Remember When We Thought Rock And Roll Would Save The World?
It might not save Ukraine, but it just might help
I went to college in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and I can only wonder how much of my hearing I lost to listening to “London Calling” by the Clash at full volume. It was a dystopian anthem for a world that, at the time, had a dystopian tinge to it. There was the gas crisis, the Iranian hostage crisis, Ronald Reagan facing off with the USSR (the “Evil Empire”), yadayadayada. It’s a long list, and we wondered if there would be a future for us.
We were overly dramatic, as teens and those in their early 20s are wont to be. All the crises we experienced came and went, only to be replaced by a whole new set of problems. Those were later resolved and replaced by yet more concerns. Such is the way of the world, it seems. We love seeing things pushed to the edge, until just before all Hell breaks loose, so things don’t get so out of control that they go tumbling off that edge. It’s and odd sort of homeostasis, but it makes government and the Fourth Estate feel relevant.
Like most punk bands of that era, the Clash represented the “nothing matters and what if it did?” ethos of that generation. Kids felt alienated from their parents (I can speak to that), unable to relate to a future they felt was little more than a job they’d hate, a house in the suburbs, and 2.5 kids. They wanted something different, a different world, yet they couldn’t articulate what that would entail.
In the end, the Clash were done in by the same things that destroyed so many bands of their era. They washed up on the shoals of sex, drugs, rock and roll, in-fighting, and “creative differences.” Success was much easier to chase than it was to maintain.
They did leave behind some classic songs, though, works that were timely enough to speak to what’s happening in the world now, four decades later. “London Calling” draws on the fear of nuclear war, government tyranny, and a world so devastated by mutually assured destruction that it’s headed back to the Ice Age. It harkens back to WWII England to paint a picture of what might have been had the Nazis prevailed. Younger generations may not face the same fears today, but Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine doesn’t bode well for a world based on freedom and the free exchange of ideas.
When asked, the remaining members of The Clash (rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer died in 2002) quickly said yes to Ukrainian punk band Beton’s request to turn it into a resistance anthem and fundraiser for Free Ukraine. Accompanied by shots of what the war has done to Ukraine, Beton’s version is true to The Clash’s original.
My generation never had a cause to rally around, just a fear of where the world was heading and what our role in it would be. Today’s generation can turn on their television or their phones to see the war in Ukraine and see innocent men, women, and children being killed by an indifferent Russian war machine. The world may well be changing before their eyes, and in a way my generation never could’ve imagined. This generation has a cause, though they may not realize it.
We worried about things that we worried we couldn’t change, and in many ways we were correct. But as we got older, we realized that while we might not be able to change things in a global sense, we could certain effect change in our own lives. Those of us who realized that began to build lives that created happiness and a sense of purpose. We realized that we’d never been required to buy into the house, job, and 2.5 kids thing- unless that was what we wanted, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. It was about making choices for ourselves all along. We may have felt like inmates in our own personal prisons, but many of us never realized we had the key to let ourselves out.
Now, we’re seeing far worse than anything we could’ve imagined in our time. A peaceful country- Ukraine- is being reduced to rubble by an army doing the bidding of a war criminal and despot- Vladimir Putin. The Russian war machine is firing on civilians because the war is not going their way. They’ve shelled schools, hospitals, malls, grocery stories, apartment complexes- things with no discernible military value. They’re reducing cities- Mariupol and Kharkiv chief among them- to rubble because they haven’t been able to take them outright.
All of these things are war crimes, and one can hope that someone will someday be held t account. Now, though, civilians are dying by the hundreds as the Russian army fires indiscriminately on non-military targets. People are dying in their sleep in the one place they should be able to feel safe- their homes.
We should be thankful; but for an accident of birth, that could be happening to us. So far more than three million people have fled Ukraine, a number than will surely grow as time passes and Russia’s “special military operation” progresses. The Russian army may not have been able to progress much in the last couple weeks, but their ability to project destruction and death remains unaffected. If their strategy is to prove that no part of Ukraine is out of their reach, their effectiveness has proven to be deadly.
Short of going to Ukraine to fight the Russians, something I wouldn’t recommend, there are still ways to show your support. One of the most direct ways is to donate to the Free Ukraine Resistance Movement (FURM).
Beyond that, FURM has a list of ten actions we can all insist that world governments implement:
Provide maximum military assistance to Ukraine from NATO: anti-aircraft and air defence missiles, Javelins, protective gear, secure communications etc.
Establish an International tribunal to prosecute Putin for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Strengthen sanctions against Putin. This should also include sanctions against Russia’s Central Bank. State-owned companies Rosatom, Rosneft and Surgutneftegaz must be sanctioned too.
Block all Russian airplanes and ships around the world.
Expel Russia from all international sporting events and competitions.
Ban all Russian media in democratic countries.
Take a decisive decision to grant Ukraine the EU and NATO membership.
Step-by-step embargo on imports of Russian energy resources of supply and strategic reserves.
Do not accept any communication for “peace with Russia” until complete withdrawal of troops from Ukraine.
Kill Minsk Agreements process
Whether or not we’ve already seen the beginning of World War III is difficult to know. Time will tell whether or not NATO will be drawn into a protracted military conflict with Russia, something which doesn’t bode well for anyone’s future. Still, how long can the world stand by and watch Ukrainian civilians be murdered by a Russian army unwilling to respect the international laws of war? How many innocent civilians must die before the world says enough is enough and steps in?
At some point, the international community must stand up to Russia and demand that Vladimir Putin stand down. Or the Russian people will have to stage a revolt, depose Putin, and withdraw its army from Ukraine. Whatever happens, Putin can’t be allowed to murder thousands of innocents in the name of megalomania and toxic nationalism.
This feels like an inflection point, a crossroads in history where we have an opportunity to do the right thing and save Ukraine…or allow Vladimir Putin to indulge his psychopathic tendencies and destroy a peaceful country. No, it’s not 1933, but history may look back at 2022 and see parallels. We can demand that our government step up and assist Ukraine in any way possible- and we should. It might make the difference between American and Russian troops shooting at one another at some point in the near future.
Now that I’m part of the generation my younger self feared and hated, I wonder how today’s twenty-somethings view what’s happening around them. They possess the ability make a difference in ways my generation never did, and because of this they live in a much smaller world. I hope that this means we’ll ultimately be able to live in a more peaceful, prosperous, and connected world. This feels like the first serious test of that hope.
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