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Tomes JT's avatar

Hmm Germans call it Weltschmerz (“world pain”)… melancholy is also a general symptom, but the cause in this case is known.

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Sasha Ingber's avatar

The Germans do have great words. Melancholy doesn't seem to be enough. Got any other ideas?

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Erin Flanagan's avatar

Die Pein. Die Qual. Those are guttaral. Excruciating pain and agony, horror and dread as you slip alone and helpless into the abyss. No one can hear you scream. No one can reach your hand.

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Sasha Ingber's avatar

Dark. The Germans have it down.

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marypaz's avatar

Maybe "Soul Pain" but that traditionally centers on personal suffering. I think it could work, though. "Souls' pain" could mean a collective response to the suffering of another or others. I will have to think some more about this. I understand what you are saying. My first reaction when I hear about a new atrocity being committed by The Felon and his minions is Horror.

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Sasha Ingber's avatar

Soul pain. It makes sense to me. Definitely a contender -- thank you.

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Cheryl Coletti-Lawson's avatar

BEWILDERMENT is the quality or state of being lost, perplexed, or confused . It goes way beyond empathy. It goes beyond sadness because of the reasons we are at this inflection point in history.

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Sasha Ingber's avatar

That’s getting at something. Thanks Cheryl!

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Philip Seib's avatar

Thank you for your insights. I know this sounds like a spy novel or conspiracy theory, but isn’t Trump’s behavior evidence that he is knowingly advancing Russian interests? Is that so outlandish a concept? One small piece of evidence: Rubio saying that in any peace agreement Ukraine must surrender territory. That’s not a peace agreement; it’s a surrender.

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Sasha Ingber's avatar

The question of concessions is important. The Ukrainians are also very fearful that a ceasefire would just give Russia time to regroup and strengthen for another assault. Trump's latest moves with Ukraine have ultimately served Russia's interests. We'll have to keep watching to see how it unfolds.

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Erin Flanagan's avatar

Does anyone know who / which group would normally look into the question of whether Trump's suspension of CIA intelligence to Ukraine qualifies as an act of war. I've looked into it from a legal perspective and the definition seems pretty wide-open and the precedent slight. Who would come the closest to *knowing*?

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