Divided We Stand

I have been observing with great amazement the amount of hate against President Trump and America coming from pro-Western Bulgarians specifically. It’s unclear if other Eastern Europeans share the same sentiment, or not. We do know however that the EU has become synonymous with the West. Hence, many Eastern Europeans, who are in principle against Communism, identify as pro-Western and pro-EU. The problem with this identity is the fact that the EU and the West have become increasingly secular, anti-Christian, Neo-Liberal (leftist) and totalitarian.

This complex and somewhat contradictory alignment has played a key role in post-Communist societies like Bulgaria, specifically in how the Russia-Ukraine war has been perceived. There are other implications as well, but none has been this demonstrative and public.

The new wave of viral hate on social media in Bulgaria erupted on social media against Trump and America in the last few weeks following Zelensky’s expulsion from the White House. Frankly, I don’t believe I’ve seen anything quite like it until now. There are certain persistent trends where people express strong opposition to one thing or another, but I don’t think I’ve seen a reaction like this in a while.

The question I’m asking myself, and what’s of most interest to me personally, is: What is the psychology behind all of this? Moreover, an even deeper question emerges: What is the spiritual root cause of such a reaction, if there is one to be considered?

Let me backtrack and share with you my personal perspective on the Russia-Ukraine war: At the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, I was happy to see that the majority of people in Bulgaria supported Ukraine. This suggested they were not brainless zombies blindly following the Russia/Putin regime. For once, it seemed Bulgarians had their “compass” working correctly when it came to discerning the evils of communism. We had been waiting to see some kind of large-scale evidence that the majority of Bulgaria was done with its failed communist past, and we now seemed to see it clearly expressed, particularly on social media. It seemed like we're on the right side of history for once.

Stateside, it didn’t take long for many of my friends, who were tuned into media channels opposing the corruption of the Biden administration and the extreme left-wing Democrat Party policies, to adopt the anti-Ukraine narrative. It somewhat mirrored the official Putin propaganda, making it easy to detect.

First, Ukrainians were declared to be “fascists.” The narrative of the Azov Battalion quickly made the rounds on social media. That didn’t stick for long, of course. For years, the leftist Western media has labeled everyone who isn’t a brainwashed, woke leftist as a “fascist.” So, a big yawn.

Next came the labs narrative. Right, Putin attacked Ukraine to get to some labs. This one was amusing because I think the official Russian propaganda actually picked it up from social media where it first emerged as part of the anti-globalist, anti-covid resistance. But that faded out quickly, too.

The expansion of NATO threatening Russia? Now that’s a more interesting theory and perhaps the only one that makes sense. However, Putin never officially adopted this line. Very interesting.

The corruption of Biden and his son Hunter, along with the entire Burisma scandal, emerged as one of the most convincing theories about why Ukraine was used by the Biden administration to instigate the war. A war would make the scandal fade from memory and blind people to the machinations of the corrupt Western left, which by now has infiltrated intelligence agencies and NATO itself. Biden's corruption here is major factor. To the Europeans, however, this story didn't even remotely register on their highly ideologically tuned radars.

Whatever the true reason for the war, it’s difficult to paint a smaller country as the aggressor and the larger one as the victim. Thus, we remain divided on what we believe is the main reason for the war, to begin with.

Back in the U.S., stopping the Russia-Ukraine war became an election issue as well. Regardless of the reasons for it starting, Americans want this war to stop. And Mr. Trump campaigned on the promise of doing just that.

But everything changed when Zelensky visited Trump at the White House to sign off on a deal that promised a new type of U.S.-Ukraine partnership (the minerals deal that would put American civilians on the ground, deterring Russians from further attacks and eventually leading to a ceasefire).

Well, we all know how that meeting went down. Zelensky had met with his handlers prior to the meeting with Trump. The Western globalist Left may have significant dirt on Zelensky and knows how to pull his strings. It appears he was instructed to sabotage Trump’s negotiation efforts.

Trump and Vance likely knew this already. They knew they weren’t meeting a partner seeking to deepen the partnership, but rather a controlled actor of the Trump-hating Western left. And they made it clear that Zelensky and his handlers’ tactics wouldn’t work. Zelensky wasn't the only one kicked out of the White House. This was a symbol of Trump and the America First movement, traditional America as if it were, kicking out the corrupt Obama, Biden, Clinton, the Democrat Party, the EU and the entire Western Left all rolled into one. Unfortunately for the people of Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky got involved with the wrong side of the West, meaning the globalist Left, which turned them into their poster boy, millitary fatigue and Vogue photo shoot sessions included.

However, pro-Ukraine Bulgarians (and probably other Eastern Europeans) don't care to hear about the monumental clash between Trump and the Western Left. These naive Eastern European souls persist in viewing the West as a monolithic force for good. They are either unwilling or incapable of grasping the deep divide between traditionalists and the extreme left. Additionally, they see the political institution of the EU as identical to the West, which is another mistake.

