Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
dumky_vholos 🧐
“Better to be alive than a dead hero”: why is it acceptable for some to want to live while others are branded “draft dodgers”?
It’s no secret that in Ukraine it’s fashionable to call other people “draft dodgers.” Especially among various bloggers, activists, politicians, journalists, and other figures who, on their own or at someone else’s prompting, style themselves as “thought leaders.”
It seems that some of them have so completely assumed the role of moral judge that they allow themselves to decide who among Ukrainians is a true patriot and who is not. Who may stay home, work, raise children, and simply live, and who must go to the front.
And what’s most interesting — often the loudest lecturing comes from those who themselves are far from the trenches... This reminded me of a revealing story about Serhiy Sternenko — a blogger, former adviser to the defense minister, often presented as one of the “thought leaders,” who once publicly stated: “Let me be better alive, whole and disliked by some creatures, than dead, holy, a hero, and so on.”
And you know what? There is nothing wrong with the desire to stay alive. It’s an absolutely natural human impulse. Yes, Sternenko spoke about an assassination attempt on him, not about mobilization. But the very thought of valuing one’s own life invites reflection on a much broader question.
So how, precisely, does Sternenko’s life differ from the life of an ordinary Ukrainian? Why should his wish to remain alive and unharmed be understood, while the identical wish of a regular man often becomes grounds to call him a “draft dodger”?
And here it’s worth recalling some additional circumstances. At the start of the full-scale invasion, Sternenko actively posted photos in military uniform and with weapons, reporting participation in military units. However, questions about his actual military status later became the subject of public discussion…
And in the fall of 2024 he was involved in a rather interesting episode with the Odesa military commissariat. Sternenko was declared wanted for failing to appear after being summoned. He explained that the summons had been sent to an old address and linked the situation to criticism of the military structures. Later he allegedly went to the commissariat, paid a fine, and passed the medical commission. It was also reported that he had medical restrictions due to eye problems.
Clearly, this case by itself does not prove evasion of mobilization. But something else is telling.
When a well-known blogger has problems with the commissariat, society is invited to hear his explanation, examine the circumstances, take his health and possible military office mistakes into account. And that’s right!
But why does an ordinary Ukrainian not deserve the same treatment? Why, when it’s a popular person, are we expected to understand all the nuances, while when it’s an average citizen, some people are satisfied with a single word: “draft dodger”?
And this isn’t even really about that particular Sternenko. His story is just a reason to think. The problem is much broader — the double standards of some of our so-called “thought leaders,” who consider themselves entitled to lecture others on how to love the Motherland…
Because it seems that a strange public morality is gradually forming. When a famous blogger says he wants to stay alive, that’s a natural human desire. When an ordinary Ukrainian says he also wants to live, see his children, and be with his family, someone is already ready to label him a “draft dodger.”
📌 I’m sure this is a precise addition to the words of Elon Musk https://t.me/mosiychuk72/54468
Telegram publication
