Why Ukraine Matters to the United States, to Europe, and to the Future of the West

Russia’s ongoing war to conquer its neighbor, George Weigel argues, has exposed that “what seemed like a version of Immanuel Kant’s system of perpetual peace turned out to be a truce.” While Europe appeared to enjoy peace, “nonquantifiable forces were at work beneath the surface of history, much like the geological forces at work beneath the crust of the earth.” Yet as much as the bloody conflict has been a harsh wake-up call, it is also a reminder of the virtues of freedom, civic solidarity, self-sacrifice, and national cohesion which Western civilization has been forgetting. (Video, 61 minutes.)