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The Russian assault on Ukraine should spark memories for every American that we’ve been here before and our response has been mixed.

We’ve had moments where we defined such actions as “conflicts” to which we had no stake and at other times, we’ve been leaders in liberty no matter geography.

We didn’t respond to Rwandan genocide. We did respond to the splitting of Berlin. We responded, wrongly, to southeast Asia and Vietnam, while we tried for peacekeeping in Croatia and Bosnia, albeit late.

But it’s been some 80 years since we had to respond to our allies whose countries were ruthlessly attacked without provocation like Russia has attacked Ukraine. So we’re in a different, perhaps uncomfortable, place.

A recent Associated Press poll showed some 72% of Americans believe the U.S. should have no role or a minor rule in the Ukraine-Russian conflict. Some 26% say we should have a major role.

But if Americans have no reason to believe in a greater role for the U.S. in Ukraine, they should consider our history and the generosity of Americans to open their doors not only to the “huddled masses” but to the fleeing refugees and the innocent victims of dictatorship.

Our role in Ukraine should be a humanitarian role. To that end, the U.S. government has said it will welcome and accommodate Ukrainian refugees and has already imposed seemingly harsh economic sanctions on the Russian regime. Unlike the ex-president who called Russian dictator Vladimir Putin a “genius,” President Joe Biden has acted with resolve, action and important pledges to support and rescue the Ukrainian people.

This is the face and character of presidents like Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. We are obligated to take care of our friends and preserve liberty wherever it struggles to be a reality.

These past policies of standing for democracy and welcoming those who flee tyranny have worked well. America is the most diverse country in the world that still works as a democracy.

The strength of America has always been its immigrants and refugees who ask nothing more than a life of freedom and to pursue the American dream as they interpret it.

So if most Americans think we shouldn’t be involved, they should look at their ancestors and consider where they might be now had their ancestors not “been involved.”

— Mankato Free Press, Feb. 28