The United States of America is at war with Russia. There is not much point in using terms such as “proxy war” to describe the situation. If a belligerent in a war is acting as a proxy for another power and that power is not engaged directly in the war, the term can be useful. But when the power, for which the “proxy” engages in the war, is directly involved in the war itself, then it is a co-belligerent, a party to the war directly, not simply by proxy.
The issue is whether each state is pursuing its own interests and has its own independent means of doing so, or whether the interests and forces of the allied powers are subordinate to the interests and forces of a leader. In such a case, the enemy being attacked can regard all its opponents as a single entity.
In this regard, Clausewitz said that, “if you can vanquish all your enemies by defeating one of them, that defeat must be the main objective of the war. In this one enemy, we strike at the centre of gravity of the entire conflict.”
If we analyse the war in the Ukraine theatre of operations in these terms, it becomes clear that the Ukrainian military forces are in fact forces of the United States of America. They have been created, armed, trained, supplied, financed, and are directed and commanded by the Americans, for American interests. The government for whom they nominally fight is a puppet state, installed in power by the United States and its NATO allies in a coup d’etat in 2014. It has no independent interests outside of American ones, and no control over the war or the forces nominally under its command.
I’m thinking that there are probably some common stages that most people go through with respect to voting (akin to the Kübler-Ross model of grief) – and that individuals have to recognize them before they can address the underlying personal problem of why they put any credence in the voting process.
You believe in the story you’ve been fed about the system; you enthusiastically research the candidates’ positions; you discuss and debate those positions with friends and relatives; then you vote for whom you decide is the best candidate to fill the position.
You see that government is “not working” and blame the people currently holding positions in it. You look over the electoral options available and vote for the non-incumbents you determine are best suited to fill the position. A follow-on iteration to this is that you search for the non-incumbent candidates who have never held office.
You say to yourself, “if only a wise and benevolent individual of high moral fiber and character could be convinced to run for office”; and you eventually recognize “the one we’ve all been waiting for”; and you contribute to, and campaign for this individual as though he or she were the physical manifestation of all that could be considered “the way”.
You come to the conclusion that the two party system is only half as bad as a one party system like communism – and you strike a blow for liberty by casting a ballot for a third party.
You return to the two party fold – realizing that the only way change can be invoked will be by working within that existing system. In this stage you’ve actually convinced yourself that there is only one party that stands a chance of being converted to good.
You’re not happy with any of the available candidates; but go to the polls to cast a ballot for the lesser of the two evils that are likely to win.
You submit an empty ballot – hoping that others will join you and that, somehow, someone will notice.
You stay home on election day and do something worthwhile with your time.
This fascinating letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe came from an email list. This letter is not included in the collections of letters that are published and circulated, and the name of the recipient and date are missing– this looks like a section of a draft. If anyone knows how to date a manuscript like this or if anyone knows who this letter may have gone to, please share. I typed up the interesting parts, because the scan quality is very poor. Click on image to read the original with what looks like the Rebbe’s handwritten markings and edits to R’ Nissan Mindel’s text.
Excerpts from the Rebbe’s letter:
“I must touch upon another, even more delicate, matter concerning the teachings of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch whom you mention in your letter. There has been a tendency lately to apply his approach in totality, here and now [added: for Americans born and ~?~] in America! While it is understandable that the direct descendants of Rabbi Hirsch or those who were brought up in that philosophy, should want to disseminate his teachings, I must say emphatically that to apply his approach to the American scene will not serve the interest of Orthodoxy in America, with all due respect to his philosophy and approach which were very forceful and effective in his time and in his milieu. R. Hirsch wrote for an audience and youth which was brought up on philosophical studies, and which were permeated with all sorts of doctrines and schools of thought, and disciplined in the art of intellectual research, etc. Thus it was necessary to enter into long philosophical discussions to point out the fallacy of each and every thought and theory, which is incompatible with Torah and Mitzvoth. There was no harm in using this approach, inasmuch as the harms had already been there, and if it could strengthen Jewish thought and practice, it was useful and to that extent, effective. However, here in the United States we have a different audience and a youth which radically differs from the type whom R. Hirsch had addressed originally. American youth is not of the philosophical turn of mind. They have neither the patience nor the training to delve into philosophical discussions, and to evaluate different system and theories when they are [added: induced to go to college and] introduced to all sorts of ideas, including those that are diametrically opposed to the Torah and Mitzvoth, and there are many of then, since there are many falsehoods but only one truth. This approach can only bring them to a greater measure of confusion. Whether or not the final analysis and conclusions will be accepted by them, one thing is certain, that the seeds of doubt will have multiplied in their minds, since each theory has its prominent proponent bearing impressive titles of professors, PhD’s, etc.
