Photo by Vladyslav Melnyk, Unsplash
Photo by Vladyslav Melnyk, Unsplash
The vast majority of Americans are fully sickened to our core by the violence visited upon Ukraine every day.
Republished with permission from John Pavlovitz
Dear President Zelensky,
As it is likely that our paths will never cross in person, I could not let this day go by without trying to reach you here.
I come to you humbly as an American citizen who is thoroughly and completely embarrassed of our leaders.
For the past decade I, like many of those who call this place home, have marveled at your courage, your resilience, and your dignity in the face of the unthinkable atrocities committed against you and your people by Vladimir Putin and his accomplices.
With every passing day, my respect for you has grown as I have witnessed you lead with a humanity that has steadfastly defied the inhumanity of those assailing you.
In the face of a sustained, violent, raw-throated hatred you’ve never responded in kind. Throughout the vicious and incessant attacks on both your nation and your character, you have never compromised yourself, never allowed yourself to be defined by the bigotry of your assailants, and you never disrespected them or let them win by becoming as monstrous as them.
I hope you realize that I and tens of millions of Americans stand with you and the Ukrainian people—and firmly against Donald Trump, JD Vance, and the Republican Party.
We are ashamed of their disrespect, their lack of empathy, and their partnership with your oppressors. We are mortified at their endorsement of and collaboration with this attempted genocide.
Though our voices will never be as loud or impactful as theirs are, we needed you to know how much we abhor that you are having to endure this terrible ugliness in the name of our nation—and that their voices do not represent us.
President Zelensky, the vast majority of Americans are fully sickened to our core by the violence visited upon you every day. In the small spaces of our lives we are moving in solidarity with you: displaying your flag, publicly advocating for you and your people, and pushing back against the hatred here that you are on the receiving end.
These words likely bring very little solace in the face of all that is upon your shoulders, the immeasurable suffering your people have already endured, and the unfathomable fears you all carry—but they are nonetheless, words I needed to say to you.
I am but one human being, just a single American; and yet I know that I represent tens of millions of similarly outraged, similarly broken-hearted, similarly grieving people here who will continue to support you with our finances, our prayers, and our voices.
We know that you are a man of peace and that you are not the aggressor here. We see through the propaganda of our clearly-compromised President. We condemn his cowardice, his ignorance, and repugnant disregard for you as a human being and for your great nation.
We believe that the people of Ukraine deserve sovereignty, safety, and to live freely, and we are so very sorry that our own leadership is making this all less possible for you, that America has become an adversary instead of an ally.
May you be protected, may your nation endure, may our nation transcend our leaders, and may we all arrive on the other side of these incredibly dark days in the dawn of a world that will be more compassionate and beautiful than this one.
With regret and grief over our leaders, and in gratitude for you,
An Embarrassed American
John Pavlovitz is a writer, pastor, and activist from Wake Forest, North Carolina. A 25-year veteran in the trenches of local church ministry, John is committed to equality, diversity, and justice—both inside and outside faith communities. When not actively working for a more compassionate planet, John enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, cooking, and having time in nature. He is the author of A Bigger Table, Hope and Other Superpowers, Low, and Stuff That Needs to Be Said.
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