Just as I was starting to feel as though this nasty sinus infection of the past five days was beginning to ease and I was feeling a bit better, I ran across this item in yesterday’s news concerning our little furry rodent friends and their unexpected effect on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And now I feel a different kind of sick:

“The frontlines of Russia’s war in Ukraine have become infested with rats and mice, reportedly spreading disease that causes soldiers to vomit and bleed from their eyes, crippling combat capability and recreating the gruesome conditions that plagued troops in the trench warfare of World War I. The infestations are due partly to the change in seasons and mice’s mating cycle, but are also a measure of how the war has become static . . .” [CNN’s 5 Things, Jan. 21, 2024.]

They had me at the vomiting and bleeding from the eyes. As though the missiles, bombs and drones weren’t enough, the military on both sides — defenders and aggressors — have this new plague to deal with. And how long will it be before the new little invaders find their way to the general population in what is left of the homes, hospitals and churches of Ukraine’s cities and towns? Do the people of Ukraine deserve this? For that matter, do the families of the conscripted Russian soldiers, praying back at home for their husbands, sons, brothers to be returned to them, need this additional worry?

Some will say it’s just another fallout of war. Maybe so. But why do we keep doing these things to ourselves and each other? Once again, my thoughts return to one of my favorite folk songs of the ‘60s:

“Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards, every one.
When will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?”
[“Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” Pete Seeger, 1955]

Apparently, the answer is . . . never.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/22/24