At Orthodox Reflections, recently we have been getting emails, comments, and criticisms around two topics more than any others. First, why do we allow anonymous authorship? Second, are we Pro-Russian because we are funded / paid off by Putin? An example of comments along these lines are below from Nicholas Kalis, JD. (Name and picture provided with his express approval.)
I take you at your word that you are self-funded but your web site is troubling in what seems to be its reflex pro-Russian views – which you are all entitled to. Growing up in a Greek immigrant, we had a mantra – don’t let others dupe you. I tried to live by that rule. I respectfully submit that you are being duped by the Russians.
Quick anecdote – my Greek Orthodox priest once told me that any letters he received at his church office that were signed anonymous, instantly went into the trash unread. His point – I gathered – was that if you could not stand behind a missive with your name on it then it had no value and was likely gossip or lies. You might consider applying that to your policy of using pseudonyms.
Mr. Kalis is a serious man, and he deserves a serious answer to these concerns. As does everyone else who stops by our site. With that in mind, let’s start with anonymity first. With all due respect to the Greek priest in the anecdote, his attitude is just so much virtue signaling pomposity. Police begin investigations all the time on the basis of anonymous tips. Private companies have anonymous “whistle blower” hotlines to report violations of law and/or company policy. In my own company, just last year, an anonymous tip led company investigators to uncover a multi-million dollar case of fraud. If a priest got an anonymous tip that the treasurer was stealing from the parish, I would really hope he’d go over the books before tossing the letter in the trash.
On our site, we publish the names of many authors. Ironically enough, as I write this, the most recent two articles on our site have full authorship attribution, complete with links to the authors’ other works. We will withhold an author’s name by request. We’ll get into why in a moment. However, whether a piece is anonymous or fully attributed to an author, our requirements are the same. We expect authors to use credible, public sources of information to support their analyses. If you peruse articles on Orthodox Reflections, you will see they are full of quotes from, and links to, multiple sources. This is not an accident. This is by design. We want to publish informed opinion, not mere speculation. We want articles on Orthodox Reflections, and the ideas contained therein, to stand on their own merits.
If an author doesn’t use publicly available information to anchor an article, then we won’t run it anonymously. Let me give you an example. A reader reached out to us with details of a very disturbing conversation with an Archbishop. We asked for corroborating evidence. There was none. No one else was present. We knew the reader personally, and believed he was telling the truth. However, we would not run the story unless the author was willing to attach his name to it. Without evidence, all anyone would have is this man’s word. He was unwilling to put his name on the article, so it was never published.
Why are we willing to publish articles in which the authors’ full names are withheld? Because for many, the choice is either to speak out anonymously or be silent. This is true for many reasons:
Violence – Supreme Court Justices are getting around-the-clock protection after credible death threats. Politically motivated violence is a fact of life in this country. If you attract attention online, you could be risking your life, the lives of your family, and maybe even the lives of your fellow parishioners. We have run several articles from a contributor who once wrote a piece arguing against American involvement in Syria. This was years ago at the end of the Bush administration. Local activists got his name off the article, found out which Orthodox parish he attended, and staged a disruption of the Divine Liturgy. Punches were thrown, people were hurt. Holy objects were profaned. The parish priest asked the author to leave and never come back. Better safe than sorry. That was before Antifa was much of a thing. It was also before a full Summer of riots and the recent spate of mass shootings. If that incident happened today, the results could be much, much worse. You may think speaking out anonymously is cowardice. But is it, when being identified means you are not just risking your own life, but also the innocent lives around you?
Professional and Educational Persecution – Over a decade ago, a contributor to Orthodox Reflections wrote an article defending a traditionalist bishop who was being attacked for his commitment to Orthodox morality. Someone got his name, looked him up on Linked-in, found his company, and reported him to HR. This poor guy was investigated and threatened with dismissal. He had three young children at the time. He was able to save his job, but his prospects for advancement were ruined. He tried to get another job, but couldn’t. Everywhere he applied, HR would find his article and nix him from consideration. He is currently trying to launch his own business to finally escape the damage done to his career by standing up for an Orthodox bishop.
Medical professionals who have contributed to our site have been investigated by state medical boards. Thanks be to God, none of them lost their licenses, but the stress made one of them voluntarily leave nursing. Their only crime was providing their informed, medical opinions about COVID and the jabs. Another incident happened with a medical student who often helped us with background research. He never wrote an actual article for us, but he did frequently post Orthodox Reflections articles on Facebook. Two of his fellow med students were offended by his social media posts, and so reported him to the medical school. They claimed the articles made them feel “unsafe”. Of course the medical school opened an investigation. Eventually, he was allowed to keep his medical school slot, but had to post an apology on FB, delete all “offensive” posts, and endure a semester of probation. The administration told him that only the fact he was not the author of the material saved his bacon.
