Pacifism is a Privilege

Recently, I was chatting with someone who was curious to hear my take on the current situation on the frontlines of the russia–Ukraine war. Over time, I have learned that about 75% of the time, I will have to hear some sort of russian propaganda when discussing anything Ukraine-related. I know that it is my responsibility to share the truth, and most of the time I am happy to offer a counter-narrative and engage in meaningful discussion if the other person is willing to open their mind.

But back to the conversation. Naturally, the individual had no problem parroting russian propaganda talking points. For instance, that people are being targeted and prosecuted for speaking russian in Ukraine, and that we need to give up part of our territory and people with it to achieve peace with russia, while failing to mention that the only reason the war is still ongoing is because of russian troops continuing to try and take what’s not theirs.

But something they said really stayed with me.

“Now that your country is experiencing hardship, you must have more sympathy for other freedom fighters”

My answer, of course, was yes. Having your family home turned into a target for missiles does put things into perspective. At the end of the day, I truly believe in a world where people everywhere have access to safety, clean water, adequate nutrition, as well as education, housing, and other basic necessities that make our existence more pleasant. However, I would also be the first person to admit that I can sometimes be ignorant of the struggles of others. Particularly since the full-scale invasion, my compassion compass has been severely overloaded. Unfortunately, we live in a world where there are multiple humanitarian crises happening at the same time, and they all deserve attention and care, the same care that I want everyone to give to Ukraine.

But what I have also noticed living in a western country is that, for many people here, safety and most of the things I described earlier are often taken for granted. People forget that most of human rights do not exist by default, and collective memory in the west is a funny thing. What I know for sure is that the reality here is shaped by the notion that the west “paid the price” during World War II, sacrificed enormously, and now it is their time to enjoy peace. Human rights, peace, and safety are therefore seen as granted, because other people fought for them before. That is the excuse people use to be carefree.

Not to disregard that everyone has troubles in day-to-day life, bills need to be paid, careers built, and many other things, but fundamentally, in the west, words like freedom have turned into buzzwords that do not carry the same weight as they do, for example, for a Ukrainian soldier who has not seen his family for a year because he is stuck on the frontlines fighting russian evil. When I reflect on Ukrainian history, it becomes painfully clear that Ukrainians never got that break. russian aggression is not new. Centuries of oppression, colonization and cultural erasure, first under the russian empire, then the soviet union, and now the russian federation, have ensured that peace has always been temporary, fragile, conditional.

A while ago, I attended a work event where I was chatting with someone, and randomly Star Wars came up. I shared something about new movies coming up on Disney, and they kindly explained that in their household they do not watch any war-related movies and, in general, they are pacifists. I have never felt so jealous in my life. What a privilege it is to live in a world where you don’t have to think about whether your loved ones will wake up tomorrow, or whether your homeland will be completely erased by russian missile strikes. What a privilege it is to choose ignorance of war rather than reflect on the larger implications wars have across the globe, and how, in a domino-like effect, we are all connected.

It is comforting to pretend the world has fundamentally changed. But we are watching the global order shift in real time. Rule-based international systems are eroding, replaced by authoritarian and autocratic ambitions. I am not an expert in geopolitics, but for anyone trying to understand this moment better, I highly recommend Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum. She does a far better job articulating these dynamics than I ever could.

What I keep returning to is how differently people relate to peace depending on their historical and political context. Peace is fragile. Security is fragile. Power, when unchecked, is often bloodthirsty. I don’t think most people in the western world are prepared for the new world order.  Sometimes it feels like Canada exists in an entirely different reality. King Charles, when delivering the throne speech last year, reminded us that the words in the Canadian anthem refer to “the True North strong and free” and yet our military readiness tells a different story. We respond slowly to global shifts, and even more slowly to internal reflection. We rarely ask ourselves why we feel so safe, or whether that sense of safety is justified.

And in a changing world, what we continue to see is that what ultimately matters is a state’s ability to respond with force, particularly through military capacity. Even now, as we observe so-called peace negotiations unfolding, Ukrainians continue to remind the world that we are forced to respond with force, and that maybe we would not be here in the first place if the Ukrainian military had been stronger. And while we may want to be peace-oriented and idealistic, in reality pacifism is a luxury. It is the luxury of not having to choose violence because you do not live next to a neighbor who denies your very existence. I am sure that soldiers within the Ukrainian Armed Forces would love to be pacifists, but that is simply not the reality they live in, nor a luxury they can afford. All that to say, support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they are our only hope.