Violations of Decency
For a moment it looked like progressive Democrats were going to give some leadership to de-escalate the dangerous and deadly war in Ukraine. On Monday the Progressive Caucus released a letter to President Biden emphasizing, “We are under no illusions regarding the difficulties involved in engaging Russia given its outrageous and illegal invasion of Ukraine and its decision to make additional illegal annexations of Ukrainian territory. However, if there is a way to end the war while preserving a free and independent Ukraine, it is America’s responsibility to pursue every diplomatic avenue to support such a solution that is acceptable to the people of Ukraine.”
The letter outlines a framework for moving toward a negotiated settlement that “would presumably include incentives to end hostilities, including some form of sanction relief, and bring together the international community to establish security guarantees for a free and independent Ukraine that are acceptable for all parties, particularly Ukrainians. The alternative to diplomacy is protracted war, with both its attendant certainties and catastrophic and unknowable risks.”
The letter was welcomed by CODE PINK as a first step toward a ceasefire and a diplomatic settlement. They rightly acknowledged that this letter was the result of months of grassroots activism urging a diplomatic solution to the crisis. CODE PINK points out that while “skeptics argue there’s no point in trying to negotiate with Putin because he’s not interested in peace talks,” Putin recently said he “wanted Ukraine and Russia to immediately return to the negotiating table. If Ukraine and Russia can negotiate the flow of grain exports out of the Black Sea, international inspections of a nuclear reactor and prisoner exchanges, the two countries can also negotiate an end to this disastrous war–provided the US does not torpedo the negotiations with promises of more and more weapons and talk of weakening Russia for regime change.”
But CODE PINK was virtually alone in welcoming this call for negotiations over war. Within 24 hours, the letter was withdrawn and the signers were claiming it was “mistakenly” released. Most democrats and numerous donors were outraged by the letter. Twitter, even before Elon Musk, heaped crass criticisms on the writers. Not surprisingly, most of the news coverage has been about the withdrawal of the letter and the political implications of it on the upcoming elections. There has been very little discussion of its substance. Yet it is the motivation and substance of the letter that should be discussed.
The letter begins by acknowledging the global dangers of this moment, affirming President Biden’s acknowledgement that World War III is “something we must strive to prevent.” The authors explain:
The risk of nuclear weapons being used has been estimated to be higher now than at any time since the height of the Cold War. Given the catastrophic possibilities of nuclear escalation and miscalculation, which only increase the longer this war continues, we agree with your goal of avoiding direct military conflict as an overriding national-security priority.
Only weapons dealers benefit from a “prolonged conflict.”
The letter urges President Biden “to pair the military and economic support the United States has provided to Ukraine with a proactive diplomatic push, redoubling efforts to seek a realistic framework for a ceasefire.”
In another letter that got almost no press, a group of religious leaders urged Biden to move toward arms control negotiations. They explained, “Subjecting humanity and the planet to this kind of danger from the threat of nuclear weapons is not only a flagrant violation of international law but also an affront to human decency and the values of the world’s religious traditions.”
The administration is putting our future in the hands of weapons of mass destruction. We need to embrace “decency” and the “values” that affirm life. These are matters of our souls.