Stories like those above are legion. There is no guarantee of free speech in America. Corporations, professional boards, and educational institutions are more than willing to punish speech they don’t like. So we again find ourselves with the only choice many people have – speak out anonymously or be silent.
Legal Issues – The trend towards criminalizing free speech is not new, but has recently accelerated. During the protests in Canada, Trudeau froze people’s bank accounts as punishment for supporting the Truckers. Lawyers representing the targeted citizens would only meet their clients in person, in secret, away from mobile phones for fear they would become targets themselves for doing their jobs.
America and Canada have similar legal systems, and a lot of influence on each other. Alarmingly, America already has a history, particularly during wars, of arresting and jailing government opponents. We are in a proxy war with Russia, and Washington is as serious about it as any previous war. When it is an inconvenience to the government during a “crisis”, the US Constitution is not nearly the protection many Americans think it is. The “Ministry of Truth” in the DHS may be “paused”, but it has not gone away as an idea. It will be back. The government has signaled a limitless commitment to enforcing adherence to the “Official Narrative”. No doubt some readers will dismiss all this as “conspiracy theories”. Two years ago, I would have as well. Then it all happened. Either you speak out anonymously, or you run the risk of being targeted as a source of “misinformation”.
Anonymity probably won’t last forever. Eventually, most of us will be forced to put our names to our beliefs. Many of us already have, since we filed religious exemptions for the COVID jabs. Our employers and various levels of government have been notified that we are pro-life, Orthodox Christians who believe the jabs are immoral and we refused to comply. Many of us, especially the medical staff, face daily discrimination as a result of taking this stand. Who knows what will happen to us all in the future?
It is quite possible that Orthodox Reflections will be shut down at some point, especially if the government outlaws online anonymity. For now, however, we will continue what we are doing – allowing authors the choice to speak up anonymously as long as their posts are well researched and of value to the Orthodox community.
Are We Paid Russian Assets? Are We Reflexively Pro-Russian?
Orthodox Reflections is self-financed. Blogs really aren’t particularly expensive to host. Several of us are in tech. Compared to our day jobs, keeping a blogging platform up and running is not difficult. So the short answer is, we don’t need money from anyone, least of all Putin. That is also why there is no donation option on the site. Orthodox Reflections has nothing to do with financial gain.
The site began publication in June 2020. COVID was the current thing back then, and that was what we spent much of our time on. We actively avoided the Ukrainian issue as much as possible. We much preferred to focus our efforts on North America where we all lived. It was not until February 2022 that we started publishing about the War in Ukraine.
We never intended Russia or Ukraine to be a focus of this site. Unfortunately, here we are.
So are we reflexively Pro-Russian? Are we duped by Russian propaganda? Well, no. To both.
All of us behind this site are anti-war. We have opposed US and Western intervention in Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Kosovo, Ukraine, Sudan, and everywhere else that we can think of. We do not believe NATO serves any purpose in the modern world, other than to provoke conflict and provide a platform for the US to pursue its unipolar ambitions. The War in Ukraine was provoked by the West for the purpose of bleeding and weakening Russia. We have published extensive evidence, from Western sources, to attest to everything just stated. NATO does not care about Ukrainian lives. The ghouls who run our foreign policy do not even bother to hide that fact. NATO is in it to “win it”, whatever that means, even if Ukraine is utterly annihilated in the process.
The Washington establishment doesn’t care about Americans either. Our economy is in tatters, our currency is being debased, our freedom of speech is imperiled, but save for a few Senators and Representatives, all Washington cares about is exploiting the war for MIC profits, pork barrel spending, and enriching themselves.
This war needs to end. Immediately. We are risking nuclear escalation. We are risking the entire economic future of the West. We are risking starvation. This is not our war. Average Americans are not gathering around the water cooler to talk about the war. Rather, they are gathering to complain about gas prices, their falling 401k values, and starving infants who need formula. To the extent average Americans talk about the war, it is to complain about all the money Congress is sending to Ukraine while our nation struggles. The news that Congress appropriated $240 million dollars specifically to provide food for Ukrainians, while hunger explodes at home, was particularly galling for many Americans. Revolutions have started over less.
There is no popular support for this war. There will be no popular support for this war. Americans know a complete scam when they see one.
In conclusion, let us address one final point. Quite a few readers insist on asking us – did Russia have a right to invade Ukraine? Russia believes it did. In mid February 2022, OSCE observers noted that the artillery bombardment of Donbas by the Ukrainians increased from a handful to over 2,000 explosions per day. Russia reacted to these attacks and Ukrainian mobilization in the area by recognizing the Donbas republics, signing defense agreements with them and by finally coming to their help.
We’ve covered all that here, here, and here. You can see all of our coverage of the War in Ukraine here.
