What on Earth are We Doing?

By Elaine L. Orr

For the first time since I began the Irish Roots author blog in 2011, I did not post anything during a month (February 2026). If I want an easy excuse I could say it's because I had back surgery on the 19th and it's been tough before and after. (Successful, but not what you want to do for fun.)

While that may be a factor, the bigger issue is that I am overwhelmed by the U.S. actions to start a war that will kill a lot of people and cannot be won. We focus, appropriately, on the US service members who were killed and I wish I could bring them back for their families. We seem to gloss over the fact that we are killing many hundreds of women, children, and men with our bombs and drones. Some are in the military, most are not.

Have we become immune to sorrow because we see killing all the time in movies and on television? Or are we simply trying to ignore bellicose chest-beating from political leaders?

The Secretary of War recently bragged about the March 4th sinking of the Iranian IRIS Dena with a torpedo in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka. This was the first sinking with a submarine-fired torpedo since World War II. Think about it for a moment. Eighty-seven young men either died immediately or drowned. (The Sri Lankans recovered their bodies.)

These sailors signed up for service in their country's military for some of the same reasons men and women sign up for service in the U.S. They may have been motivated by patriotism but also simply needed a job. They have families who relied on them. They may have had pictures of their children taped to the bunk above theirs in their sleeping quarters just as US submariners do.

I accept that the US military did not purposely bomb a school full of young girls, but lack of intent doesn't make it better. Have you seen the pictures of the girls' bodies separately wrapped in sheets awaiting burial? I can't get that image out of my head any more than I can remove the one of people covered in grit running from the collapsing Twin Towers in 2001.

This is not a game. We are sending our young people into horrific danger and causing the same for millions more. Where is the outrage and sorrow?

Before you think that I'm anti-military, be assured I am not. I visit my parents in Arlington National Cemetery and fly a flag on Memorial and Veterans Day. The two charities to which I give monthly are World Central Kitchen and Armed Services YMCA. In case you've never heard of the latter (and especially if you want to donate), they help "junior enlisted personnel and their family members. The Armed Services YMCA empowers military families, no matter who they are or where they’re from, by ensuring access to resources, relationships, and opportunities for all to grow and thrive." That includes food for families whose budgets can't be stretched far enough.

One of the questions asked of current military and political leaders is if we will run out of bombs and drones. I told my doctor yesterday she needs a magic wand to make growing chronic back issues better. That need pales in comparison with our nation's need to feel empathy for our own service members and those whose lives we end and uproot.

Don't be afraid to pray and cry for an end to the carnage.

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Eaine's favorite book (of hers) is Falling Into Place, a story of grace as a World War II vet struggles with his wife's death...and life since he served. To learn more about Elaine's writing, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.