Sometimes wisdom can come from the strangest places, like a crypto commercial about Ukraine that aired during the Oscars. It really was a revelation about what the Ukrainian people have been going through during the brutal invasion by Russia, and what they really need.
You see, things like batteries and shelter and hope—things American consider the basics—have now become essential in Ukraine. As the commercial’s profound tagline said, “In Ukraine, the basics are now the essentials.”
This was an insight and a shift in perspective that devastated me. Here we are in America, taking shelter and food for granted as something basic, while the war-torn people in Kyiv and Lviv see shelter and food as something entirely different: Essential. My dictionary defines “basic” as “a fundamental element or entity.” Meanwhile, three letters—and several time zones—away, “essential” is “indispensable; necessary.” The two terms couldn’t be more different.
It's more than just a dictionary denotation; these words have different connotations as well. If I were at a vacation house and someone offered to go to the store for basics like food, I would think, “What fun we’re in for this week!” But if someone at the vacation house offered to buy some essentials, I would think, “War is hell.”
Just—what a brilliant fucking insight: “In Ukraine, the basics are now the essentials.”
“Moisture is the essence of wetness.”
“I believe that children are the future.”
See, this crypto company gets it. I picture a Zoom call with company executives and highly literate ad people looking at this tagline and gasping softly in recognition of the world situation. Sure, they could have said “The basics are now luxuries” or something but that wouldn’t capture it as well as the stunning contrast between basics and essentials.
Really makes you think.
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