When we watch war unfold on television, there is fear and uncertainty. But there also can be the detachment of distance. It is not a comfort, but it can be insulating to know what is happening is so far away.
That is not true for everyone. Even neighbors in Western Pennsylvania can be closely tied when bomb blasts are exchanged in the Middle East.
Former U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire learned that firsthand when he was stranded in Dubai after flights were disrupted by escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Altmire managed to secure one of the limited outbound flights on March 5 after days of cancellations and uncertainty.
Others from Western Pennsylvania remain stuck. Jackie Graham of Marshall and Karen Hasenkopf of Brookline were on a desert tour outside Dubai when the news of the attacks began spreading through their group. Traveling with Louise Herrle and Godfrey Molyneux of Shadyside, they have watched flights disappear from departure boards and waited for a way home.
And those are just a few of the people we know are there.
What about the students studying here or the professors teaching here who come from countries where missiles are flying? What about the American citizens across our corner of the Keystone State who have family living in those nations? What about the military members and military families who may be involved — or who watch with bated breath knowing their involvement could come at any moment?
War is never something that happens only to other people.
War — by its very explosive, aggressive, invasive nature — is civilization’s most contagious virus. It affects us all, sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small ones.
It may cause short-term frustration over disrupted travel or rising gas prices. Perhaps it is the anxiety over a loved one’s safety. For too many, it will mean living with mourning or pain.
As the situation in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East sits in an early, uncertain place, we should all recognize this is not just something happening on the other side of the world. It is something we must pay attention to because what happens anywhere in the world affects people in our own backyard.
