That Little Voice

As I sit in my cocoon of spring weather, surrounded by beautiful flowers and in touch with friends I am shaken from my comfort by images of snow, bombed buildings, desperate women and children fleeing from the ravages of war, and men street fighting for their country.

How do we understand this difference between peace and war, and how do we react to it?

We Americans have not had a taste of homeland fighting and destruction during our lifetimes. We’ve been shielded from a war on our own land, but the war underway in Ukraine raises so many questions.

What would be our response as a nation if both Mexico and Canada decided to wage a war with us? Would we react as one nation or would our current political divide hinder our ability to respond as one united nation?

Today we hear voices within our country on both sides of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and I wonder if the same would true if we were under attack. How would we react? What would we want from the world?

I don’t know. That is a disturbing reality. Of course there will always be disagreements, various views, and heated arguments as to what should be done. But would we universally take up arms to protect our nation, join with those we disagree with to defend our way of life and our right to choose?

I have no answer for these questions, but what I can hope is that we would have help from our friends, the other nations of the world who want freedom and peace. I would want support, prayers, and aid in whatever form possible to keep our way of life safe.

Wars create chaos, not for just the countries shooting at one another, but for the rest of us who are impacted by refugees, fear, higher prices, and shortages of goods and services. Fighting in one part of the world impacts us all, perhaps slightly, but the ripples nonetheless reach our shores, change our attitudes, and impact our future.

We don’t live in a world alone, but feel the waves of change whenever or wherever they take place.

Peace is a priceless commodity, physically, emotionally, morally, so how do we ensure its existence?

That is a question we each must answer as we view the actions throughout our world, and hope for sanity, reason, and love for one another to prevail.