While I have many thoughts on the Ukraine/Russian war and the Israel/Palestine war, I have not written about them because most of my “knowledge” has been gleaned from podcasts and news reports. And, more importantly, I don’t know sh!t when it comes to war, international politics, Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, or Russia.
That doesn’t prevent me from having strong opinions, but these are not worth sharing.
What I do know is that I am worn down hearing about both of them. It’s depressing to hear about war crimes, injuries and deaths. The threat of nuclear war, World War III, a full-scale Middle East War and other gloomy future possibilities are harrowing.
The thing is – I can’t do one thing to impact any of this. I can’t impact the US’s funding involvement. I can’t do anything to impact what any of the countries or armies are doing. Just like not knowing sh!t, I cannot do sh!t.
So lately I’ve done my best to skip the podcasts and articles that discuss the nuances and track the details of these wars.
If there ever comes a time when these wars directly impact me and I can take an action, I’ll think about it and make decisions at that time.
I grew up during the Cold War, where I leaned from the news that we were always on the brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. I was taught that my city, Pittsburgh, was on the direct target list since we were an industrial city that manufactured steel. I worried about that a lot growing up.
Worrying – about anything – never did me any good
The irony is that most of the things I worried about never came to fruition. And, sadly, the truly awful experiences I had never imagined.