Enlarge image
Which burning house worries us more - the one in Tiruvananthapuram or the one next door?
Or this here in Irpin near Kyiv?
Photo:
Aris Messinis / AFP
Why, if war is war and misery is misery, is the slaughter in Ukraine closer to us than the slaughter in Syria, Ethiopia or Yemen?
Because as Europeans, Europe is simply closer to us than the Middle East or Africa.
This is because people are people everywhere, perhaps not quite on the moral level of a society that is at least virtually networked worldwide.
Short-sighted and narrow-minded.
Geographical or cultural proximity
, however, stubbornly
claims validity as a central criterion in the evaluation of news .
Those condemning this may ask themselves which burning house worries them more personally - the one in Tiruvananthapuram or the one next door?
We feel the heat in the private sphere and see the sparks flying in the political sphere, not to mention the psychological one.
People whisper to themselves that it "does something" to them.
The citizen's hat flies off his pointed head, most people have a cold.
The pandemic is over, simply because nobody is interested in it anymore.
Pacifists are suddenly leafing through Carl von Clausewitz's »On War«, while aesthetes search furtively on Google for »Molotow« and »Cocktail«.
Convinced conscientious objectors ask the adult education center whether they offer bazooka training.
"World War Z" is somehow no longer a zombie film with Brad Pitt.
Sirens, those Cold War ghouls, are tested again and wail flawlessly.
The eighth grade substitute teacher plays “1917” to the children.
Suddenly, the “rocket shield” is no longer an obscure weapon technology from Israel, but a topic and an option.
Private nuclear bunkers are being discreetly reactivated in single-family housing estates.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior is taking stock, new underground car parks are to be built bombproof.
There are beautiful holiday homes in Patagonia and Tasmania.
And the supermarket smells of smoke.
If there was no toilet paper at the beginning of the epidemic, now there is no sunflower oil.
Linseed oil is still there, as are the supplies of olive oil from three different countries, as well as Styrian pumpkin seed oil and coconut oil anyway.
Yawning emptiness only with sunflower oil.
And the flour.
Because the guy who set fire to the neighbor's house has the ability to burn the entire city to rubble.
Even the whole world.
What to do?
Baking bread.
The supermarket is the front line of those furthest from the front line.
If a product is missing here, it is as if a piece of the mosaic of reality, which is normally reliably represented by a complete range of goods, is missing.
And if you forget the situation for a moment, "Rewe Radio" interrupts its music for a worrying reassurance: "
Dear customers, in the current situation, solidarity is also important when shopping.
Please be considerate of each other and only buy the products in normal household quantities.
We strive to ensure regular replenishment of the items.
We currently do not see any ongoing bottlenecks in the supply of goods to our markets
«.
War is war, misery is misery and business is business.
At Aunt Emma's next door, the boss apologizes that "the situation" is not leaving her untouched either and that the egg price must therefore be "adjusted": "The piece is now 0.45 euros".
The chickens need it warm (heating costs), the eggs need to be transported (diesel).
The trend is – one reads – towards private chickens.
Under no circumstances should there be several chickens, Clausewitz expressly advises against this.