The Lowly Summit

On Friday, August 15, 2025, President Putin met President Trump in Alaska to discuss, among other things, the war in Ukraine. Whatever hopes there were of reaching a breakthrough, were quickly dashed, as it became apparent that peace continues to remain illusory at best. The question that remains is: With so much to lose, why is Putin so adamant at keeping this seemingly senseless war going?

Putin’s Red Carpet Treatment: But to What End?

With quite a bit of fanfare, including a red carpet welcome, a hardy handshake, and a ride in the Presidential limousine (also called The Beast), President Putin of Russia had quite a smile on his face as he rode off, with President Trump, to discuss Ukraine. In the midst of quite a bit of skepticism, there were faint glimmers of hope that maybe these two could cut some sort of deal that would bring us closer to peace. There were also worries that Trump would give in to too many Russian demands; demands which President Zelensky could not meet. However, it quickly became apparent, in the press conference that followed, and subsequent press releases, that a meeting of the mind had not been reached, and that Putin was not even willing to meet directly with Zelensky, at least not for the time being.

The question that lingers in the minds of many is: Why is Putin so determined to keep this war going, especially considering the countless losses that have already been incurred, including the killing and wounding of over one million Russians, and the losses in blood and treasure that are likely to continue? The answer to that question is at the heart of why nations go to war in the first place, and why they keep on fighting even beyond anything that makes any sense.

Leaders of nations, leaders like Putin, have their strongly held beliefs. Sometimes, these same leaders need their beliefs to carry on. We recall Abraham Lincoln whose belief in freedom allowed him to free the slaves and to keep a nation from destroying itself in civil war. Or President Roosevelt, whose belief in democracy helped him to defeat fascism. Or Ronald Reagan whose belief in upholding American values helped bring the Cold War to an end.

Putin also holds tightly to his beliefs. He has described the breakup of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” He said in a 2021 documentary that “what had been built up over 1,000 years was largely lost.” He feels humiliated by what has happened to the Soviet Empire and sees NATO as an imminent threat. Putin rejects Ukrainian independence, and sees Ukraine as part of Russia. Buttressed by such beliefs, Putin annexed Crimea in 2014, and subsequently launched a full scale invasion in 2022.

Under these circumstances, when the leader of a nation is so convinced that he is right, it becomes very difficult to make any headway when it comes to peace. A leader may decide to sacrifice anything and everything in the name of his strongly held beliefs: his nation’s economy, the lives of his people, his nation’s reputation, and anything else that gets in his way.

And yet, any belief, taken to an extreme, becomes an extreme.

There is a certain arrogance in taking your beliefs too far. We come to believe in something. We convince ourselves that we’re right. And we conclude that everything is worth sacrificing in pursuit of our deeply held beliefs; whether such beliefs are religious, or political, or economic, or what have you.

Aristotle taught us that truth is not an extreme. The truth of a matter is usually found somewhere in the middle between extremes; what he referred to as The Golden Mean. If you asked Aristotle to define courage, he would describe it as something in the middle, somewhere between being foolhardy on the one hand, and being a coward on the other. Truth is not an extreme; it is somewhere in the middle.

Aristotle’s notion of The Golden Mean makes sense. In fact, it is precisely our God-given common sense that guides us as to when something is worth believing in, and when it is time to let it go.

If Putin began to rely on his common sense, instead of his deeply held beliefs, he may conclude that the Soviet Union broke apart because it was based on an economic and political system that did not work, and could not, therefore, compete with the West. Rather than a humiliation, he could look at the history that unfolded as an opportunity to start fresh. He would begin to prioritize the welfare of his people above any ideological notions he may have entertained. And he would certainly think twice about sacrificing one million soldiers and civilians, for the sake of conquering a neighboring nation that simply wants its freedom. Because it precisely a sense of freedom that can lead to the success of a nation.

We all have the right to our beliefs. But along with that right, comes the responsibility to think straight. Instead of believing what we want to believe; why not believe in what makes sense? Instead of jumping to false belief and rationalizing why we’re right; why not use rationality in the first place to arrive at what is truly worth believing in? In a more perfect world, common sense — the collective wisdom born of shared experience — will inspire our thinking, inform our speech, and guide our actions. In our fractured world, common sense is the common denominator.

If a religious leader tells you that it is your God-given duty to kill another, ask him this: If God created each one of us in His own image, as the Bible says, then when we kill one another, are we not, in effect, spitting at God’s face? Are we not, in effect, rendering the efficacy of His creation as meaningless, as opposed to “good”? Are we not, instead, duty bound to love one another, and to find ways to get along?

We need leaders who have the courage and the wisdom to rethink some of their deeply held beliefs in favor of what makes sense. We need leaders who don’t make it all about themselves, and what they happen to believe. We need them to prioritize the welfare of their people above all else.

When God speaks to us, what language does He use? As far as I can tell, He uses the language of common sense.