Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

National Flag of Ukraine

As our name suggests, Freedom Focused cares a great deal about FREEDOM. That is why everything we model and teach is aimed at promoting, supporting, and expanding the growth and FREEDOM of individuals, organizations, and nations around the world.

Consequently, we are alarmed by events transpiring in the Independent Republic of Ukraine. 

Exactly one month ago—on February 9, 2022—Freedom Focused noted that,"history is scant when it comes to stories of massive troop buildups that all-of-a-sudden pull back and disregard their well-laid out dreams, plans, and hopes of conquest." In that same blog post, we predicted a Russian invasion of Ukraine was unlikely to proceed until after the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics, but that "Putin [would likely] give the order for his troops to move relatively soon after that."*

* Click HERE to read 2-9-22 blog post: "Historical Events and the Growing Threat of Global Conflict."

February 24, 2022
"A date which will live in infamy."

Sadly, for Ukrainians, and for freedom-loving people all over the world, that is precisely what happened.

In an eerie repeat of Tuesday, August 4, 1914—Germany's invasion of Belgium signaling the onset of World War I—and Friday, September 1, 1939—Nazi invasion of Poland signaling the onset of World War II—Vladimir Putin unleashed the fury of the Russian Army across the Ukrainian Border in the early morning hours of Thursday, February 24th, 2022.

Putin's boldfaced and blatant invasion of an innocent and sovereign neighbor-nation occurred just four days following the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Thus, like Sunday, December 7, 1941, Thursday, February 24, 2022 will—to quote U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt—forever be "a date which will live in infamy."

"Private JJ" with "General Sam Houston"
following the 2012 reenactment of the  Battle of
San Jacinto, where Texas won its Independence
(on April 21, 1836), thus avenging the Alamo tragedy.

Freedom Focused joins governments and organizations around the globe in unequivocally condemning Vladimir Putin's insidious, tyrannical, and unprovoked aggression into Ukraine. Moreover, we honor the courage and resolve of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the freedom-loving citizens of the Ukrainian Republic who, like Texian defenders of the Alamo in 1836, are standing boldly and bravely against a much larger and more powerful military adversary. Like those intrepid Alamo defenders, many brave Ukrainians are currently being slaughtered—or have otherwise resigned themselves to an uncertain, or even terminal, fate.

Like the ultimately victorious Texians, Freedom Focused predicts Ukraine will eventually have its SAN JACINTO moment—although we do not yet know how far in the future that destined victory lies, nor do we know how many other nations may yet be drawn into the conflict before peace returns to Ukraine.      

For the time being, Putin's ominous order has ignited a powder keg in Eastern Europe that has the potential to escalate into a much broader—perhaps even a third global—conflict. After all, World War I did not officially begin on August 4, 1914; nor did World War II officially
begin on September 1, 1939. Nevertheless, the events of those dates provided the necessary spark that eventually set the world on fire not once, but twice. It is possible history will look back at February 24, 2022 through a tragically similar lens.

The potential for the war on Ukraine to expand into a broader conflict
remains a "clear and present danger" the West should take seriously.

While Freedom Focused is hopeful things never escalate to that degree or extent, we wish to issue a clear caveat to liberty-championing people and nations everywhere: the possibility of armed conflicts spiraling well beyond the border of Russia and Ukraine is a "clear and present danger" that Westerners everywhere should take seriously.

Gratefully, the West demonstrated over the second half of the last century that much can be done to prevent and avert conflicts on the scale currently unfolding in Ukraine. Sadly, the West has squandered countless opportunities in the first two decades of the twenty-first century to preserve that peace, which we now know came with an expiration date of February 24, 2022.   

Click HERE to buy The Fourth Turning

The time for the West to prepare for a wide-range of contingencies, including the current crisis in Ukraine, was yesterday, and more specifically, over the past 30 years. Since many opportunities to prepare over the past three decades have clearly been wasted, the time to refocus our efforts and put our shoulder to the wheel—redoubling our efforts to make up for lost time—is NOW.  

War has been and always will be HELL on Earth. This newest verse in humanity's melancholy dirge of armed conflict is no exception. Stories and visuals of this newest chapter of hell's fury pouring out of Ukraine are devastating, heartrending, and in many cases tragic.

