Thinking of 44 million people as opposed to national borders

Forget the geopolitics, the armchair psychoanalysis of Putin, Trump, Carlson, etc., and the Google maps showing troop movements in Ukraine.

The real story is that while at least 50,000 Ukrainians have fled their country as the invasion continues, most of the 44 million residents of the country are stuck, huddled in subways, within locked homes, or scattered in far-flung rural areas. 

When we think of 44 million humans, we must realize that moving that many people anywhere is impossible. Most Ukrainians will be forced to deal with a new reality, one that will have different effects on different people. 

I heard a report on Colorado Public Radio today from a Ukrainian pollster who said the majority of people in eastern Ukraine (closest to Russia) were more interested in good jobs, food, and family safety than in who "rules" them. That strikes me as getting to the very heart of how humans have had to adjust throughout history.

Most of human history is an unrelenting onslaught of war, taking land or leaving land, redrawing borders or obliterating borders, taking from others and resisting the takers. 

When Rome fell over 1,500 years ago, most Romans didn't pick up and move. They had to make whatever adjustments were necessary to survive or die. Most of us don't choose death.

Germany surrendered in 1945. So did Japan. But the survivors didn't just exit their homes and nations.

I saw some early reports that as many as 40 percent of Ukrainians were willing to fight for their country, but the pollster I cited above said that was far more than really would. He thought it might come to 5 percent.

I have been trying to imagine what it might be like to be invaded by an overwhelming force, surrounded by chaos and destruction, not to mention misinformation. How might one individual find ways to either join with others to create stronger organizations or simply find basic life supports? 

Those residents of Kyiv, huddled in subways acting as bomb shelters, are the real story here. Journalists are always playing catch up in these chaotic situations, where truth is slippery and even getting eyes on any particular part of a country may be difficult and dangerous.

Of course, Vladimir Putin is a calculated killer with deep resentments toward the West. And of course Donald Trump said something so appalling as to invite disbelief ("That Putin guy is a genius."). And of course there are some in the media (Tucker Carlson) who are willing to go to any length to "own" President Biden or anyone identifying as Democrat.

Those things are interesting (and worthy of further reporting) but they are not really "news." They are, in the end, just confirmation of "olds" -- stuff we already knew.

I will be looking for the reporting that makes the struggles and challenges of individuals come alive, not that I can do a damn thing about it.

My initial takeaway from the Russian invasion is that most of humanity has not shrugged off the habits of the past. We thought such wars of aggression were past. 

They are not.