Our otherwise conservative kids studied abroad in European universities in France, Poland, and Russia and have the European attitude about Ukraine continuing to keep up the fight. This is not because of what they learned in university there, but because of what they learned from people who’ve lived in brutally war torn countries, and the ongoing threat of Soviet communism.

We lived in France for three years, years ago, and the mindset of the people there likewise suggested an overwhelming influence of
war in their homeland. There is something we can’t fully understand in the U.S. We’ve lost our men abroad, but not here. Our homes have not been destroyed. Our crops, schools, churches and factories have not been razed. It makes a difference.

While I understand the administration’s reasoning. I’m not sure I could be on board with it as a European. I think there needs to be much more negotiation before things are settled. America First may have important limits when it comes to our allies, imo.