Rashad Richey: War overseas causes real concerns for Americans at home

Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered his sales pitch for invading Ukraine. While some are speculating about his actual objectives, here’s a sales pitch against war – this one and any other.

If you believe that war is a natural expression or a necessity of humanity, then you have been indoctrinated to believe a false narrative. Wars are not required for human existence. They are bad and violent and chaotic, not a necessity, but they do happen.

In this case, Putin sent his troops into Ukraine because he does not want Ukraine to become a member of NATO. He claims that would create a Western Alliance, a barrier to Russia which would endanger its citizens. As you might expect, that’s only part of the story.

You see Ukraine is actually rich, rich in minerals, rich in resources.

There’s always more than one calculation when a nation decides to go to war with another nation. They simply select what they sell everybody on.

Let’s be very clear.

Ukraine has a wide variety of natural resources. It can be divided into three main groups: energy, metal ores, and non metal ores. In many, they actually lead the entire planet. 0.8% of the Earth’s land surface and world’s population are in that region. However, approximately 5% of the world’s mineral resources are in that region as well. Over 20,000 deposits of 194 known minerals can be found in Ukraine. Ukraine has one of the leading reserves and extraction of iron, non metallic, raw material and more.

Remember also there’s this massive pipeline that Vladimir Putin has been itching to gain more control over. There’s always a different calculation.

On the home front, I have real concerns about how war impacts domestic policies, especially those that affect marginalized communities, specifically black and brown families.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said, war desensitizes Americans to domestic issues that should remain important to us. That’s why he opposed the Vietnam War. Because when America is involved in international conflict, the social policies that we’re fighting for, the economic policies that we’re fighting for, they take a back burner. Equity takes a back burner. Social justice takes a back burner, and I don’t want to see that happen.

All right. Here’s the thing, I’m anti-war. And if you believe that war is a natural expression or a necessity of humanity, then you have been indoctrinated to believe a false narrative.

Wars are not required for human existence. They are bad and violent and chaotic, not a necessity, but they do happen.

So let me talk about this Russian invasion into Ukraine. Let’s be very clear about what’s happening. There’s always a sales pitch when a nation goes to war, and do not mistake a nation going to war as the people of that nation, being down with the war.

There is plenty disagreement inside of Russia. Russian protestors are being arrested by the minute, and they’re trying their best to send a message, a clear signal, to other Russians and to the world that they are not for the invasion happening right now.

But there’s always a sales pitch by the leadership class of any nation before they go to war.

This sales pitch actually started during the Trump administration where Vladimir Putin made extreme comments and provided commentary about Ukraine, talking about their sovereignty or lack thereof.

We all agree. Ukraine is a sovereign nation. They have a democratically elected leader. They are a world democracy.

But the sales pitch started under the Trump administration. Every nation does it, including this one right here in the United States. That’s called your front leaning narrative. The thing they put out in front of you to say, this is why we need to go to war. It’s a sales pitch.

And what is Vladimir Putin actually trying to get done here? I’m gonna get to that in a minute.

So let’s first look at the sales pitch. The sales pitch is very common. It’s one used by nations all across the planet. The sales pitch is this: If Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, then there will be this Western Alliance, a barrier to Russia that would make Russia unsafe. That is the sales pitch.

And Vladimir Putin is trying to connect with this very common dynamic of the human experience known as self-preservation.

Well, for sure, if Vladimir Putin is doing it for the safety of Russia, then we must go along with it. It’s acceptable. We’ve done this in America. Remember the weapons of mass destruction?

Remember the sales pitch in order to topple Saddam Hussein. And then when there were no weapons of mass destruction, we said things like, well, he was a very bad man anyway, when we saw that the sales pitch was a lie.

So that’s the front leaning proclamation that this is for the safety of Russia and Russian citizens.

Here’s the other part of the narrative that’s important to understand. You see Ukraine is actually rich, rich in minerals, rich in resources.

There’s always more than one calculation when a nation decides to go to war with another nation. They simply select what they sell everybody on. Let’s be very clear.

Ukraine has a wide variety of natural resources. It can be divided into three main groups, energy, metal ores , and non metal ores. In many, they actually lead the entire planet. 0.8% of the Earth’s land surface and world’s population are in that region. However, approximately 5% of the world’s mineral resources are in that region as well. Over 20,000 deposits of 194 known minerals can be found in Ukraine. Ukraine has one of the leading reserves and extraction of iron, non metallic, raw material and more.

Remember also there’s this massive pipeline that Vladimir Putin has been itching to gain more control over. There’s always a different calculation.

So let’s take it back to the domestic response. Some Republicans have said things like, well, this really does not involve us because Ukraine used to belong to Russia anyway.

Well that’s a silly argument and factually not true. All right. That’s like saying, okay, well, yeah, if Russia can go and get Ukraine, then that means Mexico can go and get Texas back. It’s a ridiculous argument.

I’m not for war. I’m anti-war. And I understand what war does, especially to marginalized communities black and brown families in particular. War is bad across the board. War also, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said, war desensitizes Americans to domestic issues that should remain important to us. That’s why he opposed the Vietnam war. Because when America is involved in international conflict, the social policies that we’re fighting for, the economic policies that we’re fighting for, they take a back burner.

Equity takes a back burner. Social justice takes a back burner, and I don’t want to see that happen.

Now, there are those who are criticizing president Joe Biden. Well, President Joe Biden is engaging in this sanction-heavy response. Well, I don’t think they’re going to go to war, but hell, who knows. Right? But my question to conservatives is this, if you are so anti-Americans going to war, what is your proclamation of what should happen to Russia? Those are my thoughts.