I believe most of us acknowledge that the people most deserving and warranted for using the word ‘sacrifice’ belong to our women and men of the armed forces, law enforcement, fire fighters, and paramedics. I hope no argument here.

Years ago, when America was seen as more of the “good guys” nation, sacrifices were also made by the American public, the voters. Why? Because they supported our country’s involvement and participation in trying to end conflict, resolve peacefully disputes, and tried when possible, to make life better for countries not as well off as us. I write “as voters” because those people from our two main parties (plus some independents) we elected willingly allocated resources (money, people, expertise, material, food, etc) to do those things.

In regard to Ukraine-Russia we have abysmally failed, both in our country’s efforts along as well as our efforts in the U.N., the organization, when founded in 1946, had the main goal of “ensuring international peace and security.” What happened?

Why do we allow fellow members of the U.N., especially a permanent member of the Security Council to attack (especially here, without any accurate cause for action) another, weaker, smaller member nation? The 5 (of 15 total) permanent members of the council won WWII but they were also given this status due to their nuclear capabilities and the oblivious threat of what would be lost with even a small use of these weapons. That status clearly has not been extended to other nations now with known or possible known nuclear weapons. In this position, especially with the veto power inherent with it, is not earned any longer by Russia.

I will not give a history lesson of the results of not standing up to bullies and the threats they made or indicated what they might do if they don’t get their way. Many quotes from history pertain here but the three I’ll partially list come from a Jew, a Lutheran, and a Russian. Respectively, they are “Here I am, send me” (Isaiah); “First they came for the Communists…” (Niemulla); and “If not me, who?” (Gorbachev). To those friends that call America a Christian nation, I could not find a statement that fit so I’ll reference our Declaration and Constitution.

As a Marine, our Corps’ example of standing up for whats right and our country’s values, is referred to as the “Bended Knee Speech.” It was given in testimony to the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs on May 6, 1946, by Gen. A A Vanderriff, then commandant of the Marine Corps, in response to efforts to abolish, reduce, incorporate, or restrict the role of the Corps as part of our national security.

He stated, in effect, that the Corps did not rest its case in providing national security on being owed gratitude from the nation. “The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps. If the Marine as a fighting man has not made a case for himself after 170 years of service, he must go. But I think you will agree with me that he has earned the right to depart with dignity and honor, not by subjugation to the status of uselessness and servility planned for him by the War Department.” Now just substitute the U.S. for the Marine Corps here with the difference is we’re doing this to ourselves.

Remember that saying that goes “democracies and republics don’t cease to exist from external forces, they decay, rot, and corrupt from the inside.”

This is the situation I feel we have allowed our country to be in now with Ukraine. If we are going to allow, even unilaterally if it comes to that, Ukraine to become a country in name only, what does that say about our almost 250 years of what we have said we stand for? Just on the territory issue alone, it would be like, if we switched positions, Russia asking asking us to give back Alaska before they would stop the war.

The world has too many problems today. That attention in efforts, resources, and human life being wasted by this war should be spent on more productive and positive areas to solve those problems. We, as voters, as a country, should be willing to sacrifice even a nuclear risk here to do what’s right. We cannot let might be the ruler of right, especially since it’s not on our borders. We must start with more efforts in the U.N. to isolate, remove, restrict and ignore Russia from the community of nations that want peace and security and immediately expel Russia from their permanent council seat.

We have made efforts in striving to become a “more perfect Union.” We are now retrograding from that status. This is an opportunity to reverse that course and start wearing that white hat again.

John H. Thompson is an Ogden resident.