As our world ages, conflicts age with us. Large conflicts between political parties, states and countries have constantly been looming over people who are just trying to live their lives. Despite the advances of modern technology, people’s knowledge of these conflicts remains minuscule. Oftentimes, larger conflicts are recognized on social platforms, but smaller or continuous conflicts are overlooked. If it is not new and trendy, it is ignored.
Currently, the most publicized conflicts are the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars. Despite these wars being the most well-known, the attention and concern dedicated to them is depleting. The shock and disgust these tragedies deserve lessens with the commonality of them. With anything, there comes a point of excessiveness; the abundance of violence around the world blinds people from the depravity of it.
“When Russia invaded Ukraine, in the beginning everyone was appalled and ‘Oh my gosh,’ and here we are past two years,” history teacher Steve Auchstetter said.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, it was a hot topic on social media for a while. People were speaking up on platforms like X and TikTok advocating for the Ukrainian people. Now that the patterns of harm are becoming repetitive, it is a depressing bore for many people to think about.
Now, the general public’s attention has shifted to the Israel-Hamas war. Even though this war is the new thing, it too is slipping from some people’s minds. Just like the Russia-Ukraine war, people are becoming desensitized to the horrible truths of the affected lives. The longer that horrible conflicts go on without major advancement, the more they are forgotten by unharmed and non-war-torn populations. The general public does not tend to care about tragedies unless they are directly affected.
People throughout the world, especially in the U.S., need to stop and look around. They need to see the world for what it truly is, a power hungry and self-serving society. They need to look at what is really going on and how it impacts people and then do something about it. Social media makes it easy to flip through tragedies unbothered; despite what social media platforms like TikTok may show users, the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars are not the only ongoing wars.
Currently, there are wars raging in African nations like Sudan and Mali and in southeastern Asia in Myanmar. According to the Council of Foreign Relations, there are currently 29 ongoing conflicts in the world that have an impact on the U.S.
“You can’t just say that because it is happening in another part of the world, it has nothing to do with us,” Auchstetter said.
10 of those 29 conflicts have a significant or critical impact on the U.S. 17 of those conflicts are worsening.
“It is difficult to find the difference in one-sided stories versus an honest story with both sides,” Auchstetter said. “You need to really look into it yourself and try to get an objective point of view.”
It takes effort and meticulous research to find the truth behind a widespread facade. The truth can be hard to uncover, and for that reason more people are deterred from learning the truths required to understand and advocate for the innocent victims of wars.
Becoming numb or ignoring wars around the world is a dangerous game. Conflicts grow; without intervention or even acknowledgment of conflicts they can grow into pandemics. While most people are not at fault for the vast amount of current wars, it is the moral duty of people to fight for what is right, to stand up against discrimination and hatred, to protect each other and to take care of the world.
Why do terrible tragedies, no matter how repetitive, become background noise?
Underneath the theme of not being directly affected as an excuse to ignore wars, there are deeper issues. Typically, no matter how many people in your life die, whether it’s grandparents, parents or anyone else you love, that grief will come back each time you think about them. You never get over a death and move on; death sticks. With distant wars and other tragedies, death does not stick very often. The public tends to move on and forget.
People’s numbness and blindness to wars can stem from the overwhelming amount of other pressing issues in our personal lives. Stress is a big issue in today’s society. It can cause a variety of problems from mental to physical. The American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2023 report on stress suggested that “the long-term stress sustained since the COVID-19 pandemic began has had a significant impact on well-being.”
The APA did not only blame the pandemic for increased stress, as “global conflict, racism and racial injustice, inflation, and climate-related disasters are all weighing on the collective consciousness of Americans.” The APA refers to a lot of stress inducing situations as traumas.
While people in the world need to be more aware of war, the issue of being numb to terrible situations also needs to be addressed. Band-Aids cannot fix what needs stitches. The deeper issue of a traumatized and therefore desensitized population needs to be addressed first.
Many people do not have the privilege to turn their head to wars. While people such as those in the U.S. might have the temporary bliss of ignoring certain conflicts, those conflicts will not just disappear.
