WDI Stands with Ukraine
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
We face today a world in disorder, and before us rises the challenge of building a new world order more quickly than at any time in mankind’s history—and with infinitely more at stake. The book is now closed on a period of intense, bi-polar hostility that has defined our lives for more than four decades, and is now for us to determine what will fill the next pages of history. We stand up now at the dawn of a new era—an opportunity unprecedented in history. What we do today—by act or omission—will shape the world for generations to come. At no other time has the necessity of success and the consequence of failure been so great.
The events in Ukraine highlight the persistence of the hostility that has long existed between those who envision and are working for a better future through the freedom of the human spirit, and those who would have others subjected to the dictates of a small group of individuals or, in this case, one individual who fears that freedom and seeks to control the human spirit. The people of Ukraine are showing how powerful that spirit can be and are reminding us why we all need to be vigilant in protecting that freedom. Efforts to extinguish freedom are never far away.
We at the William Davidson Institute have had the honor of working with many Ukrainians and Ukrainian Institutions throughout our history, including a current program with the Lviv Business School at Ukrainian Catholic University, and we are inspired by their courageous stand against the unprovoked aggression and in defense of a freely elected government and its people. We stand with UCU and our other Ukrainian partners and friends, and will continue to work with them as they strive to create a thriving, free society through the power of their enterprises and the spirit of their people.
President, the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan