say something like “we’re the good guys,” the people you can count on to stand up for the underdog, the folks who loathe injustice. Recall that Superman stood for “Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” and when he got together with fellow comic book heroes like Batman and Wonder Woman, they were, of course, called “the Justice League of America.” And indeed, there’s more than a grain of truth to this. In the words of one Nazi concentration camp survivor: “It was the luckiest day of my life… when I saw the first American soldier from afar. What a joy. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was sure it was a dream, but still it was true…”
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Despite also being a country with abundant blood on its hands – from the Nez Perce to Nat Turner to Nagasaki – America’s heroic image was still at least partially intact, at least until President Trump decided that our brand was getting in the way of making money and settling scores.
Now, thanks to Trump’s morality-free foreign policy, we’re beginning to be associated with Salvadoran super-max prisons, genocide in Gaza, and, worst of all in my view, Vladimir Putin and his goose-stepping storm troopers. As someone who spends half of each year in Ukraine, I know a bit about these new Nazis.
Hungary Says It Has Deal With Ukraine on Minority Rights, Ties It to EU Accession Talks
Not since the fall of the Third Reich 80 years ago has a modern state so embodied the worst traits of National Socialism as does Russia. Perhaps this sounds hyperbolic, but consider the testimony of Oleg Orlov, the former co-chair of the pre-eminent Russian civil society organization, Memorial: “It’s not just public criticism that’s banned, but any independent thought.
Even actions seemingly unrelated to politics or criticism of the authorities can be punished. There is no field of art where free artistic expression is possible, there is no academic freedom in the humanities, and there is no more private life.” He spoke those words in early 2024, just before being sent to a penal colony for two-and-a-half years for the crime of having discredited the military.
Political assassination has become an essential tool to the Moscow regime, and the number of opponents who have died in prison, fallen off balconies, or simply been murdered is the stuff of spy fiction.
We’ve all read the stories of Russian troops massacring Ukrainian civilians, shooting unarmed Ukrainian soldiers attempting to surrender, and torturing people who show any signs of Ukrainian patriotism. Interestingly, the Russian state adopts a similar approach to some of its citizens, especially service members who have deserted.
A recent Moscow Times story quotes one such individual: “I am from an older generation. We were raised on the idea that during World War II, we were resisting evil fascists. It turns out we have this evil, too, and it’s in the system. The people who tortured us were given an order and taught to perform it… We have our own version of the German Gestapo here.”
This is hardly surprising. Indeed, Putin, his defense minister, his commissioner for children’s rights, and others in the presidential entourage have been indicted by the International Criminal Court for various war crimes.
What is surprising is the lack of outrage from us, the good guys. My father’s generation, the ones who sailed over the Atlantic and marched across Europe to beat the Germans would have been utterly shocked by the cynicism and apathy of Americans today.
One might assume that there are some evils so clearly appalling that any slightly sentient being would recognize them. The daily missile strikes on Ukrainian cities for example. Or the murder of hundreds of civilians in places like Bucha and Izyum. Or the kidnapping of thousands of children. Nonetheless, a recent Pew Research Center poll showed that only 40% of Republicans say Russia is an enemy (down from 58% last year), an opinion shared by 60% of Democrats, also down, in this case from 67% in 2023.
Baffled and dismayed as I may be by my compatriots, I will return to Ukraine in a few weeks to continue my volunteer work. And my feelings towards Moscow’s jackbooted invaders will remain identical to those of Indiana Jones in “The Last Crusade”: “Nazis, I hate these guys.”
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
