Editor,

On Whidbey Island, we are lucky to wake up every morning to the sound of the wind in the fir trees or the squawk of the blue herons. Imagine, instead, waking up to the sound of explosions as the homes of your friends and neighbors are bombed — by your own government, one supported by the United States. That is the situation faced by our friends in eastern Ukraine, as the Ukrainian forces attempt to drive out “the enemy” among the populace.

When Rep. Rick Larsen recently visited South Whidbey, a friend of ours raised this issue and asked Larsen why there was no indignation over the Ukrainian government’s human rights abuses of their own citizens. Not only did Larsen say he felt no indignation, but The Record labeled this a “fringe” question.

Surely, it’s not fringe to ask our representative why our government is actively supporting the Ukrainian government, thereby condoning this violence? And to wonder why the media is only reporting one side of the story — the side that makes the Russians the “bad guys” — when in fact, the truth is much more complex?

It takes a lot of guts to stand up in public and share a perspective that is completely absent from the U.S. media. Luckily, our friend has done just that. Now, we have a choice: we can tune out and label his concern a “fringe” or we can actually listen, as he explains that his relatives are at risk of dying every day. Although we don’t have a solution to this problem, we hope you’ll agree that violence is no solution, and our only hope of finding a solution is through listening to what’s going on, from the perspective of people on the ground.

We ask you to join us in choosing to listen. Thank you.

Sincerely,

LINDA IRVINE

BOB EFFERTZ

JANICE NIKULIN

Langley