Michael Brenner says the frenzy engendered by the Ukraine conflict reinforces a herd mentality that cries out for critical thinking. 

Look for the inconsistencies and look at the source ... who or what introduces a falsified headline and how does it evolve. That is my mode of attack on the years-long disinformation campaign, assess the policy behind the rhetoric. I have no explanation why dissenting voices are silenced and on most important issues there is no debate, none. Quid pro quo or strong-arming sovereign states in backing US policy.

I have no affinity with the "cancel" culture.

War, Conflict & Enemies of Truth | Consortium News - March 5, 2022 |

Unfortunately, observation is blurred and selective. We are poor witnesses to ourselves. Sometimes, we never do gain the perspective needed for a clear rendering of what happened, how we felt and what we did. Oddly, the more peculiar the experience, the less the inclination and ability to reflect on it.

Such is the case in regard to the current Ukraine affair. That singular feature is itself noteworthy. For that is not due to indifference - quite the opposite. Washington is the producer and would-be director of the drama as well as the co-star.

The feature that cries out for our critical attention is the frenzy that the Ukraine conflict has engendered. This despite the absence of an American military presence, no obvious national interest of the first order at stake, and it's erupting at a time when one would have thought the country's appetite for this sort of thing satiated by two decades of endless, failed wars in nearly every part of the world.

My principal concern here is not to answer the question of "why?" I have tried to address that in previous commentaries here and here.

Instead, the aim is to highlight those characteristics of America's collective national persona brought into stark relief by our reaction to events.

The Consequences of Humiliating Russia

Related reading ...

Finnish Russophobia: The Story of an Enemy Image | by Heikki Luostarinen - May 1989

'Sapere aude'