Hi folks, so sorry for the long radio silence, but I’ll make it up to you soon: Epolitics.com has plenty of articles just bursting to get out, and I can’t wait for them to see the light.
Last week New Mexico and Texas, this week Ukraine — life as a consultant has its adventures. I’m in Ukraine to talk at a Future Elections conference, and last night I walked through Maidan Square with a group of people who protested there for days on end four years ago. They took real risks: the police killed somewhere near 100 people, but their bravery brought down Viktor Yanokovich’s government and helped to save their democracy.
Yanokovich worked with Paul Manafort to gain power in the first place, and some here blame his divide-and-conquer politics for creating the conditions that led to the long-running war in the east. People are still dying there, and we may have American-style negative politics to thank for it. Sobering.
But the folks I was with last night — all in their 20s — want a democratic Ukraine that’s oriented toward the world and West, and they were willing to die to get it. Their spirit is inspiring, and in this time rising hate and divided nations, their dreams and those of people like them around the world are all that will save us. Listen to them, and learn.
–cpd