Dear President-Elect Trump:
It’s Saturday across our land. The penultimate Saturday before you’re sworn in as President of the United States.
It is also Orthodox Christmas throughout the Orthodox Christian world. Most Eastern European Orthodox Christians spent the day celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ while nervously anticipating the future.
Orthodox in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania wonder if Vladimir Putin will once again occupy their independent states before next Christmas. Ukrainians already celebrate Christmas today with portions of their country suffering Putin’s. Moldovans also have Putin’s troops within the borders of their land, in Transnistria.
Only a few in America celebrated Christmas today. You spent part of the day denigrating Americans, and others, who hold a different opinion about Russia than you. You tweeted today: “Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only ‘stupid’ people, or fools, would think that it is bad!”
Russia too would like to have a good relationship with its Western neighbors. It fails to understand why Ukraine isn’t willing to have a relationship on Putin’s terms. Putin will have a good relationship with anyone willing to subject themselves to his world view, and his will. Otherwise, it becomes a forced, very one-sided relationship.
No one thinks it is a bad thing to have a bad relationship with Russia. But many realize—and none of us are stupid—that having a good relationship with Vladimir Putin is an impossibility. And Vladimir Putin is Russia. Those that disagree with that within Russia are either poisoned, shot, imprisoned, or otherwise ruined. He has an amazing ability to force “good relationships” out of fear.
Nothing about Vladimir Putin aligns with American values of freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom of assembly, due process, transparency, or two dozen other American values which are core to who we are. It is not possible to place the hand of good relations upon Vladimir Putin while respecting and protecting universal values of freedom at the same time. Accomplishing one renders the other impossible.
The America-Russian relationship isn’t like Christians and Orthodox Christians who believe similar things but celebrate them on different days. In that setting, a good relationship between similar yet different faiths is possible.
It’s just not the case with Vladimir Putin.
In thirteen days, you’ll have to decide who your friends are: America and her values or Vladimir Putin and his. Because the two are as incompatible as water and oil.
Yours truly,
David O. Leavitt
