This commentary is by Tom Koch, a resident of Barre Town who represented the town in the Vermont House of Representatives for 22 years.
The history of the world can be told by recounting the seizure of one people’s land by another. The Old Testament, not the earliest record of such conflicts, contains numerous stories of battles over the control of land. Conquests have continued through Alexander the Great’s crusades in Asia and Africa, Caesar’s exploits in Gaul, William the Conqueror’s defeat of Harold in 1066, Napoleon’s empire building, our own expansion through Native American lands, and Hitler’s Lebensraum that led to World War II, to list only a few examples.
It used to be acceptable behavior, but the wars and indescribable human suffering that inevitably ensues must finally be deemed unacceptable.
We see Russia invading Ukraine, without reason or justification of any kind except that Vladimir Putin wants to put the USSR back together. Similarly, we see China threatening to invade Taiwan.
It’s time for the international community to say “Enough! No more!” It’s time to declare any nation that attempts to seize land from its neighbor to be an outlaw. It’s time to declare all current boundaries permanent, even if there are arguments why some change or another should be made. But any change must be made voluntarily, not by force of arms.
As a start to this admittedly idealistic (and some might say unrealistic) proposition, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has chosen to lead the defense of Ukraine. He is not only defending the possession of land, but he is standing for the proposition that Russia has no claim in law to Ukraine’s lands. He and his people are fighting, but they are fighting for peace, and his efforts should be recognized.
In about one week, the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded. I can think of no worthier recipient than President Zelenskyy for standing for the principle that seizure of another nation’s land is no longer acceptable. Acceptance of that principle might be the greatest impetus toward lasting world peace, and the Nobel Prize Committee has an opportunity to promote that acceptance.