Center for Citizen Initiatives, 12/3/24
| Dear Friends and Colleagues, In the few weeks that have passed since CCI last appeared in your inbox our world has radically changed, and we cannot anticipate how these changes will affect us. Following a chaotic and deadly election season we have a new President due to be inaugurated on January 20, 2025. Perhaps a third of the US electorate considers his incoming administration to be a catastrophe beyond endurance, a continuing manifestation of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome.’ Another third contemplates his presidency with the ecstatic belief that he will make good on his promises to clean up the labyrinth of a disorganized, dysfunctional and out-of-touch federal bureaucracy, perhaps an exercise in wishful thinking. The final third is waiting nervously – not just to see what President Trump will actually do once in office, but as importantly, to see what havoc may be wreaked upon us between now and 20 January; a more or less mildly depressed centrist position between the two extremes. For our purposes at CCI, the Biden administration’s recent escalation of the war in Ukraine is enormously disturbing. With the greenlight given to the Zelensky government to use US-supplied long-range missiles against Russian territory, President Putin has announced that as far as Russia is concerned, the West, especially the United States, has declared war on Russia. Our friends in Russia tell us this new reality spread across the country immediately following Mr. Putin’s speeches of November 21 and 22. A good friend in Sergiev Posad tells us she and her colleagues at work discuss the strain of anticipating a missile strike on Moscow, a mere 70 kilometers away, constantly. She also tells us that church attendance is way up with parents now insisting their children attend – something quite unusual in recent years. The fact that officials in our government insist we are not at war with Russia is irrelevant to the Russians when American made and American guided weapons fall on Russian cities. One must ask: how many Americans appreciate this situation – that ‘reality’ for Russian citizens is not whatever comes out of the mouths of American officials? ‘Reality’ for Russians is what is physically ‘real’, a matter of what happens on their soil. Many of the most respected members of the independent media world we rely on have gone on record as stating the belief that we are in a far more dangerous position regarding the possibility of a nuclear war between Russia and the United States than has ever existed before in our history – Cuban missile crisis notwithstanding. Those of you who remember that episode will recall that it lasted for about three days and was resolved quickly, to everyone’s relief. Today, the teetering-on-the-brink posture is ongoing, day after day after day with no relief in sight and it’s not just independent voices raising the alarm now – mainstream media and western intelligence agencies are also spooked. Anyone in the US who is paying attention must empathize with our friend outside of Moscow. We would like our Russian friends to know that there are many people on this side of the ocean who are also praying for peace. Still, we find ourselves in the holiday season and we must have the courage to acknowledge the reasons we celebrate. We are thankful for the fact that the worst has not happened and that we are here, alive, well and prepared to take whatever small steps we can to ensure that it never does. And above all we must have the hope for the future that this month’s celebrations demand. At CCI we remain committed to our mission to promote peace and friendship between the citizens of the two countries whose official position is currently hostile. It has been a uniquely successful endeavor for over forty years and our hope, and our earnest intent, is that this undertaking will continue. My heartfelt thanks go out to the entire CCI community of citizen diplomats – in Russia and in the USA – for being here to share the hope and the good work with us. Yours sincerely and with prayers for peace, Paula Day The Center for Citizen Initiatives |
Amen
CCI should aim at some urgent and meaningful goals, such as, dissolution of NATO. Scratching itchy surface doesn’t cure any diseases.
Paula Day’s essay “Into the Unknown” (reposted by Natylie on Dec 15) was so elegant — and so touching emotionally — that I sat motionless after reading it.
Paula Day’s words convey everything about our predicament.