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Unless you were a soldier who bravely fought in Iraq or Afghanistan or a family member or close friend, you probably went about your daily activities and lived your life without paying that much attention to those wars. I know I did.
But during my last two years of college and continuing at least three years after, the Vietnam War impacted my life and the lives of my contemporaries every single day. My older son’s godfather was a Huey pilot who was shot down. Almost everyone I knew had a personal story to tell. The war was our world, a world in turmoil. And World War II was even worse. My father was a Marine at Tarawa and Peleliu, and the war forever changed him and not in a good way.
For whatever reason, our president has chosen to support Russia over Ukraine, not only by temporarily suspending military support from Ukraine, but also by actively aiding Russia. If Russia defeats Ukraine, it won’t stop there. The history leading up to World War II clearly shows us this.
And Israel has cut off electricity to Gaza. Two million people will not have power or water. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely would not have dared to do this unless he was sure the U.S. government would allow it to happen.
With all the myriad executive orders, firings/rehirings, and other horrific things occurring over the past few weeks, I don’t think the possibility of a major world war has gotten sufficient attention. We may be close to “crossing the Rubicon”; and once that stream is crossed, there’s no going back.
Congress and the courts need to do their jobs, but none of us can afford to remain silent because this would be a war that would affect our lives every single day.
Cynde Snider
Lubec
