If our planet is at the brink of a world war, which given the advances in technology and warfare, could be the war that should end all wars because nothing should be left at the end of it, is there anything we should be doing right now, or do we just keep on keeping on?
If you come to think of the kind of world leaders that we are cursed with right now, where China’s Xi Jinping is looking like the least unhinged among the world’s superpowers, it is hard not to think of how much worse the situation could escalate.
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is entering its fifth year and still ongoing, having killed hundreds of thousands.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Palestine and surrounding countries has leveled the Gaza Strip, a civilian area, and killed close to a hundred thousand people, mostly non-combatants. And if genocide isn’t enough, he has successfully manipulated and dragged the volatile Donald Trump into his ever-expanding war, this time with Iran, as the war presidents have added another armed conflict to their resume by irresponsibly igniting the powder keg that is the Middle East.
I don’t get why people aren’t calling the conflict in the Middle East a war yet. If bombing Iran and killing its leader is not an act of war, then what will it take for what is happening there to be a war? Is the global media afraid that Donald Trump will sue them for calling things as they are? By resorting to semantics and technicalities, they are empowering a war monger by allowing him to enjoy a loophole from a law that requires him to seek the permission of Congress before going to war? The president of the USA is fueling the flames of war and the world is afraid of calling him out because he might throw a tantrum and impose tariffs or start another trade war.
Aside from acts of war against Palestine and Iran, Israel has also attacked Lebanon, Syria, Qatar, Yemen, and Iraq, all with impunity, all with the convenient excuse of defending itself.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has been inutile, proving to the entire globe that the experiment officially failed in the 2020s. It had a good run pretending to be effective from the end of World War II until around COVID. Now, it is just a bunch of talking heads who can’t get anything done when it really matters. It can push sustainable development goals, but it cannot stop wars or punish warmongers. Any crazy world leader knows that by now and sooner or later, smaller countries will follow the Russia-Israel-USA model of going to war whenever they feel like it, using whatever justification they want, regardless of the absence of evidence.
The world is burning, care of world leaders who know that nobody will stop them, and all we can do is watch in horror and pray that it doesn’t come our way.
As all this is happening, Filipinos can only wonder how long China will try to be the last remaining ‘good cop’ in an attempt to make itself look like the last remaining decent global superpower, or will its leader finally give in, say “what about us?” and start waging war on Taiwan, or take more Philippine territory by force, citing the ‘territorial defense’ excuse of Israel to bomb away at other nations, without fear of consequence that the USA, Russia, and Israel have displayed and enjoyed.
Perhaps we should just thank God that Jeffrey Epstein did not have another island in the South China Sea, because if he did and Xi was a friend of his, then we could be affected by the Asian version of operation ‘Epstein Fury’.
Another thing Filipinos can be thankful for is China’s authoritarian government, where dissent is brutally crushed instantly so nobody complains. This means Xi Jinping doesn’t need to create big distractions when his people start to protest. And because there is no dissent or protests, there is no need to start unnecessary wars. If you come to think of it, there would probably be less wars if the Americans simply crowned Trump king. Our friends over there, the MAGA Fil-Ams included, should seriously consider taking one for the team and doing just that. They might even get a Nobel Peace Prize for giving their toddler-king a pacifier and giving the rest of the world a bit of peace.
The way things are going, war and armed conflict is going to be the new normal. If Donald Trump can remove 2 world leaders in the first quarter of 2026 alone, who knows what else he decides to do with the world’s greatest military force. Who knows what else Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin, or Xi Jinping, or any world leader with enough guts and no accountability, will decide what to do next with their armed forces. As for those of us who will be trampled underfoot when another war breaks out, all we can do is hope for the best, that thoughts and prayers will solve everything.
As for those who would like to think that the damage is still reversible and they still have the power to choose their leaders and perhaps chart a better future, I guess they can try to choose better the next time around.*
