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The other night I did some channel "surfing" during the evening news hour to see if there were any updates on the War in Ukraine.
There was nothing -- even on BBC which usually carries important foreign policy developments. The main story running on BBC was the death of an Irish singer and rock star. The primary American channels were dealing mostly with the hot summer weather we have been experiencing.
The channel "surfing" reinforced my own thinking and experience that wars get old fast, and that our attention span for them is short--unless American troops are involved.
Yet, for the Ukrainians, this is the summer of decision. If they can't make headway against Russian aggression this summer, even their own "staying power" will likely begin to wilt. The number of war dead on each side is growing, and that can sap the energy of any nation.
One foreign policy analyst whom I have found to be quite accurate over the years is David Ignatius. Ignatius, a journalist who has spoken before at Chautauqua, recently summed up the current situation in Ukraine in this way: "Ukraine isn't winning but Russia is losing. No need for gloom."
What Ignatius sees coming out of the war, no matter where the ultimate national boundaries are decided, is a weakened Russia and a stronger, more vibrant democracy for Ukraine. In his words: "On the other side of this war is a better future for every party to the conflict, including an eventual post-Putin Russia. The thing about tunnels is that if you keep moving through them, darkness eventually gives way to light."
I suppose that the lack of media focus today on Ukraine shouldn't be surprising. Most Americans don't even know where Ukraine is; and, even if they did, our citizens have shown, generally, that they have a limited interest in foreign policy issues.
Ukraine also knows this and realizes that American support for it will, at some point, begin to ebb. That is another reason that they are pushing hard trying to get a "breakthrough" this summer.
In some ways, the battlefield in Ukraine reminds me of what U.S. and allied forces faced after the initial landings in Normandy in World War II. The Germans quickly established a strong defensive boundary, and allied forces couldn't really get going until they were able to breakthrough the Normandy bocage country and get to the open roads leading to Paris.
If Ukraine can fight its way through the Russian defenses and get on the roads leading to Crimea and the Sea of Azov--they may be able to end the current stalemate in the war.
In the meantime, we, in America, will "wile away" our summer hearing about heatwaves, wildfires, the stock market, and the latest shenanigans going on in Washington and on the campaign trail.
Ukraine is a far-away place, and we have already begun to lose interest in what is happening there.
When it comes to war in far-off places, we have a short attention span.
Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.