We are in a war. Is this reality really so unfamiliar to us? Why is it during World War II, the whole nation felt the impact of the war? The whole nation was involved in the war effort, even mothers and children.
This is because World War II was a total war, where the nation mobilized its population for war production. During World War II, the home front was in full force. Mothers volunteered or went to work to provide for their families. Sometimes children would collect bottle caps or cans to donate to the war effort. Some knit blankets and some saved paper to donate to the war effort.
Why aren’t we involved like this? One word: resources. The thing is, we have plenty of resources. The war doesn’t affect us as much as it did back then because we have plenty of resources from all over the world, not just in the U.S.
I remember a while after 9/11 my mom told me the U.S. was in a war. I was incredibly surprised. Based on what I knew about World War I and World War II, they seemed like scary things as a six year old. I thought wars would have to be more dangerous than that.
They are.
A family friend from church lost both his legs in Afghanistan in May 2012. That’s when it became more real to me. That is when it became dangerous. To see a guy I knew change before my eyes and to see the impact it made on his wife – it made the war real.
To see him push through his disability to hand cycle, snow ski, and even golf inspires me. Why is this vet, through all of his hurt, able to push through and reach for his full potential? Why does he not complain about his circumstances?
Two years later, I still find myself forgetting. I still get caught up in what I’m doing or complaining about what I’m not, I forget people are hurting. Soldiers are dying. Wives hear that their husbands have lost limbs and will never be the same.
Just because we are not immediately affected by the war, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Sooner or later we are going to be aware of it. War is messy; it leaves stains. We shouldn’t let our busy lives, our computers, our iPhones and soft beds fool us. There is a war going on and we should be aware.
We should be involved in the war effort, even if only in our thoughts and prayers.
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