A Gen-Xer Speaks about the Current World

This came out of a conversation with my mother.

During one of our weekly telephone calls, my mom admitted to a worry about the current situation in the Ukraine: could this lead to a nuclear war?

Now, I do understand such concerns. My mother grew up in the age of Duck and Cover; I am a child of the 80s (Chernobyl, The Day After, Threads, etc., and those were just a few talking points). It was always in my head that someone, somewhere, could slip up and decide that this was the right moment to launch a nuclear strike that would wipe out all of humanity. I believed it...for many years. I truly believed that this would happen.

And it did not.

Now, after many years seeing many dictators and strongmen try to prove themselves by sending others to do their dirty work, I have come up with at least five reasons why I am not too concerned about the prospect of the entire human race being destroyed because of the current conflict.

So...

1) In this fight, the noise is coming from only one side

This is not like the U.S. pointing a finger and the Evil Empire, challenging them to 'tear down that wall', and building up an arsenal that tripled the national debt. This is a clear David and Goliath situation that the entire world can take a side in. All the heat is on Putin, and it is of his own creation. Zelensky has the hearts and minds; Russia has the action.

2) Russia, meaning Putin, seems to be winning on the ground

A terrible thing to contemplate, but it is true that Russia is hitting all of its targets and enacting a terrible price for any resistance. And most bad guys do not consider using their best toys when the good guys seem to be losing, especially now that NATO is a no-go; the U.S. is out; Europe is wringing its hands...and the rest of the world goes on with its day.

3) The media wants something big to happen...and Putin knows this

Never underestimate the idea of withheld or delayed gratification. Putin seems wise enough to know that the entire world is expecting a bigger war than the one he wants to win on just one battlefront. And he will not give it to them. His tactics belong more to the termite, not the elephant: he is an undermining element, not one that is determined to just crush things as they stand. Look at what is happening underneath the headlines and you may understand this.

4) This is no time for our final demise

Really? You think the human race is going to wipe itself out after struggling through a very ugly pandemic scare (one that is still ongoing now with an Omicron variant)? This would be like World War One in reverse: death and carnage and then more death through another poorly-labelled illness. A switch in the order of things would seem absolutely disgraceful and provide a level of comic stupidity that even the human race does not deserve. No, I cannot accept that such rhythms exist in our world.

And the final reason why I think that we will survive this one? The real reason why our demise is still many ages away?

5) There is no app for it.

Thank you for reading!

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You can find more poems, stories, and articles by Kendall Defoe on my Vocal profile. I complain, argue, provoke and create...just like everybody else.

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