Things to be Thankful for
Here is a list of things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:
- Running water,
- Functioning sewer,
- Heat,
- Electricity,
- Abundant and cheap gasoline,
- Working broadband Internet,
- Smartphones,
- Subways that aren't used as bomb shelters,
- Quiet nights,
- Clean air,
- Open schools,
- Travel
I think of these things every time I wake up and make myself a morning coffee. I work out using my Peloton which requires both electricity and high-speed internet. Afterward, I take a warm shower, get dressed, and make myself a protein shake using an electric blender. I drive to work and have enough cheap gasoline and safe driving conditions to get to work and come home safely.
I can work from home, and I can go into the office. I don't have to go to the office because I don't have basic infrastructure services at home. I go to the office because I am more productive there.
My kids can go to school, in person. Russia is not bombing New Jersey.
For the past several weeks, Russia has been losing on the battlefield. To compensate for their losses, they decided to destroy Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and make a country larger than France uninhabitable.
Nov 23rd, Wall Street Journal:
Russia unleashed one of its biggest barrages of missiles across Ukraine since the start of the war Wednesday, with strikes on critical infrastructure cutting off power and water supplies in the capital and several other cities, Ukrainian authorities said.
The strikes killed six people and wounded more than 30, officials said. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said about 70 Kalibr cruise missiles were launched mostly from Russian aircraft inside Russia and 51 were destroyed by Ukraine. Twelve cruise missiles were shot down in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, the ministry said.
After just six weeks of intense bombing of energy infrastructure, Russia has battered Ukraine to the brink of a humanitarian disaster this winter as millions of people potentially face life-threatening conditions without electricity, heat or running water.
As the scope of damage to Ukraine’s energy systems has come into focus in recent days, Ukrainian and Western officials have begun sounding the alarm but are also realizing they have limited recourse. Ukraine’s Soviet-era power system cannot be fixed quickly or easily. In some of the worst-hit cities, there is little officials can do other than to urge residents to flee — raising the risk of economic collapse in Ukraine and a spillover refugee crisis in neighboring European countries
Make no mistake what Russia is trying to achieve. The Russian government made it abundantly clear they do not believe Ukraine should exist as a state. The Russian military says they don't target military facilities, but if they believe the entire nation is combatant it is no wonder that they bomb maternity wards, water treatment, and electric power plants. In Ukraine, Russia declared a proxy war on the West. Ukraine is fighting the war on the West's behalf.
This Thanksgiving I am taking advantage of my employer's matching charitable contributions to make donations to the following organizations supporting Ukrainians:
- UNICEF is scaling up its response within Ukraine, and is also working to meet the urgent needs of vulnerable children and families as they arrive in neighboring countries;
- HIAS is working with partners in Ukraine to help resettle the refugees. HIAS happens to be an organization that helped my family as well in the 1990s;
- World Central Kitchen is serving thousands of fresh meals to Ukrainians displaced by war
I hope you consider making contributions to those organizations as well.