(#4867) We must beat Russia now!

      I don't care about the hesitancy of Spain, France, Germany, et al... Beating Russia now is the only way to stop their authoritarian government and give democracy a chance to grow. We keep forgetting that Alexei Navalny is still in prison and won't be released until the last vestiges of putin are defeated. Navalny is like our Beto O'Rourke in Texas, a fresh start on the correct path to human dignity and equal rights. If putin is allowed to save face and keep on with his brutal rule then the lost lives in Ukraine become meaningless. I am ashamed of what some in the EU are trying to do to give putin his power back with parts of Uraine. I know they are trying to save lives in Ukraine but that isn't their decision to make.
     Ukraine is the one who is being harmed as so is democracy so the outsiders in the west who have helped to varying degrees with Ukraine's military and humanitarian needs should just be quiet and let Ukraine do what they must do to make this invasion by Russia's putin pay it's toll. There is no value to be sought in the face of murder that would equal the loss of life but the end of this invasion needs to be made by Ukraine, not some other country worrying about their societal needs secondary to ultimate harm. I get the geopolitical angst but with murderous invasions the culprit cannot be given a dispensation especially when their goal is to wipe out democracy.
     The naivete of the worry wart western countries who struggle with their internal energy needs can only be summarized thusly; The selfishness it takes to claim for yourself at the expense of others is both near sighted and stupendously cowardly. The sacrifice the Ukrainian people have already suffered cannot be the springboard for others to be greedy about. The whole world needs to suffer if that is the correct thing to do to right a wrong. Not some or most of us but all of us! We share in our democracy our values and they cannot be assuaged by petty arguments that only show our own weaknesses. Stay strong and firm and beat the Russians back to their beginnings. It is the only way our world will recover and improve over the short term and long term.