The U.S. government’s sea change in Russia-U.S. relations and the resulting Russia-U.S. alliance are shameful abjurations of values held by generations of Americans.

The mineral rights shakedown of a vulnerable people by an emboldened MAGA movement is despicable.

In the light of these aberrations, I am ashamed to be an American. And I feel compelled to speak out and I hope that other Americans will feel the same.

I recognize that most Americans don’t even know where Ukraine is. They could hardly care about what happens to a people in a faraway land, an ocean between us.

But I also believe that a majority of Americans, from all stripes, know that Russia’s leader is a cutthroat, malevolent dictator who has murdered and imprisoned his opponents, exploited his people for personal gain, a cunning dissembler who has sent hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths.

The U.S. government must acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine. The U.S. government must stand up to the Russian dictator and call him out for what he is.

Realpolitik is unavoidable in world affairs. Russia’s gains in the war might be irreversible.

But if America doesn’t stand up to dictators and murderers any longer, then we must speak out and up. We must call for policy change.

The current administration’s push to reshape the government and its role is misguided and potentially dangerous in my view. The American people seemed to have wanted upheaval in their governance and social services. Fair enough. Let’s see what happens.

The Putin-Trump alliance is a step too far — way to far. It undermines everything our country stood for throughout my lifetime and my parents’ lifetimes.

Political consultant James Carville’s recent Times editorial where he called on democrats to stand by and do nothing is bullshit — an immature, irresponsible, and unacceptable response to the emetic reshaping of American values by the MAGA movement.

It’s time to speak out and up, people! Thanks for being here, thanks for the solidarity. Thanks for believing that there is hope for American dreams and ideals.