Long ago, I set out to create this blog as a sort of “preservation of thoughts” accumulated over my life: recollections of my time in the Army, observations of where things stand at the moment of capture, and the hopefully calm determination I wish to pass down to my kids, friends, and future readers of these words.
Sometimes, life gets in the way. Writing, for me, is a creative process which requires quiet, inspiration, and focus. For some odd reason, I am not one of these people who can resume following a thread successfully – the oft-mentioned unfinished drafts of posts which are collected on my hard drive sit as silent testament of this flaw. My internal monologue which drives these posts is often easily sidetracked by commotion from other parts of the house, the notification of an incoming text, or other external stimuli. I make no claims that these interruptions are preventing the next “Earth-shattering Piece of Literature,” only state this to point out my shortcoming to those who have noted a drastic slowdown in frequency of my posts.
Other times, the speed of change gets in the way. In browsing those drafts, I often must pause to think of the context which inspired the post in the first place. Part of this is due to my reluctance in resharing external news media sources due to my aversion to bringing attention (and views) to their site; another component of this has been my realization that such sources are often changed/deleted without my realization. In both cases, my own justifications are often overshadowed by the appallingly short attention span of the general media audiences – by the time I do get around to sharing my observations on some “contemporary” issue, the attention is no longer on that which I provide commentary upon.
Today, I shall try something different…
On 7Oct2023, events in Israel overshadowed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
What events? Who initiated the aggression? What is the present extent of the repercussions of these events?
I honestly don’t know… and here’s the point of this post: more than likely, neither do you.
Sure, one could go through countless Twitter posts (yes, I still call it by the most known name… just like I will call Benning, Rucker, Hood, and Bragg by their commonly known names rather than the new ones) and average out what is being told against what is most likely the truth. I could comb every digital news media outlet and weigh what I consider factual reporting versus what feels like discreet appeals to emotion… but I have a life – complete with kids, spouse, dog, and other obligations which are more worthy of time than wading through the fan-spackled puddles of feces that is the information world today. In reality, so do you, dear reader.
However, I find this position of “I don’t know/I shall not weigh in” quite interesting due to the personal ethics of information. So many others – some of which fall into the “can’t find Gaza/Jerusalem/Tel Aviv on a map” camp – have no problem regurgitating views from their chosen news source political perspective without a second thought.
Since Saturday, different sources have shown snippets of CGI animated battlefields, outdated video and still photographs from different times… different conflicts… all intermeshed with horrific samples of man’s capability to be inhuman to each other.
Others have noted and called it out, but the ratio of reactions from those who choose to believe – and react – as if what is being presented is the truth of reality indicates that we have moved into very disjointed collections of objective knowledge… which some folks will take to the streets over and over again in a never-ending continuation of ignorant (and crafted) animosity.
Of course, this is nothing new. If anything, I find myself with a sudden desire to re-immerse myself in the writings of Bernays and Lippmann just as a sanity-check to prove that I am not imagining this all – this willing suspension of disbelief and critical thinking that seems to have become the new fad… the new “it”… the new normal.
I was discussing these events in faraway lands with my son last night when he came back from work. He was mulling over the past successes the Israeli Defense Force has enjoyed over the years in similar situations when I posed the following statement:
Everything we thought we knew about how wars may or will go has been thrown out the window.
We have to stop thinking in the idea that what we understand as conflict… or news… or even ethics itself no longer applies in the comfortable form we are so familiar with due to technological changes and advances which was only dreamed about 40, 30, or even 20 years ago. Even as far recently as 2019, I wrote a bit about my unfinished realizations from a decade previous on such advancements:
The topic of drones falls into the category of “posts considered but not yet written.” I have this strange theory that we are currently witnessing a significant shift in warfare due to the incorporation of drones for attacks just like the one being discussed and digital image capture devices like GoPro cameras for a quicker turnaround for after-action reviews by tactical commanders. Much like the application of submarines during the First World War, this technology is redefining elements of conflict much faster than effective countermeasures can be conceived.
