The New War, the Great Failure of Man

Editorial

The New War, the Great Failure of Man

April 5, 2022

The charred body of a man along with five other people, lie on the ground in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

The images are horrific. Like punches in the stomach. They paralyze you. You cannot bear to watch for more than a few seconds. The corpses in the streets. The mass graves. The pain on the faces of the elderly. The shattered buildings. The bombed roads.

Lost lives. Lost cities.

This is war.

We do not think about it that way in the beginning – we get caught up in the enthusiasm, in the patriotism.

But war always brings such results. There is no such thing as ‘civilized war’. That is an oxymoron…

Read the Iliad. Study the Trojan war. Nothing changes. From then until now, in every war it’s the same and worse. Every time, the war has the same results. And we brag about our civilization. Western Civilization. What civilization? Is it about production and consumption? Lifestyle? Culture? It is certainly not the culture of the spirit – the subjugation of the ego, of rage, of the hunger for revenge – right or wrong.

That said, the readers of The National Herald have the opportunity to watch the events first hand. For the first time our newspaper has been sent to the war zone, and our correspondent has sent back daily photos, videos, and reports, providing a faithful description of the tragedy of the war as it unfolds.

And as the images and words convey our correspondent’s shock about the sufferings of the people of Ukraine, she emphasizes that there is a fair amount of inhumanity on both sides.

People’s attention spans, however, are at their limits. Gradually, but steadily, they are turning to other issues. Newspaper headlines about the war are shrinking – an indication that people are getting tired of it all. Of course, the story is not going to disappear from the front pages or our screens. It will stay there for a long time, but, as always, for the readers and viewers, life goes on.

Those who will be affected for much longer, for their entire lives, for entire generations, are the inhabitants of Ukraine and Russia.

It will also affect human history in general – but not to the point that mankind decides to end wars forever.

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Editorial