To them, it appears that anyone who isn’t supporting Zelensky isn’t supporting Ukraine, which automatically means support for Putin, a dictator. This works like switch in the in the minds of pro-Western Eastern Europeans. Once the switch of this guilt by association is flipped on, it will bypass and override any other fact, logic, or argument. The pro-EU/pro-Ukraine switch, when turned on, instnantly preceives Trump as an equivalent to Putin, and since Putin is a war-hungry criminal and dictator, all the hatred traditionally directed at Putin is now aimed at his perceived new ally in the White House. By association, it also bundles everyone connected to Trump and America as a whole. JD Vance had a tough life and is a true story of American success. Don't care, he doesn't support Ukraine. Trump got shot twice and survived? Don't care, he doesn't support Ukraine. MAGA is made up of average Americans who just want their country back from the corrupt, insane Left that is willing to burn entire cities to get their way? Don't care, they don'ts support Ukraine.

In this inverted perception of reality, Biden, Obama, Clinton, the Democrats, the EU, and the leftist Western media are the good guys. But they promote the controversial LGBTQ agenda? Doesn’t matter. You don’t support Ukraine.

But they promote the trans agenda and the mutilation of children against their parents’ consent? Doesn’t matter. You don’t support Ukraine.

But Biden and the left are flooding America with illegal immigrants, many of whom are violent criminals who rape and kill innocent Americans? Doesn’t matter. You don’t support Ukraine.

To those of us who live in the United States, who are U.S. citizens and have a stake in this country by virtue of our families and livelihoods being vested in America, the outrage against Trump based on foreign policy is just that — some people who don't have anythig to do with our country and their outrage over Trump's foreign policy.

As far as we're concerned, Trump didn’t start the war against Ukraine and isn’t responsible for what Putin does. America doesn’t owe the world to make it a paradise for them. The guilt-tripping and shaming from Europeans, who have been living off American taxpayers covering their NATO bills for years, are pathetic to us.

To top it off, Eastern Europeans indiscriminately consume the propaganda of the leftist Western media while dismissing the perspectives of those of us who have lived abroad for decades and are no longer outsiders. This isn’t helpful because we’re asked to understand their perspective while our perspective on how the world works, based on our firsthand experience, is dismissed. The gap that divides us becomes wider with each layer of these different dynamics.

The end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict won’t come from anyone's social media outrage. However, when all is said and done, we will be left with huge gap of trust dividing us for a long time to come.

The COVID mania divided us forever because it confirmed our suspicion that we’re surrounded by tyrannical politicians and a sheepish population. Leftist western buearaucrats proved to us in many different ways that to them all this talk about "demoracy" is nothing but meaningless words. As soon as they decided to shut down the world, they did so and could have cared less if it's totalitarian, or not.

The Russia-Ukraine war, and more specifically the expulsion of Zelensky from the White House, which sparked an eruption of hate for Trump and all who support him, confirmed our perception of Eastern European EU Bros who come off as petulant, self-righteous children who care only about their perspective and refuse to take seriously the problems with the Western Left.

So what is the psychology behind all of this? I think people have fears. Eastern Europeans identify with Ukraine which is somewhat predictable. Putin is a dictator. Bulgarians who are pro-Western can see their country potentially attacked by Putin and as a result they are terrified. The NATO defense protection hasn’t been tested in practice yet. Taking the side of Ukraine blindly to them is the same as taking a side for their own survival. This is a flawed perception in my opinion, but nevertheless a reality in the minds of people who were forced to sing Russian Communist songs as kids in school until 35 years ago.

From a spiritual standpoint I think this reveals deep insecurity and lack of faith. People who are strong and confident in who they are and what they stand for, should know how to better assess who their real allies and frenemies are. They should know how to better defend their own national interest and not get sucked into the dirty political games of the EU without discerning how godless these same people have been on virtually every other issue. Indeed, western leftists who can’t tell the difference between a man and a woman, all of a sudden should be trusted with war decisions? I don’t think so. This reveals a huge spiritual weakness our friends on the other side seem to be blind to.

Viktor Orban, who has been standing up to the out of control EU liberals, has been demonized by the globalist controlled media. Virtually every Western European leader who has been critical of the EU has been portrayed by the leftist media as a fascist, nazi, or a Russian puppet. Whoever in Brussels has been pulling the strings of this entire campaign, is good at this game. Maybe one day it's game over for them like it ended up for the American Left, but that day is certainly not today and now.

In retrospect, it’s better to know what divides us and why, than not. Maybe one day we can all come around and appreciate each other’s views while agreeing to disagree. The people of the free world are free by choice, not because some government ordered us to be free and respect one another. Until then, divided we stand.