The Return of History - Russia invades Ukraine and brings war back to Europe
Updated: Mar 9, 2022
Thursday, February 24th 2022 Haz clic aquí para leer en español
As someone whose entire being stands for global education, I felt a need to educate myself today.
A deep sense of sorrow awoke in me as I sat with the news of Ukraine. It bothered me that it was bothering me and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why my soul suddenly felt like it had been kicked in the stomach.
If you too are feeling unease, sadness and anger within your body in light of today’’s news; know that it is okay. It is a reminder of our humanity, for we all belong to a collective consciousness. It is a reminder that there is more that connects us than sets us apart from each other.
I want to share various insights on the nuances and history behind what appears as a “simple” situation of Russia vs. Ukraine. Good vs. evil, right vs. wrong…but is anything but that. And the influx of broadcasts, videos and news stories barely help shine the light on how this actually came to be and what it means for all of us.
The issue is, our brain can’t possibly keep up with how much information comes into our awareness on a daily basis. One day our Instagram feeds are full of #blm or #prayforafghanistan only to completely be forgotten as another hashtag and news headline is trending the next day.
1.145 trillion MB of data is shared on the internet PER DAY. Let me spell that out in everyday terms. Go back a billion seconds and you'd be in 1987. Go back a trillion seconds and you'd be in 30,000 B.C.
Feel impossible to keep up with everything going on in the world? I know, same.
Moreover, our educational systems and workplaces are not exactly built to incentivise each other to engage in real critical thinking or to research our past to see what is truly going on in the world we are all active members of. (Hello industrial revolution, thanks for creating our societal structures to be more equipped for robots than humans)
Information these days goes in and out of our consciousness like air into our lungs and truth be told, I never cared much for history but as of a few years ago, I started to see a pattern of the world playing the same games, just with different players and different disguises.
And this morning, as my phone flashed the headline “Russia attacks Ukraine” and a deep sense of sorrow paired with an eerie familiarity coursed through my body, I understood why I needed to ask some deeper questions and see the areas of my own ignorance.
I feel a strong sense of duty to step up and ask the questions not enough of us have been asking until this point. To use my platform, as a multilingual, global educator alongside my partner, an ex U.S. Marine who served in the U.S. Military for two decades, to share our knowledge and expertise but most importantly, to engage in a collective dialogue with YOU and others on what we don’t know.
With that, the first questions that came into my mind were:
How and why is this happening?
When did all of this really begin?
Who is involved?
How will this affect us globally?
And what can we as individuals do to help?
Seeing the influx of Instagram Stories pop up in outrage of what was happening in the Ukraine, I felt helpless and hitting “repost” on the news that was being shared was not going to get me answers.
Something in my spirit knew this was connected to something bigger and I truly wanted to understand but how?
And the answer was right in front of me. Who better to gain insight from than the man sitting in front of me; my fiancé, whose career for 20 years was to watch, study and engage in military warfare.
On that note, neither one of us professes to be an expert on the subject of Russia or Ukraine. We are not historians nor hold PHD’s on the topics we are about to discuss. But we are humans. Critical thinking humans with lived experience, knowledge and a deeper understanding of the issues at hand, seeking to enhance and empower others to engage in a deeper dialogue.
Why You Should Care about the Ukraine-Russia Conflict
I know that it may be difficult to connect it to yourself right now; especially in the increased separation permeating through the world right now. You may geographically or emotionally feel that this is so far away from you, that you can simply switch off your phone and ignore it as though nothing was happening in the world.
But you don't have to be Ukrainian or Russian for this to matter. You do not have to be a politician or have a PHD in international relations to understand that this will affect you sooner rather than later.
Even if you have never been interested in politics in your life, cross out the word politics and replace it with ‘being part of the human race’. Are you a part of the human race? Yes. Are you living in the world? Yes. Good. So understand that every single thing in this globalised society can, does and will affect your life. You should care about what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine and I will explain exactly why.
History Repeats Itself
