Ruminations on separatism and war, pertaining to the Russian-Ukrainian Crisis

Does/should/why geographical "separatism" necessarily lead to regional/international war?

I speak as a grateful, patriotic (in my own American way) citizen of a country that, after all, initiated perhaps the most historically important example of separatism -- which led to America's splendid birth, namely the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776) -- and that, sadly, created a war between colony and empire. (BTW, Catherine the Great refused to send Russian troops to America at George III's request to quell the rebels). See http://www.jstor.org/stable/1836701?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents

On a personal, perhaps less relevant to a "geopolitical" note, I was present (95-97), working (as best as I could) as an American "public diplomacy" government employee (I will leave it up to the reader if I was a "propagandist") at American Embassy Belgrade, witnessing part of the bloody dissolution of Yugoslavia, including seeing Croatian Serbs and their suffering families streaming into Serbia.

I'll never forget the blank, lifeless face of the children. And the silent suffering of their mothers. What can I do, I wondered, as a moral justification for doing nothing essentially as a so-called working, in-the-field  "diplomat," whose job was not to "formulate" but "implement" policy.

I felt -- to put a "rational" hat on  -- that the dismantling of this post-WWI construction -- Yugoslavia -- could have been dealt by major powers in more intelligent ways than major powers are now dealing with another entity essentially created in the 20th-century -- the former Ukrainian SSR.

I say this with the utmost respect/admiration for the talented, cultivated persons living in the "Ukrainian" space, persons living in that European borderland (if there if a better way to characterize it, please tell me) who have suffered, been exploited for centuries from empires/vampires of various "nationalities" from east/west/north/south.

Let me be provocative, to amuse the supposedly-tough-talking-realpolitik types  -- who "never have a moment" except what's on their own minds -- on both sides of a "tragic," but so-called Cold-War, "East-West," Russian/Ukrainian idiocy that could, perhaps have been prevented, with some diplomatic foresight; foresight maybe misguided, but at least considering options "outside the box" -- what "tunktakers" are, after all, paid to do.

Meanwhile, to give some "practical" advice from a "culture-vulture" diplomat: No one can fully understand the current Ukraine-Russian situation without reading one essential author (as a palliative to yet another DC-think-tank-tough-talking-get-to-point-bring-'em-arms report on the Ukraine situation).

The author is Ukrainian-born Gogol, whose literary career, arguably, flourished in Russia/St. Petersburg. Let the slick-bright-teeth Pentagon analysts ready to arm the "Ukrainian" army read his novels, especially The Inspector General.

To our brilliantly hard-thinkers: Read Gogol.

Gogol's point (if his great novels can be reduced to one "point"): Never overlook the absurdity in life -- this "lesson," worthy or not, perhaps based on his very own life, most of we Americans know nothing about -- or, better put, refuse, in all our praiseworthy optimism, to consider.

And of course don't forget Aksyov's Bulgakov-like book on Crimea, written prophetically decades ago. All "policy makers" should at least look at the summary of that book.

Having said that, and here I am -- not quite oddly enough -- supporting good-old-reactionaries, "if 'em Slavs tribes want to kill each other off, let 'em. None of our goddamn business. We have our jobs, taxes, and mortgages to worry about."

Who in the hell are they (the Slobs)? Let 'em get real jobs and stop bitching.

After all, from an America-first perspective, Detroit -- a dying industrial American city -- is far more important to us Americans (at least in Detroit) than Donetsk -- a dying "Russian" city in "Ukraine"nobody in our dying industrial heartland knows nothing about.

Charity begins at home.

Why Putin should ever want to "take over" Donetsk is like Canada wanting to take over Detroit.

Send Gogol to the rescue.

Absurb.