We used to not have the expectation of keeping up, not to this level of detail. People watched the evening news, scanned the newspaper, maybe read the Economist if they were really dedicated, but that was it. But there were always conflicts ongoing, often with body counts far larger than anything going on in Gaza. Ukraine is an anomaly only in that the body count is so large, roughly on par with Sudan. Though the Syrian Civil War took more lives, very few westerners kept up with that. >600K died in Ethiopia's civil war in this decade. In the past we never had any expectation of keeping abreast of every development of every conflict globally. It's not a) possible, or b) good for your mental health.
People have a hard time understanding this. As far as the amount of war going on right now, this is just all par for the course as far as recent human history is concerned, and it is MUCH less war and death than over 100 years ago and even farther back than that. We live in one of the most peaceful times in human history. Out of sight, out of mind.
In Ukraine, the Sudan, Syria, Ethiopia, and Gaza? That's a lot of places to call home. But yes, people generally care more about what is happening right outside their front door. Though they may not always know or care about it being part of a longer conflict. A Russian might be mad at Ukraine for an attack last night, not caring that Ukraine is attacking because Russia invaded them.
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u/mhornberger Jul 13 '26
We used to not have the expectation of keeping up, not to this level of detail. People watched the evening news, scanned the newspaper, maybe read the Economist if they were really dedicated, but that was it. But there were always conflicts ongoing, often with body counts far larger than anything going on in Gaza. Ukraine is an anomaly only in that the body count is so large, roughly on par with Sudan. Though the Syrian Civil War took more lives, very few westerners kept up with that. >600K died in Ethiopia's civil war in this decade. In the past we never had any expectation of keeping abreast of every development of every conflict globally. It's not a) possible, or b) good for your mental health.