One of the tragedies about which I have great concern are the number of deaths from despair in the US. We have about 100,000 deaths from drug overdoses and 45,000 suicides. I have in the past likened these numbers to the equivalent number of military divisions (roughly ten modern divisions) and pointed out our anger and outrage were we to be fighting a war and losing ten divisions each year. We lost four division equivalents in Vietnam over eight years. It is as if we were experiencing the entirety of our war losses in Vietnam times three every year.
And no one seems especially concerned in academia or government. No moral equivalents of war. No championing of victims. No innovative policy programs. No national conversations. No tidal wave of federal spending. Nothing but studied avoidance.
I know the issues are complex but it boggles my mind that we do not pay much attention to this escalating and unfolding tragedy and just how much of our social attention is directed away from this real world tragedy and onto minor issues of little consequence.
A couple of data points this morning caught my eye.
It appears from various sources that at this point, Russia has lost some 60-65,000 soldiers killed in the seven months of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It is hard to know, but it seems that it would be fair to assume that Ukraine has lost some 15-20,000 so far.
By the end of the year, based on guestimates and trends, it would appear that Russia and Ukraine together may have lost as many people in the Russian-Ukrainian War as the US will lose in deaths of despair.
And still we do not pay attention.
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