Publisher, Fran Zankowski Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief, Caitlin Rockett Senior Editor, Emma Athena News Editor, Will Brendza Food Editor, John Lehndorff Contributing Writers: Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Shay Castle, Angela K. Evans, Mark Fearer, Jodi Hausen, Karlie Huckels, Dave Kirby, Matt Maenpaa, Sara McCrea, Rico Moore, Adam Perry, Katie Rhodes, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Tom Winter SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Carter Ferryman Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman CIRCULATION TEAM Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer BUSINESS OFFICE Bookkeeper, Regina Campanella Founder/CEO, Stewart Sallo Editor-at-Large, Joel Dyer March 31, 2022 Volume XXIX, Number 30
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U.S. left’s confusion and division over Ukraine by Dave Anderson
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hen Russia invaded Ukraine, a spontaneous non-violent, anti-war rebellion broke out in the Eastern country. Putin is now crushing any dissent with North Korean-like repression. It is striking that so many of the Russians who protested told foreign reporters how deeply ashamed they were of their country. A popular anti-war Russian rapper said he was inspired by the protests of Americans against their country’s war on Vietnam in the 1960s. Noam Chomsky has argued that the first responsibility of U.S. citizens is to criticize our own government’s dirty deeds. In this spirit, we carried signs saying “Not in Our Name” at protests against U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia, Iraq, Chile and Central America. When Biden calls Putin a “war criminal,” we point out that George W. Bush should also have been sent to the Hague. This goes against a certain messianic nationalism. It’s MARCH 31, 2022
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common for most politicians to say that America has a unique mission to transform the world. This exceptionalism can breed a dangerous arrogance. It can also breed an inverted exceptionalism by a part of the left that assumes that the U.S. is always a bad actor on the world stage. As the invasion of Ukraine began, Taras Bilous penned “A Letter to the Western Left from Kyiv” for openDemocracy, a U.K.-based media organization. He is a Ukrainian historian and democratic socialist activist. He criticized leftists who curiously blamed NATO for the Russian invasion. He said, “I am not a fan of NATO... I know that NATO’s eastward expansion undermined efforts directed at nuclear disarmament and forming a system of joint security. NATO tried to marginalize the role of the UN and the Organization for Security and Coopersee THE ANDERSON FILES Page 7 BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