But is that moral or right? It is simply Great Power politics. This the way of the world, fallen as it is. Even Pope Francis recognized the folly of NATO challenging Russia on its own border. The Ukrainians are paying the price in blood for our arrogance. NATO needs to stop prolonging this war, and instead let peace negotiations end the killing. Stay home America, tend to your own.
Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America
This is an old article, but I just found it. Some thoughts:
1) At least one item is missing from the above Zelensky poster: “I receive: A multi-million-dollar mansion in Florida.”
2) Do only Russians do the duping?
3) On this gem from Mr. Kalis, Esq.: “You might consider applying that to your policy of using pseudonyms.” Did the venerable priest of yore in his story post the signed letters he received at his office online, for all to read, slam, and dox the writers of? Just wondering.
Sensing the urgency of the times, I am compelled to speak in clear terms regarding: https://orthochristian.com/146281.html OCA hierarchs speak with forked tongue. Underneath the ruse of “peace” through “ecumenism” there is a demon of control firmly rooted in the globalist mission with all of the political entanglements.
Calling all OCA parishioners: look around you, what you see? The OCA was the heir apparent in America to the Byzantine liturgy that went from Constantinople to Moscow. The OCA carries the Ruso-Byzantine DNA from the iconography to its praxis. For the OCA hierarchs to set themselves against the Russian Patriarch, is to totally disregard its mother (Church with its line of Apostolic Succession that went RITE through Moscow) and father (the current Patriarch) aborting all future generations of OCA. Undeniably, they are sawing off the limb upon which they—we all— sit. God will never honor this, neither should you. The OCA now goes the way of the Episcopalians, the GOA, and the dinosaur.
Make no mistake! Bowing to the globalists, the OCA has pitched the bow of the titanic into the deep where leviathan waits. With the stern 45 in the air, it would be a good time to create an exit strategy and be ready to implement. If you cannot be like the sons of Levi and strap on a sword to make some cuts (Exodus 32), you may find yourself cut from the true vine. Many souls are in the valley of decision, and many will opt for convenience because they are just along for the ride and their eternal felicity will be in doubt. When the hierarchs go AWOL, it falls to the laity to stand in the gap and chart the future course by how they spend their money. Perhaps now we can get it all under a single jurisdiction and for the first time become canonical.
Here is how to sort this: there are two kinds of priests: ring-kissers and butt-kissers. The ring-kissers are those priests who honor the office of bishop according to its Apostolic Succession because of its Apostolic Succession and are not afraid to find another bishop who is true to that unbroken Succession. The Butt-Kissers disregard the Apostolic Succession by giving blind obedience to a bishop who is of a very different spirit—not consistent with those predecessors who were contiguous with the Faith—; do not kiss his ring or his butt. In the new jurisdiction to come, the ring-kissers will be the butt-kickers going forth as calves of the stall. As the true shepherds, they themselves will go forth and find pasture. God will elevate them and make their labors count in the future.
If your priest is a ring-kisser, find work-arounds to keep him in business. If he refuses the coming mandates, do whatever you can outside the old channels. If he needs a car, give him yours if it’s paid for. Locate accommodations if needed, keep his wife happy by sharing your supply and remembering the special days. Make sure his family is well fed directly, don’t turn a blind eye. Be generous with that priest every chance you get. Not supporting a good priest is as bad as supporting these faux-orthodox- robbers.
From here on out, not only will there be the danger of false apostles/bishops, but the most treacherous will be the false brethren; those who come in to spy out our liberty to bring us under bondage (Gal. 2:4). Among the laity there are kissers and cleavers: the kissers—like Orpah— betray with a kiss and cleavers—like Ruth—who cleave to the mother-church and the true priesthood unto the death.
So OCA is doing “peace ecumenism” while GOARCH is doing “environmental ecumenism”. And we are not supposed to notice where this leads?
https://orthochristian.com/146281.html
I saw it coming, and so did others. Are we party to this? Is this not a total abandonment of everything Orthodoxy stands for? So while we are focused on the Ukraine, the fox is raiding the hen house and the fox is our very own metropolitan, is it not? How can it be otherwise? Just like the Pfizer infomercials by St Tihkon’s finest (did they ever get paid for that?); these are all traits of covenant breakers, heretics, and subverts. Its about time to roll out the anathemas in true Orthodox fashion.
Here is how all of this needs to go down: a new American jurisdiction must be formed, the plans need to be in place now. I suggest, Met. Jonah to be its first overseer. His bishopric was stolen, this OCA corruption has been–just like in the GOA– systemic and long standing (although not everywhere).
Any discenting bishop can pull his diocese out, the Anglicans (ACNA) have paved the way for that. All discenting parishoners should be keeping some of their tithe aside; once in the church coffer, it belongs to the bishop. Make plans to support your clergy with workarounds. If you can go without the tax deduction, it would be a good time to fund the priesthood if he is one you want to keep outside normal channels. If your rector stands tall against this heretical manipulation, let him know how much you appreciate him and share your stuff with him. Whatever he needs–if he be an honorable priest–give it to him.
