Members of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces walk to their position near Pokrovske, eastern Ukraine on May 4, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. LEHTIKUVA / AFP

As a European-American in New York following the news on both sides of the Atlantic, I can readily see the flow of opinion from the US to Europe and the US pressure with regard to Russia and Ukraine. Those who hesitate will soon find themselves in the spotlight of American Media. Combined with political leverage, this seems to be working well.

Journalists wait outside Finnish Parliament , during the debate to apply to join NATO , on April 20, 2022 in Helsinki. LEHTIKUVA / AFP

Finnish Public Service Media has the legal and professional mandate to reflect a diversity of opinions and provide an information platform that is not reflective of a political agenda. This is not happening with the English language Yle platform.

In their reports from the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine until the end of April, 60% of their articles promoted a pro-Nato or pro-military alignment perspective. Conversely, less than 7% could be construed as being anti-Nato or anti-military alignment.

Nej till NATO -text in a sign at the Left Alliance Labour Day march in Helsinki on May 1st 2022.

It's deeply unfortunate that even some MPs in the Left Alliance are now publicly advocating Finnish membership of NATO.

An Atlanticist hybrid of US power and British ‘diplomacy’, NATO is a deeply pro-capitalist and imperialist organization. From the start, it has used the ideology of an external enemy – first the USSR, now Russia – to attack and repress socialist ideas and politics at home and in what were once the colonies.

Foreign minister Pekka Haavisto speaking at a plenary session about NATO membership in Helsinki on 20th of April 2022.

The events in Ukraine have opened a debate in many countries about NATO membership, with Russia already threatening peace in the Baltic region. Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has expressed her intention to hold a referendum on Scotland’s independence by the end of 2023. If she is serious about holding a referendum by then, NATO alignment is something that Scotland must consider carefully over the next year.

Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked Finnish people’s sense of security. Having had their own wars with Russia before, Finns started to picture Russian tanks rolling down the streets in Helsinki. Iodine tablets were sold out from drug stores, queues for passport renewals were prolonged and record number of Finns signed up for military training.

Tesla chief Elon Musk has launched a hostile takeover bid for Twitter, insisting it was a "best and final offer" and that he was the only person capable of unlocking the full potential of the platform. LEHTIKUVA / AFP

When Elon Musk bought the single largest stake in Twitter, then announced plans to acquire the whole company instead of just accepting a seat on its board, the response varied:

Hosannas from many on the "right" who feel like they don't get a fair shake from Twitter's moderation/ban policies.

Visiting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) and President of Finland Sauli Niinistö during their joint press conference after their meeting during the visit of The North Atlantic Council's (NAC) in Helsinki, Finland on Monday, October 25, 2021.

As the Finnish Government launches a process to consider the nation's NATO membership, while the frightening news from the war in Ukraine floods the media, all of us living in the country need to stop and think about how we got into this situation and where to turn now.

Soldiers from the Finnish Defence Forces participate in the international military exercise Cold Response 22, involving NATO troops and partner countries, at Setermoen, North of in Norway, on March 22, 2022. LEHTIKUVA / AFP

Naomi Klein’s influential work – ‘The Shock Doctrine’ reveals how power elites under the pretence of crisis use the threat of impending or present doom and fear to introduce policies that satiate the needs of vested interests in society. She gives examples of paradigmatic shifts in policy in Chile, Russia, Britain and other states to show how policies that under ‘normal’ conditions would be resisted, but because a population has been subject to shock it is willing to or is amenable to further manipulation. This is happening in Finland concerning NATO membership.

For the last 30 years I have seen the evolution of Finland into a country with unparalleled levels of prosperity and peace. It has been at the top of many global rankings from education to happiness. But I must have been living in some parallel universe. Amnesia now prevails in Finland and people forget everything that has been achieved and ignore the reasons behind the so-called Finnish success story.

Ukrainian troops patrol at the frontline outside the town of Novoluhanske, eastern Ukraine, on February 19, 2022. LEHTIKUVA / AFP

At this point in my life, I've been consistently opposed to war for about twice as long as I spent as a Marine infantryman (with precisely the attitude toward war you would expect). The change was incremental and took a few years, but I consider my decision to march in the streets against the 2003 US invasion of Iraq to have been moral, and my decision to march in formation toward participation in the 1991 Gulf War to have been immoral.