This New York Times image of a dead Russian soldier in Ukraine traveled around the world instantly yesterday, reminding me of other images from other wars --- including my own Vietnam, sometimes referred to as the first television war.
Communications by now are infinitely more sophisticated. As Thomas L. Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for The Times, writes, "Our world is not going to be the same again because this war has no historical parallel. It is a raw, 18th-century-style land grab by a superpower — but in a 21st-century globalized world. This is the first war that will be covered on TikTok by super-empowered individuals armed only with smartphones, so acts of brutality will be documented and broadcast worldwide without any editors or filters."
You'll find his piece, published under the headline "We Have Never Been Here Before," by following the link.
You might also argue, I suppose, that this current war illustrates a related truth --- that as technology advances, human nature really doesn't.
Praise for Mr. Putin has arisen from some in the United States, illustrating another truth. Access to information is not an antidote for stupidity.
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