For many years now, Freedom Focused has been warning about an impending CRISIS to come in the early-mid 2020s whose scope and scale would be on par with the First and Second World Wars and the Great Depression of the last century. Rooted in the generational scholarship of William Strauss and Neil Howe—and our own expanding understanding of history—it seems the "Crisis of 2020," marked by the lingering Covid-19 pandemic and the outbreak of a potentially large-scale war in Eastern Europe, is clearly in its opening acts.

Click HERE to learn more about the Crisis of 2020.  

A patriotic American poster from the
Great War era (1917-1918)

Why is it that collective humanity continues to repeat the same old errors of the past? Why is it the "War to End All Wars" (WWI) had the exact opposite effect—planting a seedbed for a conflict twice as disastrous (WWII) a mere quarter-century later?

And why is it that a second World War—which cost some 100 million lives and destroyed much of Europe and Japan—failed to prevent current events so hauntingly reminiscent of Germany's "Rape of Belgium" in 1914 and Germany and Japan's subsequent hostile takeovers of multiple countries in Europe and Asia throughout the 1930s and early 1940s?

At Freedom Focused, we suggest the answer to these questions is two-fold. First, a lack of individual CHARACTER and SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP rooted in love and morality, particularly among the leaders of nations around the globe. And second, weakness in leadership and the collective will of nations, which have promoted geopolitical strategies designed to appease dictators and maintain the status quo instead of guaranteeing PEACE through STRENGTH.  

Freedom Focused exists to educate individuals,
organizations, and nations in principles of
Self-Action Leadership & Freedom

Freedom Focused is not a political entity; it is an EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION. As such, we will never seek to dictate or influence specific policy decisions among military or governmental leaders and organizations. Our consistent and perpetual aim is to model and promote true (albeit general) principles of thought and action that will foster individual growth and collective peace. In so doing, we steer clear of partisan politicking and the promotion of specific policy directives or initiatives. Such objectives and tasks belong to leaders and specialists authorized to operate in relevant fields. 

Providing specific political or military advice would be a deviation from our appointed lane and duty. Rather than lobbying for various policies or strategies, we remain laser-focused on loadstar generalities, or in other words, on fundamental principles of ATTITUDES, BELIEFS, and ACTIONS aimed at bringing about desired long-term results for individuals, schools, organizations, nations, and the world-at-large.

In this spirit and vein, Freedom Focused WARNS Western leaders and citizens everywhere—generally speaking—of the dangers of weakness and appeasement. 

Lions are safe because Lions are STRONG

The relationship between STRENGTH and PEACE is at least as old as Hadrian's Wall and the Roman Empire. This geopolitical principle and military mantra remains as relevant today as it was then—and in all the intervening years.

STRENGTH  +  UNITY  =  PEACE

It was, after all, united Allied resilience and STRENGTH (bolstered by American military might in 1917-18) that triumphed over the aggressive and invasive Central Powers—led by Germany—in the Great War.

And it was Churchillian leadership, vision, determination, resilience, and STRENGTH (bolstered a second time by U.S. military might from 1942-45) that led the Allied triumph over the AXIS aggressors in World War II.

More recently, the STRONG and steady leadership of U.S. Presidents Kennedy and Reagan averted potentially disastrous nuclear confrontations with the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1980s. And it was the strength of a united front of 35 nations from around the world, led by the United States, that repulsed and reversed Saddam Hussein's unprovoked invasion of Kuwait in 1990. 

However the Present Crisis may evolve—and Freedom Focused bleakly warns of its potential to morph into something far larger and more costly than its present size and scope—there is only one pathway to victory, and that is the pathway of STRENGTH and UNITY. 

The current crisis unfolding in Ukraine should not be a surprise to anyone. Vladimir Putin has been lamenting the loss of the former Soviet bloc and threatening the peace and sovereignty of his neighbors for decades. For those who have been paying attention, his actions over the past 22 years have been unmistakable—and relatively consistent.

Sometimes, EVIL wears a SUIT.

Many in the West call Putin crazy. At Freedom Focused, we suggest "EVIL" is a more accurate description of the man. 

Crazy people usually don't possess the means or power, much less the organizational capacity required to undertake a large-scale invasion of a country the size of Ukraine.

But cunning and evil people sometimes do.

We know Putin is evil because his actions carry all the behavioral indicators of evil, namely: deceit, manipulation, violence, and larceny.

Four (4) Indicators of Putin's EVIL Actions

1. Lies, Propaganda, and other Deceit

2. Manipulation

3. Unprovoked violence

Evil dictators only speak one language:
The language of POWER

4. Forcibly taking things that are not his

Aside from being evil, Putin is also rich, powerful, and relatively organized. In the twentieth century, the West paid a terrible price for underestimating Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito. Similarly, the West underestimates Vladimir Putin, his ally Xi Xinping of China, and other dictators like them at our collective peril.

Unfortunately, there is really only ONE thing that evil people understand, and that is hard POWER. That is why it is critical Western Leaders show unity and STRENGTH in the face of evil imperial ambitions of twenty-first century totalitarians like Putin and Xi.

In discussing dictators like Xi Xinping and Vladimir Putin, it is important to not conflate their nefarious actions with the character of the Chinese and Russian peoples-at-large. There are, no doubt, millions of honest, hard-working, upright citizens of both countries who do not support the evil objectives and behavior of their iron-fisted tyrants.

The present war in Ukraine is a massive example of
the manifold injustices that exist in this world and life.

Moreover, many (and perhaps most) Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and North Koreans are largely unaware of what is really going on because of strictly scripted intra-national propaganda and State-wide control of the media. Freedom Focused empathizes with these heavily subjugated citizens, and further acknowledges the harm Western sanctions have on countless innocent citizens because of our otherwise noble efforts to curtail the unjust aggressions of their wicked leaders.

I remember back in elementary school when a teacher would occasionally punish the entire class because of the inappropriate behavior of one or two rascals. I recall how unfair that felt to me as a little boy. I am confident there are many Russians who must feel as I did—magnified and multiplied, of course, by about ten thousand times over my own relatively petty and minuscule juvenile experiences with injustice.

I'm sure there are many Chinese citizens who are aware of Xi's Concentration Camps in Uyghur Province and his intimidation of Hong Kong and Taiwan. And I'll bet they feel the same way many Russians feel about Putin's invasion of Ukraine: they don't like or agree with the behavior and policies of their leaders, and if there was something they could do without putting themselves and their family in grave danger, they would take actions to stop them.          

China, with its 1.5 billion citizens,
has been on the rise now for decades.

Speaking of Xi Xinping's China... its rapid economic rise, burgeoning and modernizing military strength, growing global hegemony, genocidal crimes in the Uyghur Province, and sobering saber rattling in the South China Sea have been years in the making. 

China was already a rising world power when it hosted the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing—an occasion I remember well because the Summer Olympics are one of my favorite celebrations of sport and I watched several of the events on television with my new bride on our honeymoon in Scottsdale, Arizona, after being married on 8/8/08—the same day as the Opening Ceremonies for the Beijing Summer Olympics. 

If you've been following the news even peripherally the past 13.5 years, you know Xi and his nation and armed forces have been very busy—and their flurry of activity has not been aimed at allying themselves with Western values or goals. Moreover, Putin's official meeting with Xi on the opening day of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics further solidified a deepening alliance between China and Russia that serves as a capstone to a partnership that took root many years ago and has been evolving dangerously ever since.

Winston Churchill in the 1930s was a
relatively lone VOICE crying in the Wilderness.

Winston Churchill is famous for warning the British Empire and its Western Allies of the imperial (and impetuous) rise of Adolf Hilter and Nazi Germany in the 1930s—years before Hitler's Luftwaffe and Wermacht's fateful pre-dawn assault of Poland on September 1, 1939. Sadly, few bothered to listen to his "voice in the wilderness."

Once again, Great Britain has not been the only nation asleep in recent years and decades. Indeed, the entire Western World (led lethargically by the United States) has been collectively caught dozing at the wheel.

While individual voices, including ours at Freedom Focused, have been sounding the alarm for many years now—and in an array of different ways and means—such voices have done little to change the drowsy status quo. Sadly, the consequences of failing to heed said voices are unfolding in violent fashion (as we speak) throughout the Republic of Ukraine.