Apparently, more lock downs are right around the corner (monkey pox). When the hierarchs start enforcing shutdowns, masking, vaxxes, that would be a good time to just keep going on as usual under a new bishop. Make the hierarchs throw you out, if they have the stomach for such atrocities; I’m betting most don’t. They can’t do it. Or, if the property is saddled with extensive debt, it would be a good time to bail out, finding a better location. According to civil law, a church is a business entity, according to God its the people, all the people, not just the clergy. In the beginning churches met in homes.
Its a brave new Orthodoxy, is it not?
How long before this gets posted????????
OR staff, you give Nick too much credit. Sorry to paint with a broad brush, but he seems like virtually everyone you meet in a Greek parish. Super proud to be Greek, doesn’t care at all about actual Orthodoxy.
There are plenty of us in GOA parishes, converts and cradle, Greek or (like me) your basic white Anglo-Saxon Orthodox, who care very, very deeply about the precious pearl of Orthodoxy and have no truck with Bartholomew, Elpidophoros, and American lies.
Absolutely hilarious. So Nick lives by the mantra “don’t let others dupe you” and (presumably) he supports Archbishop Elpi? Laughing hard. You can’t make this stuff up.
Your posted poster – just saw it – equating Zelensky as “cult-owned” and “American-owned” is beyond the pale. Zelensky seems like a hero to me – I respect your right to differ but that poster obviously is a product of the fringe. An unkind reader would label such a poster as deranged, so I will not do so. Your web site strives for excellence I can see but publishing such a poster – which evidently you agree with just drags you down. Free speech and thought is one thing but peddling unsubstantiated conspiracy theory type assertions will not advance the causes you support.
Actually, the cult of personality around Zelensky is what is unhinged. President Zelensky is extremely socially liberal. Among his policy positions, he supports the free distribution of medical cannabis, free abortion in Ukraine, and the legalization of prostitution and gambling. In addition to LGBTQ rights, of course. Prior to the war, he opposed the legalization of weapons. Now he releases criminals from jail, hands them rifles for free, and asks them to fight Russians. He has arrested his opposition. He has closed opposition media, and Ukrainians are actually arrested for social media posts. He has seized control of the media that is allowed to operate. As we posted elsewhere in articles and a comment, he was backed by the same oligarch who funded Azov. He ran on a peace platform that was overwhelmingly popular, but then gave the Ukrainian people more war. He is a tool of foreign interests, not a champion of the Ukrainian people who need and desire peace. He is also a tool of the neo Nazis, with whom he has become quite comfortable.
Zelensky is no hero. He is no conservative. He is no “democrat”. Zelenksy is a globalist who took time out of his war to cut a video encouraging Green Energy. He appeared in drag in a gay video. He played the piano on TV with his penis. These are not conspiracy theories, they are facts with video.
We’ll end this comment with Archbishop Carlo Vigano offers this picture of Zelensky as a performer, a politician, and a corrupt tool of global elites:
Censorship you say? I–John Lee–have been censored by this very website on multiple occasions. Some things I have submitted were never posted, some edited, and my most recent comment was delayed so many days that when it appeared, it was so far down the conversation, nobody noticed it because it was buried under days of conversation when it first appeared. This is censorship–correct me if I am wrong.
Now focused on world events–things we cannot change– our very own Orthodox house is buring to the ground due to extreme amateur management or downright subversiveness. Obviously, something has changed in the way this site is run. Who is not pulling the strings. I smell a rat.
Many things that should disturb us are happening under our very noses are being ignored. Case in point: after signing a note for some 800k (or so) on a new peice of property, the mission priest who located this land is– just weeks later– resigning and going elsewhere due to managerial stupidity of a bishop and arch priest. And this is not anything under our dear subversive Elphi.
Another case in point. One priest who stood against stupid COVID protocols has been total censored from all diocese communications and treated–by his supervising archpriest–as if he does not exist for many months now. As a former professional–selling insurance and investments–in my view, too many bishops are emotional misfits unable to maintain simple trust worthy relationships with those who depend upon them for guidance, connection with the greater Church, and encouragement. My reply to this priest being blackballed, is “count your blessing”. BTW: this story is not far removed from the previous. Portions of the OCA are in full meltdown mode and no body can say anything–even on this site–because the Orthodox are too self absorbed in “Religious Correctness” in recent days to criticize any bishop like it used to. As for this site, the rigor mortise of censorship has set in. In a short time this too will be useless in encouraging those who fly the plane to take some flying lessons; their sheer lack of competence is distroying decades of good will in “The Church”. Please correct me if I am wrong.
No matter what happens in Ukraine, or with Putin, my first concern is for Orthodoxy which has before now outlived every government, every persecutor, and every enemy of the Faith until now. Now we self destruct by pure stupidity.
Dear OR staff; can you honestly tell me nobody is looking over your shoulder adjusting things to their liking? My articles and comments have been edited, lost or avoided, and/or delayed. I am suggesting you are guilty of the very censorship you want to mitigate. How do you answer?? While I have never withheld my identity, who is sanctioning you? Who edits you? In all honesty, if you are being manipulated, you must in all honesty reveal who above you is doing this. Help me out here, correct me if I am wrong; I want to know how trustworthy your–Nicholas–and this website really are. Time to come clean. If anything is hidden, I’d like to know before continuing my relatinship with you and those staging this platform. If somebody hidden censors, then we should know who they are in order to be trustworthy.
Current Orthodoxy has many hidden figures having underlings do their dirty work and more and more I get the feeling OR is no different. Please, help me out here; I must be mistaken. Can your restore my confidence with some answers? Some very ugly things are coming down the pike, and we must all know who is trustworthy and who is fraud.
Greetings John Lee –
Just a bit of time before leaving for Divine Liturgy, so may have to pick this up. Keep in mind, everyone here is a volunteer. No one gets paid, everyone has kids, careers, etc. The comment you are referring to got caught up in the Spam filter. We’re not sure why, probably because of the link. We get hundreds of spam comments per week. Some poor soul has to wade through all the porn links, all the “get a wife from Thailand” links, all the “buy drugs from Canada” links to locate the handful of real comments (like yours) that get trapped in the Spam. It is an awful task, and sometimes it just gets pushed aside. We’re not perfect in that regard and we apologize. You do work hard on your comments, so if a comment fails to appear in timely fashion (particularly if it has one or more links) then shoot us an email or post another short comment getting our attention.
Now, we need to give some thought to allowing registration on the site. If we had “members” (free of course), then that would lessen the chances that a comment would end up in the spam box as authenticated users would not go through moderation. The site can do it, technically, but that raises the game substantially security-wise. If we went that route, it would solve one of your other complaints. If you look at a site like redstate.com or dailykos.com, they allow members to post “personal diaries”. Some of them are good, many are not. The cream of the crop get promoted to “front page” status by their regular contributors.
That could be a good future for the site. But again, security-wise and content management-wise, that takes a part-time project and makes it almost a full-time job for someone. A retired person might be able to fill in that extra time… Just a thought.
On the other hand, we are a fully-curated site. Anything we accept for publication ends up on the front page. That means, among other things, we expect it to be clearly written, and concise enough to hold the reader’s attention. We don’t edit for content. As in, we don’t chop out material we don’t agree with. If we edit, then the editing is for style and clarity. Bad writing drives people away and mutes the message. Time for Divine Liturgy, but we will make more time afterwards to discuss this further.
Ok, thanks. Please accept my apologies.
Axios! Thank you for another powerful, articulate, and extremely important piece. I hope that those detractors who could not understand the current need for anonymity will heed your words and wake up to the current (surreal) reality.
The war in Ukraine was not provoked by the West. Your assertion of that cannot remain unchallenged. This war is about Russian paranoia, though it can probably be traced to the Great Schism of 1054 – I suspect the United States played no role in that. Look, the Soviets suffered under a German invasion – which had three roots 1. Stalin’s paranoia led him to eviscerate his officer corps so the country was unprepared for the German invasion 2. Stalin’s realpolitik and immorality led him to a pact with Hitler to divide Poland 3. The oppressed people of the Soviet Union welcomed the German invaders as liberators – seems reasonable. So Roosevelt sends gratis 13,000 tanks, 400,000 jeeps and trucks, and 14,000 airplanes to the Soviets and Putin should fear the West? Really? Is Putin and Soviet society so ignorant of their history that America’s aid during WWII is unknown to them?
Putin wants to squash a Westward tilting Ukraine. Guess he has not heard of the lifting of the mutual anathema that took place in 1965.
The only way you can make that assertion is by ignoring all the facts we routinely publish.
The US would never tolerate Mexico or Canada joining a foreign military alliance. The US would never tolerate a hostile regime in Mexico or Canada claiming the right to dev nuclear weapons. The US would never permit foreign troops to be based in Mexico or Canada. The US would never tolerate Mexico or Canada killing American citizens on their soil. In fact, we would intervene even thousands of miles away if there was an ongoing slaughter of American citizens.
Again, the only way to get to “unprovoked” or “paranoia” from an analytical perspective is to completely ignore everything in the above list.
There is much truth in that. Of course, Stalin was a Georgian and that played a role in his hatred and mistrust of Russian.
Not sure how this relates to the current situation. You are also leaving out the fact that the USSR first tried to ally with France and Britain to stop Hitler. It was only after negotiations fell through on that front, that the USSR signed an agreement with the Nazis in an attempt to protect themselves.
So there was potential to stop WWII in its tracks. Just one more episode of history that comes to light after the fact and changes how a past event is viewed. Wonder what nuggets are waiting to be discovered about the current situation?
Putin is totally aware. He also understands the broader context. WWII was won on the Soviet Front. In essence, we provided equipment and waged a proxy war then, the same as we are now. By the time we hit the beaches in Normandy, the Soviet Army had broken the Third Reich. America has a habit of doing this. Besides, that was decades ago in a world that no longer exists. When Trump ran in 2016 on getting along with Russia, Americans overwhelmingly agreed. There is no need for an existential conflict between Russia and the US.
If Ukraine had abided by Minsk I & II and agreed to remain militarily neutral, Putin would have turned a blind eye to Ukrainian development assistance. Assistance that feeds corruption in Ukraine, but nonetheless, Putin would have ignored it. As for the anathema, that really is a silly comment. This war has nothing to do with religion. It is a secular war, led by a secular president, for entirely secular aims. Limited aims at that.
The secular, and limited, nature of the war is further highlighted when you look at the Russian peace demands:
Which of these demands is about stopping Gay Pride parades? Or Western decadence? Or restoring the unity of the Holy Rus’? Or taking control of Kiev, the fount of Russian civilization? Or which church body (UOC or OCU) is the canonical church in Ukraine? Is there a single Russian demand linked to Orthodoxy at all? No? Then this is a secular war for secular, limited aims.
Nick, you are straight up delusional if you don’t get that this is totally provoked by the west. Riddle me this Nick: was the US correct in their assessment during the Cuban missile crisis? If you answer yes, and still believe the west didn’t provoke Russia, then I seriously wonder how you passed the Bar exam.
Being quite new to this blog, I really appreciated the clarification and explanation in this article. I also appreciate the integrity and thoughtful analysis of current events that I have read. I’m Greek, with exposure to the Orthodox faith through my Yiayia when I was young, but now a member of the United Reformed Church. I’m a naturalized US citizen, homeschooling mom of 7 and watching what is happening in this nation and around the world with the obvious manipulation of the media, institutions of all sorts, public and private and the flagrant abuses of power and our Constitutional rights is a huge concern to me. It is a tedious frustration and abomination to have to watch everything we say/post for fear of the woke mobs. While at the same time be spectators as the country and our Constitution are practically lit in flames, oh but send some billions over seas! Please keep up the good work. Those of us in the trenches of raising/educating children need you at the watch, while we teach long division and His-tory! Thank you.
Be cautious in accepting a world view of the anonymous Nicholas who characterizes American foreign policy as one bent on a unipolar world. This is out of the old Soviet playbook – they called it hegemony. He adds that NATO serves no purpose? Gosh, we could turn to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov for that. Also be careful in accepting simplistic formulations as Russia had a right to invade because it thought it had that right? Argh. Really? The Zelensky poster also seems to be not more than naked propaganda. And what is wrong with Inhofe’s quote? Inhofe seems quite reasonable to me, but judge for yourself.
Nicholas – is the US ready to accept a multi-polar world? In other words, a traditional world in which Great Powers are allowed their own spheres of influence and the US does not deem its appropriate to meddle anywhere, any time, any way in which it chooses? In other words, a reversion to 19th Century respect as discussed by Professor John Mearsheimer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4
What purpose does NATO serve? When NATO was founded, Churchill said its purpose was “Keep the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down”. Western Europe was destroyed and practically defenseless. The Allies knew that part of Hitler’s appeal in the early 30’s was German fear of being defenseless against the Soviet Union as a result of the Versailles Treaty. Germany needed to be re-assured to prevent a resurgence of militarism under the guise of stopping the commies, plus Germany was divided and would not be up to full strength. Germany going its own way on Defense was not an option, nor was risking the complete collapse of Germany into the Communist Bloc.
The world of 2022 looks nothing like the late 40’s. Europe is richer, more populous, and militarily more powerful than as Russia which spends a fraction on Defense compared to the West. So what good is NATO? Why does it exist, and why is the US a member? We simply take it for granted that NATO must exist, but why? To bomb Serbia? To bomb Libya? To provoke a war with Russia that could destroy us all?
Why on Earth does the US pledge to shed blood and potentially destroy the Earth to defend Estonia? Or Finland? What is in this for the average American trying to fill the tank and pay for groceries? Why should an American die for Latvia? If Russia retook the Baltics, why should a farmer in Iowa care? No one actually tries to explain what NATO is all about and why the US should continue to expend $1 trillion dollars a year on “Defense” while supporting military bases in over 100 countries. Obviously, this is not about Defense of the United States, as obvious by the fact that we care more about the Ukrainian borders than our own.
Are you making a case, Nicholas, that our support of hundreds of thousands of troops abroad, our constant regime change operations, our trillion plus on Defense, our provocative policies in Ukraine, our economic sanctions on 25% of the globe are all not related to unipolairty / hegemony? Really? We are prepared to let other countries go their own way, even when we don’t like their governments? We are not out trying to play global policeman?
