Ukraine and the crisis of American self-belief

CENTRAL to much of the scepticism regarding America's involvement in the crisis in Ukraine is the question, "Who are we?" Who are we, with our long history of invasions and interventions, to lecture Vladimir Putin about respecting national sovereignty and international law?

Who are we, with our domestic record of slavery and discrimination, our foreign record of supporting friendly dictators, and the ongoing injustices of American life, to hold ourselves up as paragons of freedom and human rights?

Who are we, after 198 years of the Monroe Doctrine, to try to stop Russia from delineating its own sphere of influence? Who are we, with our habitual ignorance, to meddle in faraway disputes about which we know so little?