Similarly, news – and how information is shared – sells… and it cannot be sold if it is deemed by the consumer to be irrelevant. Perhaps competition to be the “firstest with the mostest” resigns the originators of some content to insert that which elicits emotion and cut that which requires consideration. Unfortunately, information – even incorrect or misleading information – can and has driven foreign policy to unfortunate and costly ends. More importantly, however, is the possible reaction once the abuse of trust and credibility is exposed, OR the effectiveness of efforts to minimize and discredit any competing narratives.
Finally, rate of change – that one aspect that begs the question of “how quickly does a change in velocity have to be before one notices it?” Perhaps this being a recurring theme on this blog might provide some measure of that change: the frequency in which I mention it, the consequences of our failure to notice/acknowledge/adjust for accordingly all may provide some datum for future consideration.
The ethics of information – where it is coming from, who the intended audience is, what justifications for dissemination there might be, and what consequences/repercussions of sharing that information are desired… all of these facets are components of the most fascinating and priceless intellectual gem: motivation – societal and individual. Perhaps there could be discussion about the intrinsic/extrinsic value of information… I am sure there has been. However, what we understood yesterday is much different that what we think we know today and what we learn about what we thought we knew last week… and what we do tomorrow is the result of comparison, contemplation, and consideration of all these intangibles for what we desire.
I have no answers today… and I have no predictions as to what tomorrow may bring – at least, none that I can share here at the moment. I have my thoughts, ideas, and observations… and for the time being, I shall keep trying to find the time to capture them here as we move forward.
Postsript:
In determining the tags for this post, I selected “National Will to Fight Why Some States Keep Fighting and Others Don’t” on purpose. While there are no direct mentions of it, I highly recommend it as a means to possibly understand the intersection of capacity and potential in the human dimension of conflicts – you can find it here.
milsurpwriter 
Mike –
Thanks for this. I am reminded, with all the strange goings on of the past century, of a quote from an obscure Canadian movie about the First World War, which came out in 2012: “Passchendaele”.
Paul Gross, as Sgt. Dunn, says to the young soldier, in “Passchendaele”:
“And listen to me: forests burn because they have to. Oceans go up and down because they have to. We’re no different. If you want to get through this you better start seeing it for what it is: It’s something we do all the time because we’re good at it and we’re good at it because we’re used to it and we’re used to it because we do it all the time.”
One could add this:
August 28, 1914, saw old Bill—Bill Ravenscroft—and me enlisted for the trouble.
A few days later Bill voiced the opinion of the majority of the soldiers when he said, “Oh, this bloomin’ war will be over in three months.” Not alone was this Bill’s opinion, or that of the men only, but the opinion of the people of Canada, the opinion of the people of the whole British Empire.
And right here there lies a wrong that should be righted. From the days of our childhood, in school and out, we are taught what WE can do, and not what the other fellow can do. This belief in our own strength and this ignorance of our neighbor’s follows us through manhood, aye, and to the grave.
It was this over-confidence which brought only thirty-three thousand Canadian men to the mobilization camp at Valcartier, in answer to the first call to arms, instead of the one hundred thousand there should have been.
Not many days passed before we boarded the train at Edmonton for our journey to Valcartier. The first feeling of pride came over me, and I am sure over all the boys on that eventful Thursday night, August 27, 1914, when thousands of people, friends and neighbors, lined the roadside as we marched to the station.
Only one or two of us wore the khaki uniform; the rest were in their oldest and poorest duds. A haphazard, motley, rummy crowd, we might have been classed for anything but soldiers. At least, we gathered this from remarks we overheard as we marched silently along to the waiting troop-train.
Strangely enough no one was crying. Every one was cheered. Little did hundreds of those women, those mothers, dream that this was the last look they would have at their loved ones. Men were cheering; women were waving. Weeping was yet to come.
On that same August night, not only from Edmonton, but from every city and town in Canada men were marching on their way to Valcartier. –
– Harold Peat, Private Peat, 1917
Let us sit back and enjoy the ride.
Jim Szpajcher
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