WWIII

I remember the end of history. What a good time that was! Things were generally fine, and they would only get better. Maybe not very spectacular, but very comfortable.

I don't know if you've noticed, but history didn't actually stop in the 90s. It inconsiderately trundled on! We then had Bush and Yeltsin and Rabin and it wasn't perfect, but nobody thought any of them would start a third world war, and after all, everything would only get better. Fast forward to now, and we have Trump and Putin and Netanyahu. Israel is engaged in a hot war with both the Palestinians and Iran, and the USA sees absolutely nothing wrong with that. Putin with his army is marching into Europe. There's war in Yemen and Sudan and Ethiopia and Myanmar. The US have been threatening Canada and Greenland. 

It is not difficult to imagine that these conflicts might spread even further or ignite in new places, and it doesn't have to get an awful lot worse before it meets the criteria for a world war. Is it unthinkable that the US decides that when Israel is already bombing Iran anyway, they might as well join in? Is it unthinkable that at some point the Chinese decide to pick a side in one of the conflicts and throw the Red Army at it? Or maybe they just figure that armed conflict is totally in fashion and invade Taiwan. With whatever consequences that will have. 

It is weird realising that a world war might not be far. And it feels a bit powerless. What are you going to do when a whole host of nations with nuclear arms are battling it out? I don't know! I'm just continuing with my life. Everyone around me is doing the same. But these are worrying times. I wonder how I will look back on them in five or 10 years’ time. Would the world still be recognisable by then? Only time will tell!