Waiting for a new time of giving

Za "Time" from New York

In the abundance of Christmas decorations around Times Square, there is a new billboard in support of Ukraine, which invites the citizens of New York to, at the time of giving, set aside some money to help the country that is defending itself from Russian aggression. A girl's face on a digital screen, framed in the colors of that country's flag, looks impossibly sad next to a giant ad for a new Netflix series Money Heiss, Tamashii's shop window crammed with figures of comic book heroes and Dior's huge luminous wheel with flowers, stars and a butterfly. While the surrounding streets are flooded with tourists from all over the world, New Yorkers bypass this part of the city in a wide arc. They usually won't even say why they don't go there because they think it's understandable without an explanation and that if someone doesn't understand why, they won't see what the problem is even after listing the reasons.

Tourists being tourists, they came to have fun and relax, so no one pays attention to the political messages on the billboards, the vast majority are only interested in the Norwegian Christmas tree in front of the Rockefeller Center, on top of which a star with 30 million Swarovski crystals shines. And those who, by the nature of things, should take care of the American obligations towards Ukraine went on vacation, postponing the decision of the Congress on the new package of aid to Ukraine for better times. Even President Joseph Biden, before traveling to his residence in the state of Delaware, which, tucked away from Maryland, with wooden houses and pastures, resembles a huge, impeccably arranged farm, his earlier messages that Ukraine will be helped "as long as necessary ” reduced to the fact that he will provide himself “as much as possible”. A small but important difference in intonation that almost no one paid attention to.

CONGRESSIONAL HESITATION

The mere questioning of further financial support for Kiev was no less surprising than the one caused by Ukrainian victories and the liberation of parts of the occupied country. America, as it promised, has so far regularly sent aid to Ukraine, which was extremely consistent since President Biden and his closest associates called Vladimir Putin a "war criminal", "bloodthirsty" and "tyrant" from the beginning of the war, and the Ukrainian war "by fighting to defend the democratic world from autocracy". Accordingly, so far, about 111 billion dollars have been allocated for arms, equipment, humanitarian aid and funds to repair the deficit in the Ukrainian budget, although a large part of this money has remained in the pockets of the local arms manufacturers.

That lasted until the White House sent a request to Congress on October 20 to approve a new $106 billion for Ukraine, Israel, securing the border with Mexico and humanitarian aid to the population in those war-torn areas, which was met with strong opposition from Republican lawmakers. Neither Biden's pleas to members of Congress and his warnings that "history will judge harshly those who turn their backs on freedom" nor White House Budget Director Shalanda Young's letters that the State Department spent all it had from the military aid fund, and that The Ministry of Defense still has quite insignificant funds at its disposal. To members of the Republican Party, what was happening on the border with Mexico, which is besieged by migrants from Latin America, was far more important. A historical record was set a few days ago, when 12.600 people entered the US illegally in the course of twenty-four hours, which is largely a consequence of Biden's cancellation Article 42, which served his predecessor Donald Trump to deal brutally with migrants by expelling them from the country according to an accelerated procedure. Republican methods have not changed much since then.

The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, placed orange, floating buoys in the middle of the Rio Grande, which prevent crossing the water, but also hinder the navigation of the river, along the entire coast, razor wire was stretched, and everyone could just see the video of a woman crying with a child which she can barely keep above the torrent of water, she begs the members of the coast guard to take her into the boat, while they calmly, as if nothing is happening, row next to her. Those who do manage to overcome those hurdles are often jailed under Texas' new law or simply bused to Democratic states.

IMMIGRANTS ON THE SIDEWALK

New Yorkers can see them sitting confused and scared on the sidewalk outside the Row Hotel on Eighth Avenue and elsewhere downtown, mothers leading children to the window of a nearby toy store from where they can't be separated afterward, while fathers charge their cell phones in restrooms. card, and a few people share a burrito and an enchilada, bought at a kiosk from street vendors, the taste of which they brought with them from a distant homeland along with battered suitcases lying scattered on the sidewalk waiting for someone to tell them where to go. There is no answer, the vast majority of those who live in the wealthier part of North America believe that there is no place here for all those who are fleeing the misery, poverty and gangs that ravage the cities of South America.

Thus, Ukraine found itself in the shadow of the burning, internal issue of the US, the depth of which is eloquently demonstrated by the latest Gallup survey. When asked what is the biggest problem the country is currently facing, immigration came in second place, ahead of the economy, which is always extremely important to Americans, right behind the governance of the country, which took first place on the list of dissatisfactions. Partly because of this, it suddenly became important not only whether there will be money for Ukraine, but also how these funds will be spent.

House Speaker Mike Johnson ruled out any possibility of supporting a new aid package for Ukraine without oversight of how the money is spent and a clear strategy from Kiev on next steps, though this entirely pragmatic approach clashed with what Democrat Michael Bennett repeated to a half-empty chamber. of the Senate on the eve of the holidays, that "we must understand what the stakes are" and attacks on democracy "in our country and in the world". But even if an agreement were to be reached immediately after the Christmas break, the damage would be done because the flow of military aid was disrupted, and America's hesitance alone visibly damaged the enthusiasm of the European allies and the morale of the Ukrainians themselves.

HELPING THOSE WHO WIN

The cowboy mentality of some Republicans is simply foreign to helping those who don't win, so accordingly, they want to hear how Ukraine plans to take back the occupied territories and how much it will cost the American taxpayer. A large part of those who think like this belong to the hard wing of Donald Trump's supporters who are convinced that every failure of the Biden administration represents their victory. They sometimes go so far as to think that the image of America defaulting on its allies will make Americans uncomfortable, so they won't vote for those who put the country in such a situation.

Just linking aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with the issue of immigration can also have its good sides, because the stakes have become extremely high for both parties who have found themselves under public pressure to reach an agreement, although we should not forget that Congress is deeply divided and that with great efforts an agreement was reached on the continuation of government funding. But with all the differences between Democrats and Republicans, it is more than clear to everyone that the complete suspension of aid to Ukraine would be a defeat for American foreign policy that would have an extremely negative impact on the country's reputation in the world, and that such a message would deeply worry all of its allies, from Israel to Taiwan. Therefore, it is obvious even to those who adhere to bare-bones pragmatism that some kind of victory for Putin would only mean more spending in the US defense budget, which would always leave less money for what they care most about, whether it is border control or other domestic issues. .

Perhaps the current halt in the flow of US aid to Ukraine is indeed Putin's Christmas present, as Biden warned, but the Russian president celebrates on a different calendar, so he could still go without gifts. So in the spirit of the holiday spirit around here, most believe that a deal will be reached in Congress, but by the time that happens, the time for celebration will be far behind. The decorations will be removed, the multi-colored lights will be turned off, Times Square will return to its usual appearance, and the citizens of this city will once again be speeding toward the nearby 42nd Street subway page. One of them will probably then more easily notice the billboard for aid to Ukraine and allocate something from their own pocket, just to be sure that the given promises will not be completely betrayed.