The Meaning of Freedom

"Freedom" is a simple word with a lot of different potential meanings.

There is the freedom to be who and what you are, without fear or favour. The freedom to love who you want without persecution or repercussion. The freedom to speak your personal and political opinions without being censored by the government.

The right to equal and unbiased treatment under law. Access to basic human rights as enshrined by the United Nations under the Geneva Convention. Lack of discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, marital or financial status, or race.

For most of us, "Freedom from being invaded by other countries" is so much a given that it doesn't even need to be said.

Unfortunately, that is not the case in many parts of the world, and right now, Ukraine in particular.

In fairness, invading Australia is a fairly laughable concept.

Even if you ignore the frankly horrifying array of deadly wildlife, you'd be talking about invading a landmass roughly the size of the continental USA (excluding Alaska and perhaps Washington), most of it inhospitable desert that would make supply chains a nightmare of epic proportions. It's possible to go around the desert, via train or by the Great Ocean Road, but damage the rail controls or the rails or roads themselves, and the invading force is in for a bad time...

The population is largely concentrated in cities, then scattered throughout the bushland, farms, and livestock stations, some requiring helicopters for the weekly groceries, because it's a three day drive between the homestead and the nearest shopping center.

The fictional series "Tomorrow When The War Began" details just how difficult it would be for even a well-resourced and well-prepared enemy to invade, to the point where a gaggle of untrained teenagers with only the advantage of basic camping skills and having lived in that small country town their whole lives, are plausible as a guerrilla band.

Seriously, there are parts of Western Australia where it's actually a crime to NOT stop to help someone stranded or injured, at least long enough to call for professional help, because you may be the only passer-by that day. The argument is that in such a remote area, your decision to leave it to the next good Samaritan to help could realistically be the difference between life and death, so a decision not to assist is a decision to let that person die.

We're also an island, meaning you'd have to cross a decent amount of ocean to get to us, even if you use Papua New Guinea as a staging point.

Essentially, I am secure in knowing that my sassy inconvenience of a country isn't worth the trouble to invade. (Particularly when the current government can be bought or bribed with considerably less cost and effort, but that's another rant...)

Ukraine is not in such a fortunate position.

Resource-rich, one of the top-ten European countries in size, they've been carving out their own identity as an independent country, free of the USSR, for the past thirty years.

This situation wasn't actually a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. Russia has backed insurgents in two border cities that have since declared themselves independent city-countries, similar to the Grand Duchies of Medieval Europe. The invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the Crimea Peninsula in 2014 should have been a clue that Putin had designs on reforming the former USSR, whether the now-independent countries wanted to or not.

Russia's position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council means that they can block or stall international aid, and challenge sanctions against them. They are already siezing foreign assets such as McDonalds and IKEA outlets.

However, it's not all bad news.

The UN has plans to expediate Ukraine's membership into the UN, and the EU and UK had expanded their refugee intake, waiving visa requirements and number caps. People around the world are donating to international refugee charities, booking holiday stays they'll never take and buying goods that they may not see for months to support Ukrainian businesses. Charity conferences by musicians and celebrities have already raised millions.

Ukraine itself has also rallied in ways that Russia definitely did not anticipate. President Volodomyr Zelenskyy refused to flee, despite sanctuary offers from multiple countries, and proved himself the kind of leader that is sorely lacking in most countries right now; one not afraid to be on the front lines and doing the hard jobs, despite multiple assassination attempts. Ukrainian citizens are taking up arms, particularly the older generation who remember what it was like to live under Soviet rule. For now, Ukraine is holding.

The important thing is not to let this invasion become "Last Week's News" like Georgia was. We cannot get used to this, and at the same time, we should not become so swamped in the bad things that we forget the good.

For myself, I made an announcement at the beginning of the month that I'd be donating half of my royalties (currently standing at $118 USD, sothat's at least $59 to be donated) to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, and donating blood to the Red Cross.

Donations don't have to be huge, grand gestures like this competition's $10,000 contribution in the winner's name. More often, it's whatever you can give, when you can. I donate $10 monthly to an African charity that trains rats to detect land mines. I donate when I can to Oxfam, Women's Health, LGBTQ+ and Cancer charities. What I can, when I can.

On a side note, I actually support not donating immediately. Shock and international outrage led to an initial outpouring of support, with many charities currently in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It's later on, when the outrage fades and something new comes along to distract us and international attention turns to the new season of "Bridgerton", or the latest Academy Award scandal, when the initial outpouring of money starts to dry up but the expenses don't go away, that Vocal's donation will be sorely needed.

Maybe it is a publicity stunt or an attempt to be more relevant than competing sites, but it's still a good plan.

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