 who's expressed in this Think Tech commentary, which is entitled looking for optimism in all the wrong places. First, let's look for optimism in America. Joe Biden still wants to run in 2024, even though he should really give it up in favor of a younger more vital Democratic ticket. His current troubles with classified documents give the Republicans plenty of ammunition to do a series of, what about, attacks. The GOP is determined to attack him at every turn for any reason whatsoever, or for no reason at all, and they will surely continue to do so through this year and next. Can Biden win? You can make the argument that there are points of light out there that might be grounds for optimism, but the fact remains that the country has visibly lost ground, and vision, on social justice and cohesive national policy, and we're going to have to live with those losses for a very long time. Thanks Mr. Trump for fomenting these changes and undermining our democracy, our representative government, in so many profound, destructive and long-lasting ways. History will not judge you kindly. But that's not the end of it. Now, let's look at optimism in Europe. Despite Joe Biden's efforts, Europe is not as unified in supporting Ukraine as it was before. Yes, Poland, Germany, the UK and the US are sending tanks to Ukraine, but is this enough? Is it soon enough? Putin is bombing Ukraine and its cities and its people, into oblivion, every single day. Erdogan, Putin's collaborator in Turkey, is still blocking Sweden and Finland from membership in NATO. Putin is as determined as he ever was, using the full strength of his autocracy and arrogance to obliterate Ukraine and propagate disinformation at home. The sanctions don't seem to affect him, the departure of his best and brightest don't seem to affect him either. He just continues his propaganda to people who don't know better. Putin is plainly playing the long game, a war of attrition against Ukraine and against his own people, that turns out to be a war of will. Will he prevail over the democracies in the West and the activists at home? It will soon be a full year since he began his unforgivable invasion, and we are no closer to throwing him out than we were before. There are those who tell us that there are points of light that might be cause for optimism, but the reality is that Putin has destroyed a good part of the country, and has brutally murdered so many people, that we now have to ask how long the Ukrainians will last. Can we be optimistic? Sadly, so many people in this country, especially including the lockstep isolationist GOP, don't understand how the events in Ukraine affect a liberal world order, and will ultimately campaign to cut funding for the defense of Ukraine. When they do that, it will be the end, the pennies on the eyes. We will learn how important a free, sovereign, democratic Ukraine is to us, Europe, and the world. But alas, that lesson may be too late. It will be a great and global tragedy, not only for them, but for us. We are making our bed, a bed of nails, and we will have to lie in it. Taking these two very real possibilities together, the loss of our democracy and the loss of Ukraine, is no cause for celebration or optimism of any kind. We are beginning the year in a world of existential risk, trouble, a morality, and some say, madness. We'll see what happens, but it does not portend well. Thanks for your consideration of the views expressed in this ThinkTech commentary. Thank for your consideration of the views expressed in this ThinkTech commentary, which is entitled looking for optimism in all the wrong places. First, let's look for optimism in America. Joe Biden still wants to run in 2024, even though he should really give it up in favor of a younger more vital democratic ticket. His current troubles with classified documents give the Republicans plenty of ammunition to do a series of, what about, attacks. The GOP is determined to attack him at every turn for any reason whatsoever, or for no reason at all, and they will surely continue to do that through this year and next. Can Biden win? You can make the argument that there are points of light out there that might be grounds for optimism, but the fact remains that the country has visibly lost ground and vision on social justice and cohesive national policy, and we're going to have to live with those losses for a very long time. Thanks Mr. Trump for fomenting these changes and undermining our democracy, our representative government, in so many profound, destructive and long-lasting ways. History will not judge you kindly. But that's not the end of it. Now, let's look at optimism in Europe. Despite Joe Biden's efforts, Europe is not as unified in supporting Ukraine as it was before. Yes, Poland, Germany, the UK and the US are sending tanks to Ukraine, but is this enough? Is it soon enough? Putin is bombing Ukraine and its cities and its people, into oblivion, every single day. Erdogan, Putin's collaborator in Turkey, is still blocking Sweden and Finland from membership in NATO. Putin is as determined as he ever was, using the full strength of his autocracy and arrogance to obliterate Ukraine and propagate disinformation at home. The sanctions don't seem to affect him. The departure of his best and brightest don't seem to affect him either. He just continues his propaganda to people who don't know better. Putin is plainly playing the long game, a war of attrition against Ukraine and against his own people, that turns out to be a war of will. Will he prevail over the democracies in the West and the activists at home? It will soon be a full year since he began his unforgivable invasion, and we are no closer to throwing him out than we were before. There are those who tell us that there are points of light that might be cause for optimism, but the reality is that Putin has destroyed a good part of the country, and has brutally murdered so many people, that we now have to ask how long the Ukrainians will last. Can we be optimistic? Sadly, so many people in this country, especially including the lockstep isolationist GOP, don't understand how the events in Ukraine affect a liberal world order, and will ultimately campaign to cut funding for the defense of Ukraine. When they do that, it will be the end, the pennies on the eyes. We will learn how important a free, sovereign, democratic Ukraine is to us, Europe, and the world. But alas, that lesson may be too late. It will be a great and global tragedy, not only for them, but for us. We are making our bed, a bed of nails, and we will have to lie in it. Taking these two very real possibilities together, the loss of our democracy and the loss of Ukraine, is no cause for celebration or optimism of any kind. We are beginning the year in a world of existential risk, trouble, a morality, and some say, madness. We'll see what happens, but it does not portend well. Thanks for your consideration of the views expressed in this ThinkTech commentary.