"Who needs me there?" So sad. I no longer blame Russians for the war. What do we, the U.S. offer them, or anyone in the world seeking "freedom".

The scale has shifted for me. The complicity in the war business is greater in the general U.S. population than that in Russia. I used to post in FB how I didn't like my tax dollars going to bombs that were made in the U.S., shipped to Saudi Arabia, and dropped on people ("terrorists") in Yemen. The NYT even did a very deep story on it--little has changed.

Today I believe most people killed in the war are killed from weapons I paid for. There is no candidate I can vote for who would look for a real way to improve the world (stop the war). Either by going in boots on the ground or appeasement. Instead, politicians are using the war to play footsy with domestic economic policy.

The U.S. has the power and influence to stop this war. I believe that. But we believe in nothing but the things you pointed out. "We need affordable housing!" Absolutely. Let's all stay focused on that. Let's show the average Russian we can tune out our government's actions even if we have some power to influence it.