Putin: Pure Evil

As regular readers of this column know, we do not view events in terms of “good vs. evil.”

Over the years, we have referred to tobacco companies, polluters, et als as greedy and despicable, but describing them as “evil-doers,” as former President George W. Bush did in referring to the plotters behind the 9/11 attacks, or labeling Iraq, Iran, and No. Korea as the “axis of evil,” as Bush did in his 2002 State of the Union speech, always struck us as an overly-simplistic way to refer to those with whom we disagree, a verbal short-cut to avoid trying to explain complex matters.

But sometimes words cannot be found to discuss events for which there is no rational explanation. The more we try, the more we realize that sometimes, words are nothing more than hollow, shallow, and meaningless keystrokes on our laptops.

The actions of Hitler and the Nazis before and during WWII fit into this category.

And so too, is the tragedy that is unfolding hour-by-hour in Ukraine, where the civilian population is being wiped out by the whims of a semi-mad and sociopathic 70 year-old dictator.

Evil — pure “evil” — is the only word that comes to mind when we think of Vladimir Putin. That’s all we’ve got. But that says it all