Posted on 05/06/2022 6:30:01 AM PDT by Kaslin
It is a curious twist that many on the left who consider themselves to be refined iconoclasts, who feel obliged to incessantly belabor the flaws of figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, are also among the most fervent idol-worshipers.
The latest of these idols is, of course, none other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, now the subject of a cult that, in its amorous overtones, mirrors closely the ill-fated cult of Andrew Cuomo. Conservatives, sick of being told to worship the media-approved Hero of the Day, are understandably skeptical.
This skepticism is justified: Zelensky, a comedian in an olive-green T-shirt who played the role of a Ukrainian president on television before being elected to play that role full time, may not be more corrupt than the average Eastern European politician. But he is certainly not much less so. The revelations of his offshore bank accounts would certainly have sent Democrats howling if it were Trump.
To Americans wary of foreign entanglements, Zelensky’s demands for Western hawkishness, including a no-fly zone, are also alarming.
With that said, Zelensky has shown a spark of greatness in this. A lesser man might have fled Ukraine at the start of the invasion, when almost everyone thought that Putin’s forces would sweep through the country in a matter of days. Zelensky, facing the prospect of being killed or spending the rest of his life in a Russian prison, chose instead to stay and rally his people. This was a genuine display of leaderly courage.
Zelensky’s primary talent lies in waging a global information war, in turning the hearts and minds of the world against Russia. For his part, Putin has stepped a little too readily into the role of villain. Breaking news reports from a war zone are bound to be muddled, but it is likely that when the smoke clears, we will find that Russia was indeed less than gentle with the Ukrainian civilians.
If Zelensky’s main contribution to the fight has been the bold rhetoric of a skilled actor, then we must remember that words matter. A leader’s job is partly that of rhetorician, and powerful speeches delivered at the right moment can define one’s legacy just as much as any pragmatic question of troop movements.
In an era with a dispirited West and an absentee American president, it is natural that dictators would pine for a return to might-makes-right realpolitik. Zelensky has shown them that even a relatively small country, with limited aid, can repel an invasion by a greater power. This is a fact for which dovish Americans should be grateful, because it means that we need not choose between being the world’s police or letting innocents suffer.
No doubt, as well, China is watching and taking careful notes. Volodymyr Zelensky may have been the inadvertent savior of not just Ukraine but also Taiwan.
Now, a Zelensky admirer can reasonably argue that this is sufficient to forgive a few offshore bank accounts. But this is exactly the same magnanimity that those on the left refuse to give our Founding Fathers. Washington, Jefferson, and the rest were flawed men – and yet when they were placed at a crossroads of history, they rose to the challenge, showing a greatness that transcended their flaws.
These American heroes are, presumably, at least as worthy of adulation as a foreign politician. Instead, they are regular objects of denigration by the far left – with little opposition from the mainstream left, and only mealy-mouthed condemnations from figures like then-candidate Joe Biden. Even “moderate” Senator Tammy Duckworth said that we should have a “national dialogue” on whether to remove statues of Washington.
A Jewish Midrash tells the story of how Abraham, left in charge of his father’s idol shop, smashed the idols and told his returning father that they had gotten in a fight and beaten each other to death. His father replied that this was absurd, because the idols had no intelligence, and Abraham pointed out that it was equally absurd to worship them.
The great figures of the Western canon, from the Greek heroes to the Biblical kings and prophets, were all deeply – often fatally – flawed. And yet even from such men, an occasional glimmer of nobility was possible, and this nobility might have been sufficient to atone for their human failings. We should not abjectly prostrate before idols. But we can honor the contributions of certain figures, and seek to emulate them, because only by doing so can we find a way out of the current multiplicity of crises we face.
I’m not convinced that he’s a leader at all and isn’t an American backed puppet. I know some BidenBots here will get mad at even hinting at such a thing but I remain skeptical of the situation.
I’m inclined to agree.
Those who try to hold up Zelensky as some sort of saint are wrong. Those who try to dismiss him as just a corrupt comedian also are wrong. He's a flawed guy who rose to a moment of greatness in a just cause.
“He’s a flawed guy who rose to a moment of greatness in a just cause.”
Well said!
Ask any Irishman or Irish American to comment on Churchill prior to June 1940 and what you get would be a stream of anger and hate. And with pretty good reason given his actions as Home Sec during the Rebellion.
Zelenskyy is a clown/puppet of the highest order and we’ve got a mindless old fool supposedly leading us.
Don’t expect this to turn out well.
“Those who try to dismiss him as just a corrupt comedian also are wrong. He’s a flawed guy who rose to a moment of greatness in a just cause.”
How can you say that? He’s a clown, crook, and actor/promoter. He is very good at all three of those but that’s it. He certainly is no leader!
How does a so-called leader become a billionaire and own a beachfront home in Miami?? Zelensky is a big-time puppet of the US and he is reaping all of the rewards of that role.
The only leading he has accomplished is to lead his people off a cliff to destruction!
Sure he is. He's the President of Ukraine, which makes him a leader de jure.
Yeah, but who’s dreamier? zel, pooter, or xiden? (swoon)
By your measure, Putin is not a leader.
Both ideas are absurd. Both are leaders.
**Zelenskyy is a clown/puppet of the highest order and we’ve got a mindless old fool supposedly leading us.**
I think VZ knows that if he publicly admits who is pulling his strings he would be committing WEFacide or Sorocide.
I also am skeptical that he has been in any great danger. I recall watching a video back in March of a young English fellow that took a train from Poland to Kiev, spent a couple of days there, and came back. He didn’t see any smoke, or hear any gunfire.
As for Bidone, he is nothing but a prop at this point, and a ridiculously bad one at that. I think Obozo, Valjar, etc are very glad to be puppets as well, America haters that they are.
He’s sure not the “savior,” as the article describes him, of the Ukraine, Taiwan or any place else.
He’s completely controlled by the Biden regime and the Dems, bought and paid for. They’re using him to start WWIII, no matter how many Ukrainians they have to sacrifice in their propaganda efforts.
Comparing him to Washington or Jefferson is idiotic.
This entire convoluted sh@tshow is largely the creation of Soros, NATO, western intelligence agency and Democrat operatives. But I freely admit that Zelensky has performed his part well for the billions he has received in under the table payments, foreign real estate holdings, and British citizenship for him and his family. I am not sure how much of his role and image was conceived by him... But we have been treated to a spectacle unequalled in the history of propaganda.
As long as Putin who has likely been driven nearly to distraction doesn’t reach for the big red button, the last big push for the new world order will likely survive the pushback from installing a senile corrupt invalid as President of the United States. These people are too deeply entrenched to actually root them all out.
https://headlineusa.com/soross-corrupt-ukraine-pointman-fired-amid-durham-burisma-probes/
Washington and Zelinsky should never be in the same sentnce.
A “leader de jure” just like Biden?
No. Both are leaders de jure, but Zelensky isn’t senile like Biden.
I’m convinced that, on a psychological level, much of the left’s enthusiasm for this war is based on a subliminal belief that Putin = Trump, and Russia and the Russian army = Trump supporters. This is based on years of the left claiming the Trump was Putin’s “stooge.”
Biden is a LINO (leader in name only).
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