Watching war come again as sobering as ever

I’ve watched war come through my television as long as I can remember. Seeing it again this week is as sobering as ever.

They say the Vietnam War was the first time war was brought into the home in images every night. It’s said growing up with those scenes has desensitized humans to war. That’s probably right, but we don’t seem to be able to turn our eyes away from the coming train wreck.

I remember being overwhelmed by scenes of U.S. troops carrying body bags to waiting helicopters on evening news coverage when I was 8 or 9. I remember questioning my mom about whether or not I would have to go to Vietnam and being afraid of dying.

She comforted me well. They quit drafting young men to fight in Vietnam a couple of years before I would have had to register.

I was pretty far removed from the war in Vietnam and I didn’t know anyone personally who was over there at that young age. I do know that those scenes only played on our television sets for a few minutes every evening.

Today if someone the same age is not monitored by adults they could watch war live 24/7.

Adults glued to their televisions right now with kids in the room need to think about what it is doing to the young ones.

With that said, I don’t think adults should necessarily avert our eyes from what’s happening. Times are dangerous, especially in Eastern Europe. I lived a good chunk of my life in the Cold War and in fear of what could happen with so many nations with so many nuclear weapons. I’m not too sure younger generations appreciate that danger or even understand it.

I firmly believe the more we know about any situation and the better we understand things the better we’ll be as citizens of our communities and of the world. It’s scary when we see “Shock and Awe,” we’re flabbergasted as journalists filmed Marines landing in Mogadishu and infuriated when they drag U.S. soldiers’ bodies through the streets.

It was obvious last week that war in Ukraine was imminent and when my phone dinged I began reading early stories about the start of the invasion. Before I had read the first few paragraphs the program we were watching on TV was interrupted with coverage from a pre-dawn Kyiv.

Cruise missiles landing in the distance lit up the skyline and the reporters were all now wearing helmets and Kevlar vests.

It looks like the Ukrainians are a brave people, but in the short-term they’re facing an impossible task of repelling a huge and well-equipped Russian army.

Watch coverage of this world travesty or don’t watch if you can’t take it. But pray for the people of Ukraine and pray for world peace.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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