Maybe it’s time wise old Europe got a ticking off? I haven’t seen much “western liberal democracy” to defend in Western Europe. I mean there are Pakistani child rape gangs throughout England that go unpunished for ideological reasons. Yet, at the same time, if one were to post any anti-Islam words on UK Facebook the police show up at your house and post your name and address. The same country where English veterans were told to put their Union Jacks away during a parade for fear they might offend immigrants. In Germany cars are driving into crowds (we know all about that - New Orleans) and France is boiling with internal tension. All of this is related and is worthy of open and honest discussion. Besides, all of Europe can, in fact, afford to help Ukraine and discuss their own issues, but they must be discussed.
I fear too many people forget the “democracy” side of the discussion and lean toward the meaningless “liberal” cognomen in the discussion. If you imagine that a “liberal democracy” doesn’t need to defend itself internally then you missing half the equation.
I believe Russia is an absolute enemy in this world, but at the same time we can’t keep asking Ukraine, with a fraction of Russia’s population to continue a meat-grinder war just to show Russia “we mean it!” On these very pages I read serious people note that we (NATO) should get involved directly BUT quake in their boots over fear of Russia’s nuclear forces. Russia violated international law in 2014, 2018, and again in 2020 and the not one western country rose to actually defend liberty and democracy in the Ukraine. So, we are only “so much” for defending “liberal western democracy.” Most western nations would sell their liberalism and access to democracy to save their economic status. Europe will watch Ukrainian men and women chopped to bits (with European weapons) yet buy natural gas from Russia - what is worthy of defending in that?
I voted, but I did not vote for Trump (I did not vote for Harris) but I will state one basic fact…the unwashed that many here so easily dismiss as “misinformed” or “uneducated” can see systemic failures with their own eyes - and they demanded change. Even Gen Z college kids can see the obvious, a system that talks over democracy in meaningless tropes but actually fights over keeping the economy in their control. The same is true in Europe - people will demand democracy and freedom but are less tied to long lost concept of “liberalism” that today means nothing of what it originally meant. I imagine that old world labels like “far right” and “far left” are going to die soon, and I hope that (at least in the U.S.) we have moved into a post-party era (where people will vote for their ideas, not a specific party) as hinted by the rise in people registered as independents on voting rolls.
