Out Beyond the Corn

There is a world out there, beyond our garden. It doesn’t always dip into our everyday lives, but sometimes we are affected by it. The war in Ukraine is one of these instances. Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has slowly become the dominant story in our mainstream newscasts, replacing the constant coverage of the pandemic. NATO and governments all over the world, including Canada, have not remained neutral in the conflict between these two nations. The enemy was easy for the western world to define. Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, ordered his army to invade Ukraine. Ukraine is fighting for its life! It’s citizens had little choice but to retaliate. Who wouldn’t defend themselves from an aggressor if directly threatened?

News media on all sides of the conflict are supplying their people with inflammatory censored one-sided newscasts to keep them engaged and enraged, to convince the masses to rally behind the need for austerity, the need to provide support - positioning them to be prepared for what might yet come. The banners of righteousness and nationalism have been raised.  

Few North Americans know anything about the history of this conflict, but no war occurs in a vacuum. Broken agreements, civil unrest, insincere or bogged down negotiations, policy changes, territorial disputes, sabre rattling, and inaction brought this situation to a head. I’m not in any way justifying Putin’s aggression, but he apparently decided negotiation was no longer possible. (Not all of Russia’s citizens agree as seen by demonstrations taking place.) The insanity of it all boggles my mind. The people who have been thrust into this war, who never had a choice (both Ukrainian and Russian), are dying/suffering. Billions of dollars worth of infrastructure is being destroyed. The spin off, due to the imposition of sanctions, is hurting neighbouring countries who are facing a winter without Russian natural gas to heat their homes. Nuclear weapons are being considered, on both sides. Nuclear power plants could be compromised. And fighting climate change? That goes on the back burner, the weapons of war negate any and all measures aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The ripple effects of this war are compounding. There has been talk of a Third World War.

But terrible losses endured by some can result in profit for others. There’s nothing like war to stimulate some sectors of the economy. Those who gain from war - the military industrial complex, arms dealers, arms/equipment manufacturers, oil companies, companies that provide materials/labour to rebuild, raw material suppliers, stockholders, the big players - do so on the backs of those who suffer its ravages. There is little benefit for the people whose homes/livelihoods are destroyed, the soldiers/civilians who die or are wounded, the country with broken infrastructure and massive environmental damage, the traumatized children, the dead domestic and wild animals, the war vets suffering from PTSD…

Ordinary people bear the brunt of war. They are expendable. 

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