War Madness

Our Existence in Ukraine

There is a madness within us. That’s what the old world would call it. Our brains have been rewired. Often, our very physiology has been altered. On the surface, you will not see it, will not recognize it but we know it is there. We who admit it are better off than those who do not or will not. We are in an asylum without seeking asylum. Seeking asylum from the asylum is not for us although most would probably welcome this if it were offered. The song “Good Night Saigon” by Billy Joel captures much of what our madness is like whether we are combatants or non-combatants. What we have acquired is “War Madness.”

War Madness is not a disease, but it is a condition of living within a war for so long. It’s an existential adaptation to living in war. Our cognitive functioning has changed. How we operate physically has changed. We are now fully wired for survival with some hope of victory. Tactically, we adapt every day. Our sanity requires constant maintenance like a weapon that must be cleaned. There is no standard operating procedure (SOP) on a collective level. We must find one that works for us individually.

We who are inside the wire know that we are different now. We know that we are different from those outside the wire. Some of us are asked to travel outside the wire to tell our tales, affect policy, raise funds, etc. This can be frightening…