The world faces many crises today, but none is so urgent as the defeat of Russia in Ukraine.
The fate of the Ukrainian people in their own land truly does herald the fortune of democratic rule and self-determination all over the world.
It’s a message that Americans cannot grow weary of, and as a nation we must resolve to see this struggle through, not only on behalf of Ukraine but for the promise of freedom everywhere.
In Dallas on Monday, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shared that message with a lunch gathering that included Sen. John Cornyn and former NATO Ambassador and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. He met with former President George W. Bush that morning and was scheduled to meet with Gov. Greg Abbott later this week.
Bush, Cornyn, Hutchison and Abbott have all been steadfast in their support for the Ukrainian cause.
But we worry about a strain of isolationist and Russia-appeasing conservatives who would see the U.S. walk away from this critical mission and abandon our necessary if difficult role as the world’s foremost defender of democracy.
Whatever anyone thinks of domestic politics in the United Kingdom, Johnson is absolutely right to come to this country, and into the heart of conservative Texas, to emphasize how crucial it is that we continue to support Ukraine.
“How can a conservative support the extinction of democracy and freedom in a sovereign European country? How can that possibly be a conservative value?” he asked.
The answer is that it cannot be. At the soul of conservatism is freedom from the heavy boot of the state.
Ukraine is presently in an existential war. If it loses and Russia wins, it will signal to tyranny the world over that with a powerful enough conventional force and the threat of a nuclear arsenal, the sovereignty of other nations is meaningless.
If Ukraine wins, it signals that free nations will not tolerate the destruction of a democratic nation.
America cannot lose heart or interest in this war. Ukraine’s fate portends the future of the world.
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