It is, of course, too late to go back and change the past. But it is NOT too late to wake up to and embrace present realities in order to better prepare for future challenges that are sure to come. But doing so will take COURAGE, RESOLVE, STRENGTH, ENDURANCE, and UNITY.  

We join Westerners and citizens everywhere who rejoice in, and heap praise upon, the courageous Ukrainian leaders, military personnel, and citizens who have demonstrated so much bravery in defense of FREEDOM. However, we simultaneously caution the West to avoid underestimating the power, capacity, resolve, and growing strength and unity of Putin, Xi, and other EVIL dictators around the world. 

Freedom is not FREE

Make no mistake: The current crisis unfolding in Eastern Europe poses a real threat to FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY—not just in Ukraine, but everywhere. And while the unity among Western Powers seems to be galvanizing in (hopefully) helpful and steady ways in the early stages of this conflict, let us ever be vigilant—recognizing that the greatest tests are likely still to come. As such, lovers and supporters of LIBERTY and FREEDOM everywhere should be wisely and pragmatically preparing themselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and where necessary—financially, logistically, and militarily for whatever the future might hold. 

Just as Freedom Focused echoed Strauss and Howe's prediction of the onset of this current crisis, we further echo their optimism that the freedom-loving democratic nations of the world will ultimately prevail in whatever conflicts and disasters may yet come throughout the 2020s, which seem destined to be unusually tumultuous. But victory can come only if we UNITE as morally-grounded and results-focused self-action leaders committed to the cause of TRUTH and FREEDOM.  

STRENGTH through UNITY

One of the greatest by-products of a global catastrophe is its tendency to unite large blocs of leaders and people in a common cause rooted in goodness, freedom, and truth. During times of great crisis, lesser squabbles tend to become relatively unimportant as populaces unite to focus on shared values in an effort to combat more pressing problems at hand.

This is a good thing.

But why must it take a disaster for us to unite? Why can't we choose to be consistently unified so as to circumvent catastrophe in the first place? The answer to these questions is, once again, individual moral inertia and entropy and collective moral decline.

Sadly, history has demonstrated over-and-over-and-over again that human beings are seemingly incapable of uniting indefinitely—speaking collectively and not individually.

Tragically, many Ukrainians have had to leave their
homes and seek safety and peace in other nations.

Gladly, however, history has also demonstrated that glorious achievements are possible when people come together for a common purpose rooted in righteousness. We hope and pray this current crisis will continue to pave the way for past divisions to be healed, that we might, through greater unity, defeat those evil and nefarious forces in our midst that seek to subjugate—or even destroy—us. 

We are not going to sugarcoat current events. The present crisis unfolding in Ukraine is an unmitigated disaster—complete with rising casualties, the commission of heinous war crimes, and a rapidly growing humanitarian crisis marked (at the time this article was published) by more than two (2) million refugees fleeing in utter desperation to any other peace-loving nation that will accept them.

Nevertheless, inside the throes of this catastrophe lie many opportunities for the kind and degree of growth and unity that will pave the way for peace, productivity, and prosperity the likes of which humanity has yet to experience in its history. Thus, despite any and all terror yet to come, Freedom Focused positively and optimistically affirms that the future can remain bright for nations everywhere, and more especially in the liberty and freedom-loving, democratic nations.  

Freedom Focused believes that whatever problems
perplex the present, the possibilities of an
 even greater FUTURE are endless—and real.

In the meantime, and in the inspirational words of Benjamin Franklin, let us "all hang together ... [so we do not] all hang separately." In so doing, we will lay the groundwork of a strong, united, and ultimately victorious defense that has the potential to create a future brighter than any in the past—despite any and all perplexities of the present.

To learn more about Freedom Focused's VISION of the FUTURE beyond the Crisis of 2020, click HERE.    

—Dr. JJ

March 9, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 255th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 254 FF Blog Articles.  

.........................

Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.  

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

To sign up, please email freedomfocused@gmail.com and say SUBSCRIBE, or just YES, and we will ensure you receive a link to each new blog article every Wednesday.  

Click HERE to learn more about Freedom Focused

Click HERE to learn more about Dr. Jordan Jensen

Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks