Maybe I Wanna See the Wheatfields, Over Kiev and Down to the Sea

Today has been a weird day, a mix of pleasant personal activity enacted in front of a backdrop of existential dread.  I sent some cards to my twin nieces (one of whom is my goddaughter) and had a nice conversation with my sister-in-law about the package which would be arriving in the mail.  I also spoke with Mom for a bit.  Still, the ongoing situation in Ukraine was a nagging bit of worry which I just couldn't shake.

There might be a glimmer of hope, though, as it seems like the Russian public isn't exactly onboard with this attack on a neighboring country inhabited by cultural 'cousins'.  Intrepid dissidents have protested the invasion in Moscow:

Huge demonstration in Moscow against Putin’s invasion of #Ukraine. 850 already detained. pic.twitter.com/yOn0YwLUYb

— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) February 24, 2022

And St Petersburg:

Look at the size of anti-war protestors in St Petersburg, Russia. Wow pic.twitter.com/dHg9Uwt9RQ

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) February 24, 2022

I admire the bravery of these individuals who are defying an autocratic regime, knowing that many of them will be arrested.  This gave me some small consolation while everything seems to be spiraling down into a morass of blood and horror.

Because of the Ukraine situation, I have been almost obsessively listening to The Call Up by the Clash, a song which I dissected when I wrote a post with a title almost identical to the title of this post, a line from the song.  The song is anchored by a rough-yet-almost-plaintive vocal by the late Joe Strummer, a man who I wish we still had around to help us make sense of things, exhorting young people to not answer the call to war.  It's a message we need now, as independent journalist Robert Evans put it, not all of the Russian invaders are Putin supporters, some are kids conscripted into service.  Let's hope they find common cause with the people of Ukraine and desert.

Anyway, this is the song which, while not exactly consoling me, is helping to make this dread more bearable:

Joe, Joe, Joe, you left us all too soon!