Russia invoked Article 51. Which means, whether you accept it or reject, Russia has claimed a legal right for what they did on the basis of defending the Donbas. You can argue Russia went too far, or that they are using it as pretext, but billions of people around the world find the justification convincing. To end the war, you have to deal with the expressed causes. The Russian people overwhelmingly support this war. So does much of the rest of the world, outside the “West.”
When the Russian Federation released an official list of “unfriendly” nations, no country from Africa, Asia, or South America was on the list. Both India and China—the two most populous countries in the world—have either supported or refused to criticize Russia. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, two-thirds of the world’s population live in countries who are neutral about the war or support Russia. While China is an ally of Russia, the big non-aligned nations—Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates—voted against Russia in the UN, but resolutely refuse to criticize Putin.
The Patriarch’s of Serbia, Antioch, and Jerusalem also have refused to criticize Russia. Much of the world is sick of America’s pursuit of hegemony and wants to be left alone.
Ukraine cannot “win” this war. Inhofe’s quote (Crenshaw, Cruz, Pelosi, Crow – all said similar things) is indicative that the US is using Ukrainian blood in a proxy war. Our establishment does not care about dead Ukrainians as long as we bleed Russia and justify profits for Raytheon. Did the Ukrainians get the memo that they are being sacrificed in US proxy war? Don’t worry, they are figuring that out for themselves by now. The only way to save lives is to negotiate peace. You took umbrage that we said the US is fighting to the last Ukrainian, but that is exactly what Sen. Inhofe’s statement indicates is occurring. The continuation of this war is not in the interest of the Ukrainian people.
The other thing to say is that Inhofe’s reasoning is the same we have heard to justify every other war disaster since WWII. “We have to fight them over there, to keep from fighting them over here.” Bollocks, as the Brits say. That led us recently into 20 years in Afghanistan and the continued occupation of bases in Iraq. Russia has no capability to threaten the US with conventional forces. On the other hand, going nuclear (which is an escalation point from where we are now in this proxy war) will destroy all of us. Better to negotiate a solution to save lives all around.
Nicol P,
I just wanted to add that I hesitate to call out some of the outrageous claims that the editorial slant of this web site propagates because I agree with so much of what they proclaim. Yes, our leaders can be off base, yes political correctness and wokeness is out of control in this nation; yes, free speech and free thought is under assault. Yes, Christianity is under assault as well. I fight the good fight against the madness at my local level – and encourage you do so too. Hold a fundraiser for sane candidates for school board in your locale – yes you home school but some of those seven will eventually demand you put them in the local high school. I hold a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University – I hate to pull out this heavy ammunition – so I have heard and read it all. A law degree does not hurt either. But when argument that the US seeking a unipolar world is brandished about – I know that the author has been mesmerized by anti-American or leftist rhetoric. Did I mention that the Communist Part of China would be comfortable with what I read from anonymous Nicholas.
To clarify, my support is directed mainly at the work of Orthodox Reflections and their effort to inform others.
Also, I’ve graduated four of my kids all fighting the good fight of faith and freedom, thanks be to God. Three more to go. Public school especially today, would never be an option! Your suggestions to get involved at the local level are vital if we are to have any success in returning to any constitutional normalcy.
While I think higher education is important for some fields, what I see coming from universities, especially public ones is pathetic. It’s hardly where I would look for hope in the future generation.
“I hold a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University – I hate to pull out this heavy ammunition – so I have heard and read it all. A law degree does not hurt either.”
Albrecht Mueller, who was a member of the staff of chancellors Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt, and Willy Wimmer, who was a high ranking politician under chancellor Helmut Kohl, and later Vice-President of the OSCE, have been warning for ages that the US policy in Ukraine can cause a major war in Europe.
Some of their talks can be found here (in German):
https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?page_id=47542
But then, neither Albrecht Mueller nor Willy Wimmer hold a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University.
They have not heard and read it all.
Peter Scholl-Latour, who passed away in 2014, rang alarm bells about the US policy in Ukraine for many years.
But then, Peter Scholl-Latour did not hold a Masters of International Relations from Columbia University:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Scholl-Latour
He had not heard and read it all.
About a month ago, Klaus von Dohnanyi stated here in this interview (right in the first five minutes) that the American policy in Ukraine has pushed Russia towards a war, and that the American President still could have avoided that war in the last minute:
https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/das/DAS-mit-Politiker-Klaus-von-Dohnanyi,dasx27858.html
Klaus von Dohnanyi has, like you, studied at Columbia:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_von_Dohnanyi
Listen, Nicholas, that is not an argument. We heard similar insults hurled at Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul, and others back in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Anti-interventionist politicians and writers have been subject to these kinds of smears / linkages since WII. No one here supports communism. Opposing communism may have implied support for the National Security state up till 1993, but that horse left the barn and dropped dead. If the Communist Part of China is such a major threat, why did we outsource our entire economy to China?
