I saw this quote posted on Twitter in reference to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that prompted me to reflect.
"May God bless and keep the czar... far away from us."
This is a quote from 'Fiddler On The Roof' and this quote made me reflect on my involvement with the play and the potential war we are all facing. I played the role of a villager in a stage production of 'Fiddler on the Roof Jr.' in 2002 and didn't understand the meaning of the role or the play back then. I do now and I grieve. It was the first official play I ever did and I've still got photos and a VHS tape of it. I didn't think much of the grim reality behind the role at the time because I was young and simply excited to be acting, but now I'm thinking about it a lot and comparing it to reality.
The people in the play were all forced to live in a meager state of existence simply because of who they were and what they believed while the rest of the world acted as if they were an inconvenience to everyone including God Himself. Eventually, the people within the play were forced to leave the village after enduring a 'pogrom' or demonstration of vandalism by those against their faith.
While 'Fiddler' was very much a play, Ukraine is very much being invaded by Russia and forced into a state of despair in the name of violence and hate. It's a sad thing and it's repeating history. May God bless the innocent people in all of this. Now that this comparison is in my mind, it's probably going to stay there and I'm going to be following these events in hopes that these events are resolved peacefully. I hope all of you also follow it. We can't afford to ignore this. Awareness is everything and even if you have to watch 'Fiddler on the Roof' to get in the frame of mind to think about this, do it. We should all be paying attention to this because it will eventually affect all of us if it isn't resolved.
The summary and reality of the situation is this. Russia attacked Ukraine. The friends of Ukraine are declaring that they will 'hold Russia accountable' for their behavior. Russia will most likely react aggressively and chaos will continue to unfold around the world as allies from both sides involve themselves. People are actively fleeing Kyiv as Russia advances. I think we all need to set our petty selves and differences aside and just be grateful that we have what we have and that we are as free as we are over here.
Comments
I'm gonna comment again, how do you manage to make a war about you?
Thanks for these thoughts, Heather. Glad you brought your perspective to the table and I agree with a lot of what you said. I hope this conflict doesn't escalate further.
