The America She Offered Was Rejected for a Monster

But we must fight in the world we have, not the one we hoped for

This morning I saw a photo of Kamala Harris and something in me cracked open a little.

It wasn’t dramatic. Just a long stare. That breath you take when you’re remembering what almost happened.

Her elegance, her clarity, her decency… The version of America we could all have had. The version the world needed.

She was supposed to be president now. We were supposed to move toward something wiser and gentler. Not perfect, but just possible.

And now we’re here.

A man with 34 or so convictions. Who brags about hurting people.

Someone who makes decency feel like something from another lifetime.

A country now gasping under this painful weight.

Some of you wrote to me recently, and I could feel it in your words. The ache. Not only for Kamala, but for the country you fought all your life to build.

That version is gone.

And I guess this is where my Ukrainian side kicks in.

We don’t have time to keep staring at the door that already closed.

We don’t have the privilege to live in what could have been, we just live in what is.

One-fifth of our land is gone. Millions scattered across borders. And still, we get up. We keep going. Because there’s no other way.

This is not strength. It’s only the perception there’s no other choice.

It’s easy to think the most important thing is to remove him from office. I get it. But the real danger isn’t just the man.

It’s the rotten system he’s trying to shape around himself.

A system that lets him do whatever he wants. Humiliate whoever he wants. Stay above every rule and beyound any consequence.

That’s the fight.

It’s not about whether the elections were stolen or not. I believe that’s a fact. But there’s something deeper at stake.

If we stay stuck on just removing the man, we miss the bigger work:

Holding him in check, stopping what he’s turning the country into.

Because a system that lets one person become untouchable is far more dangerous than the person himself.

It’s not enough to dream of a world without him. It’s more important to stop the world he’s trying to create.

Not saying this to sound strong or wise: it’s just what we’ve had to learn here.

It would be easier if our problems were only Putin, right? He’s disgusting, but there’s a long line of disgusting others who would replace him the moment he’s gone.

Our battle here is against a system, a syndicate of demons called Russia. There, our battle is against the system that Trump belongs.

That’s what I came here to say.

And I didnt come to say it alone, you’re in this with me.

We don’t have time for nostalgia in Ukraine or in America.

Because this is our reality now.

This is not to make you nod or feel inspired from far away.

You are part of this line. You’re not a witness to what’s burning, but one of the hands holding these walls up.

Even if it sometimes feels small or useless, you’re already here. And you’re needed.

Kamala may have been the path last year.

But what she stood for, her grace and her intelligence, those aren’t gone. You still carry them with you.

And we must do whatever we can to carry, because we don’t get to fight the war we wanted.

Only the one we’re in.

We don’t need to be ready to resist, but we just have to stop waiting for a better version of the story.

Because this is the one we’ve got, and it’s already burning.

These are hard times.

The only way forward is through the reality we didn’t ask for

But armed with the strength we still carry.

—Viktor

🇺🇦🇺🇸

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