Was Russia provoked into the war in Ukraine? Certainly. However, gaslighting was involved as well; not by Scott Horton’s Provoked, but—as he expertly details on page after page—by the US government and its organ—the establishment media.

Roll back 30-some years, and I—a regular consumer of NPR during my morning commute and the local paper in the evening—was aware of the narrative regarding the troubles facing Eastern European countries and regions. The dissolution of the Soviet Union brought intrigue, wars, and destruction, and interventions supporting US interests. The US government—as the story still goes—was on the champion of good, looking to fill the political void of a vile empire with democracy and liberty. Sure, eggs were cracked, but sometimes that is the only means to bring peace and stability to the world. Did the US government make the occasional mistake or misstep? Absolutely, but its heart was always in the right place.

In many ways, that was a tale pleasing to the ear. Believing I was a citizen of the shining city on the hill sounded better than the realization I was aligned with an entity fomenting disorder, disaster, and death—all while supported by my tax dollars. I cannot honestly claim I never read or heard the occasional mention of grabs for oil and other resources, or hints of strange and clandestine operations—exercises in hegemonic games for spheres of control. But those whispers never seemed loud enough or consistent enough to change my views of US foreign policy, or maybe I just didn’t listen or refused to hear.