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Is this the start of World War Three?

 When news reports started coming in on Saturday evening (European central time) that Iran had launched an attack against Israel, I started worrying. I have no family in Israel. I'm not Israeli. I'm not Jewish. I'm not worrying about 'my home' or about family members. But I am a supporter of Israel. I'm not always a staunch supporter of the Israeli government, true. There are decisions that I, as a person, do not agree with. There are things I would change, would do differently, if it were up to me. But am I a staunch supporter of Israel's right to exist, of the right of Israeli people to live in freedom? Definitely. I have friends in Israel. People I've met as I travelled the world. Good people. Kind people. People with parents, with siblings, with children. People I care about. 

My main thought as I was watching the news on television and reading the updates on Twitter/X however, wasn't about my friends in Israel. I wasn't worried about them: They have shelters to go to. While I hoped that my friends would be safe, I didn't worry about them because they are grown-ups. They've lived with rocket attacks for many years now. True, most of the time those rockets come from Gaza, not from Iran. But still... Heading to a shelter for a rocket, or a drone, or some other thing someone decides to shoot at my friends from Gaza... Isn't the response the same when that rocket, that thing someone fires at my friends, comes from somewhere else, like Iran?

As I watched the news and read the updates, my main thought was simple: "Is this the start of World War Three?" kept coming back. And coming back. And coming back.

As of right now, Monday evening (Central European time) there has been no retaliatory attack by Israel against Iran. And honestly, I am glad. I hope that with this recent show of force, Iran will be quiet for a while. They've shown that they CAN attack. They've shown that if they feel the need, they WILL attack. And Israel has shown that, with help from their allies, some 300 drones, rockets, whatevers launched at them can be mostly intercepted. 

By now I've read so many op-eds, so many opinions, so many articles, that I'm not sure anymore where I've gotten the information in my head from. 

Like so many others in the world, I am waiting to see what will happen next. Will Israel retaliate? Will Iran launch another attack?

As I went to bed on Saturday evening, I wondered briefly about my own safety. Far away in western Europe, I'm not in the path of rockets from Iran to Israel. Not regular rockets. But, what if it was a nuclear attack? Then, I probably wouldn't be safe. Or maybe I would be? What if Iran decided to escalate, and fire much more dangerous things at Israel? How would Israel react? How would the USA react? How would Europe react? And as a human being, I worry... What would happen to me? Would the bad stuff reach me? Would it reach my friends? Would my father still be able to buy food in the supermarket? Would I be able to reach family and friends to find out if they are safe? Would the internet still work? Would I be able to talk to people I love on the telephone? How long would it take before I felt sick, if at all? 

Honestly... I grew up thinking that war was something that happened long ago and far away. Not here. Not in my country. Not where it directly impacts me. But what if someone, in some far-away country, does decide that punishing another matters enough to them, that endangering millions and millions of others is a price (they think) they are willing to pay? And what if my family is collateral damage? What if I am? I'm not okay with that. I'm not okay with some stranger in some far-away country deciding that it is time that I die, or that I suffer from radiation sickness. 

I don't want World War Three. And if it does happen... I want it to be a thing that happens 'over there' in a far-away place where no-one I love or care about can get hurt. Selfish? Yes. Realistic and honest? Yah, that too. But really... That doesn't look likely. And it scares the living daylight out of me. If World War Three does happen, it won't be far away happening to people I don't know. My best friend in high school is Iranian. She has family in Iran. Friends of mine have relatives in Iraq, in Kurdistan, in Jordan. I have friends in Israel. And all of those people will suffer. Many would probably die. And really, how many of them would be able to choose? How many of them, if given the chance to speak up and have a vote, would say HELL NO, I choose life, for me and my family and those I love? Honestly... I think 99% of us would. We are human. We want to live. We want our loved ones to live. So, this is my request to those people in power 'over there' who can, by pressing a button, make the world a much worse place... Show restraint. Please. Give a crap. Please. Think about all the innocent millions and millions you will be endangering and killing, if not directly then indirectly. Think about all of us. And choose restraint. Choose life. Please. Because that's definitely my choice. Even though, it seems, I don't get a vote... 

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