Oh, John. NATO isn't just a defense organization. It enforces and maintains imperialism, and recently, NATO extended a partnership arrangement with Colombia. WHY? Plus, Trump overturned the short-range ballistic missiles ban and threatened China and Russia by testing them near their borders. Does this justify invasion - no, but it helps to understand the current state of the world.

I don't believe NATO is the sole reason for the invasion, but we can't even discuss the implications of increasing US military spending and expansion because the media and the public silence any discourse. If you don't think this is dangerous something is seriously wrong. Censorship isn't democratic and it won't lead to anywhere good.

Although we perceive the US as the less cruel superpower, the rest of the world does not. We establish military bases wherever we choose and disregard opposition because American Exceptionalism tells us we're superior.

Russia's invasion is a war crime, but the US doesn't recognize the International Criminal Court and voted against its existence in 1986. The US won't overturn its stance on the ICC because we'd face war crimes.

We refuse to evaluate the potential motivations for Ukrainian suffering. It's an injustice to them and the world because we won't know if there is anything we could have done to avoid the mass horrors. American citizens have the (although tiny) power and democratic rights to question our government. It's imperative we speak up. It's the least we could do, and before you call me an apologist, I detest all wars. I condemn Russia, and there isn't any justification for the war, but we should assess any potential influences.