To the Editor:

I’m increasingly worried about the direction of our country. Our wavering support for Ukraine and what seems to be, in some quarters at least, a deteriorating commitment to basic democracy is deeply alarming.

In the 1938 Munich Agreement, Britain and France agreed not to intervene with Adolph Hitler’s move into Czechoslovakia, as long as Hitler agreed to go no farther. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned to Britain, showing the document that Hitler signed and reporting that peace had been secured. We all know what happened after that!

Vladimir Putin is every bit as evil as Adolph Hitler and has the very same drive to dominate the world. Putin’s behavior in Ukraine includes a long list of war crimes (bombing hospitals and schools, bombing civilian apartments, etc.) which demonstrate that he is plainly as brutal and untrustworthy as Hitler.

Nonetheless, the actions of Donald Trump and his minions in the U.S. Congress don’t seem to be bothered by this and seem quite prepared to follow the lead of Neville Chamberlain.

If we allow Putin to take Ukraine there’s little doubt that he will see that as an open invitation to move against current NATO members in his drive to recreate the former Soviet Union. That would directly involve the U.S. under Article 5 of the NATO charter – “an attack against one is an attack against all.”

Ronald Reagan went to Berlin and famously told Mikel Gorbachev “tear down this wall.” In contrast, Donald Trump, in expressing irritation with some NATO countries, invited the Russians to “do whatever the hell you want.”

What could be a more crystal-clear demonstration of the difference between strength and weakness or, even more importantly, between right and wrong, between good and evil?

Appeasement of dictators inevitably fails and leads to even more deplorable outcomes.

Dr. Tom Dean
Wessington Springs