Besides the essential point and approach is “Thou shalt be wholehearted with G-d, they G-d.” The surest way to remaining a faithful Jew is not through philosophy but through the actual experience of the Jewish way of life in the daily life, fully and wholeheartedly. As for the [?] “Know what to answer the heretic,” this is surely only one particular aspect, and certain does not apply to everyone. Why introduce every Jewish boy and girl to the various heretics that ever lived?
The whole problem is a delicate one, and I have written the above only in the hope that you may be able to use your influence with certain circles in Washington Heights, that they should again re-examine the whole question and see if the R. Hirsch approach should be applied to the American scene. My decided opinion is, of course, that it should not, and I hope that whatever measure of restraint you may accomplish through your influence will be all to the good. I hope to hear good news from you also in regard to this.
[…]
I want to take this opportunity to mention another point which we touched upon during our conversation, and which I followed up in writing. I refer to the movement of “Torah v’Derech Eretz,” alluding to the saying of our Sages that Derech Eretz comes before Torah. However the term “Derech Eretz” is interpreted as a college education, and it is claimed to be the doctrine Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch of blessed memory.
As you will recall, I made the point in my previous letter on this subject that in my opinion, with all due respect to this policy and school of thought which had their time and place, ‘they are not at all suitable for American Jewish youth and for present times and conditions, especially in the United States. I even made so bold a move as to try to enlist your cooperation to use your influence to discourage the reintroduction of this movement on the American Jewish scene, since it is my belief that your work carries a great deal of weight in these circles here.
I want to note with gratification that on the basis of unofficial and behind the scenes information which has reached me from the circles in question, the point which I made with regard to the school of thought that has been gaining evermore adherents. It is becoming increasingly recognized that a college education is not a vital necessity and is not even of secondary importance. Many begin to recognize that the Torah, Toras Chaim, is, after all, the best s’chorah, even as a career.” In the light of this now reappraisal, attendance at college is being recognized as something negative and interfering and with detracting from the study of Torah. So much for the younger generation…”
The Democrats and Donald Trump reminds me of a bad horror movie, where the hapless protagonists only make the monster stronger with each attempt to eliminate it. So goes the Democrats’ endless attempts to finally rid America of the “scourge” of Donald Trump.Thanks to the Durham Report we now know they started even before Trump was elected president. Hillary Clinton’s campaign – with the full knowledge of the candidate and the sitting president, Barack Obama – cooked up a “dirty trick” to portray Trump as an agent of Russia in their effort to deny Trump the White House.
When that didn’t work they weaponized the FBI, CIA and the rest of the “deep state” to undermine and hobble his presidency. They spied on Trump and his campaign staff using false information manufactured by the FBI.
When that didn’t work they impeached him under the false charge that he sought foreign assistance for his 2020 re-election bid. This time a spy, in the person of NSC staffer Alexander Vindman, was sent to listen in on Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Zelensky and then make all manner of false charges against Trump based on it.
Democrats were furious that Trump was less than enthusiastic about their plans to use Ukraine as a proxy to go to war with Russia. Vindman, though an active-duty US military officer, was of Ukrainian background and was loyal to the country of his origin rather than the country of his citizenship. He also openly defied the military chain-of-command and his commander-in-chief. Trump’s lack of enthusiasm for their “Project Ukraine” infuriated Vindman and he sought his revenge against the US President.
When that didn’t work they impeached Trump again over the false charge that he led an “insurrection” against the US government on January 6, 2021. The more surveillance video we see of this “insurrection,” the more it looks like a false-flag operation cooked up perhaps by Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Washington swamp to finally be rid of Trump. Hundreds of political prisoners have been held in solitary confinement on false accusations that they tried to overthrow the US government.
When that didn’t work and Trump’s re-election numbers looked more and more favorable while Biden’s approval rating continued to linger in the political basement, the Democrats have now indicted him over some classified documents apparently discovered in his residence in Florida.
The boxes and boxes of classified documents discovered at multiple Biden locations have disappeared into the memory hole with the help of the media. Nothing to see here.
Suddenly Donald Trump, who polling suggests would obliterate Joe Biden in a fair US election, faces 100 years in prison! Where else would you see the head of one political party arrest his main political opponent on cooked up charges? A banana republic!
For those of us who love this country, it is truly shocking to see this abuse of power. But there’s one thing these dirty tricksters never seem to understand: the more false evidence and false charges they cook up against Trump, the stronger Trump becomes. With these outrageous and continuous attacks on Trump, the Democratic Party (and plenty of Republicans) has lost all credibility. When this plan fails, and it will, I am afraid to think what they might try next.