An INR degree from Columbia is not a slam dunk, given the number of Ph.Ds who were involved in the Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Serbia, and now Ukraine fiascoes. Not to mention the number of MDs and and Ph.Ds who were absolutely dead wrong on the COVID pandemic. Buckley once quipped that he would rather be governed by random people out of the phone book, than the faculty of Harvard. Educational attainment has been shown to be a poor predicator of the ability to provide cogent analysis. This doesn’t mean you are wrong. Nor does it mean that educational attainment is totally irrelevant. It just means your ideas and analysis must stand on their own. Argumentation from authority is just not persuasive.
On the other hand, your advice about getting involved at the local level is spot on. Politics at the local level is extremely important, as the recent COVID nightmare has made everyone aware.
Nicholas Kalis,
I too hold an advanced degree from Columbia University… a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Several of my GSAS professors also taught in the School of International Affairs. I was dismayed, even all those decades ago, at the toxic and myopic viewpoints they were fostering in the next generation who went on to become powerful policy-makers, attorneys, and so forth such as yourself.
I went on to become a college professor. In the past few years it’s become abundantly evident how brainwashed our students have become… how unable to read or think clearly for themselves, or even how to access unbiased information. And if they do run into a viewpoint that they don’t agree with, they seek to destroy not only the opinion but the person who suggested it.
As is demonstrated in the many courageous and illuminated posts in the Orthodox Reflections blog, this kind of soul-crushing close-mindedness is dangerous not only on an international level with the decisions being made at the highest levels, but on the individual level…. they impact the state of an individual’s very soul.
Actually, a law degree helps NOBODY. It just makes one part of the cartel.
You state that PC and wokeness is out of control, and Christianity is under assault and then you brag you went to Columbia and you support your ruling Archbishop?!?
This is truly hilarious.
Objectively speaking, defense attorneys are important impediments to tyranny. Every single person deserves a good defense within the bounds of morality and the law. The problem we currently have in so many jurisdictions is that the prosecutors are refusing to play their role in the system by not prosecuting obvious crimes. This is unfair to victims, and unbalances the Justice system which relies on three parts – prosecutors, judges, and juries. Juries play a crucial role as triers of both facts and the law. So let me put this in the best possible case. The prosecutor honestly feels a law has been broken. The defense attorney, whether the defendant is guilty or innocent, forces the state to prove its case. The jury not only decides the facts of the case (guilt or innocence) but also whether the law itself is just and justly applied in the current case (jury nullification). Juries are triers of both the law and the facts under Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence.
Thank you for the textbook definition on how the system is supposed to work. But now, back here in the real world, the system is completely corrupt. If you’re wealthy and played running back at USC in the 1970’s and then in the NFL, you can murder your wife and her boyfriend, and walk away. But if you’re one of the regular joes, and the IRS comes after you, you’re sunk. Companies hire lawyers and pay them big bucks to write airtight contracts. The other side then hires the exact same lawyers and pays them bigger bucks to find loopholes in the “airtight” contracts they wrote. The lawyers always win, the regular people always lose. As to your very first line, tyranny has already won in this country. The game is over.
There’s a reason the Canons prohibit Clergy from also being members of the legal “profession.”
Return to your roots, return to the Greek Orthodox Church.
Plus I wouldn’t put too much stock in what is written or given as opinion on this website.
You could try actually taking on something specific given as opinion on this website.
BTw – there are many Greek bishops and priests that are quite holy. We have praised quite a few such a Metropolitan Neophytos.
Nicol,
Kudos to you for keeping an eye on what is going on in this world, and for being conscious and energetic enough to homeschool your children! It is no easy feat. By the time most of this young generation attending public school wakes up (if at all) it will be far too late. Long live “The Good and The Beautiful” and other sane educational sources for our precious children.
This is an excellent article. I agree with every point that you have made and I commend you for your continued stance for the truth and decency. Axios!
I am deeply scandalized by Joe Biden’s presidency in general and this proxy war in particular. May God bring about an early cessation to the unpleasantness in Ukraine.
Lawrence B. Wheeler
“Unpleasantness”? Really? All those deaths and all that destruction and it is merely “unpleasantness”?
How did you feel Nick about the half of million kids the US left dead in Iraq? and that we BEFORE our country even started the actual war? How did you feel about the 13,000 people the US / NATO / Ukraine left dead in the Donbass? Oh, that’s right, you didn’t hear about that from the media and your lawyer friends at cocktail parties, so you don’t care about them.
Yes, sir. The “Late Unpleasantness” is a classic southern idiom that originally referred to the American Civil War, though it has since been used to refer to other conflicts.
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/the-late-unpleasantness-memory-meaning-and-understanding/