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College life in the 1990s and early 2000s was rife with dialogue and assembly about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. College campuses were lively with protest and picket signs as students put their reputations on the line to fight for others’ rights.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, young adults nationwide advocated for peace in overseas nations. Most progressive college-aged Americans didn’t collectively support the actions of the United States military and saw to it that their concerns were known. There is a reason that the slogan, “Make love, not war,” has cycled around since the Vietnam War. Calls for peace were loud and proud, and they shouldn’t be silenced now.

It’s vital in our current time of modern conflict to preserve the power of peacefully advocating for and paying attention to war outside of the U.S.

Russia began launching missile attacks against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Protests erupted among our generation as college students voiced their opinions. When Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the same results occurred.

Although people globally are advocating for peace, the faction with greater power continues to bully its opponent in these conflicts. Civilian casualties are skyrocketing, yet the media’s attention to these wars has severely decreased for both. Not only has the coverage of protests declined, but so has the general number of youth assemblies. As a result, Americans are largely left in the dark on critical issues that we should be paying strict attention to.

Those who feel unaffected by overseas conflict are dangerously misinformed. The consequences of U.S. involvement seep into even the smallest parts of our day-to-day lives, and recognizing these effects is the first step to understanding their severity.

Our economy has drastically tanked over the past two years. Gas prices have jumped through the roof, along with the price of basic necessities like groceries and clothing. Most don’t think to link these phenomena to war. Despite the tangible connections, the American public holistically still doesn’t seem to care.

It’s clear the impacts of war aren’t felt if the battles don’t occur on American soil. The reality is that the U.S.’s symbiotic relationship with other nations makes us reliant on Middle Eastern products and stability. Adopting a mindset that omits this fact only misplaces blame and threatens productive change. Familiarizing ourselves with our dependency on these nations makes the impact of their conflicts much more clear.

Israel and Iran are both mass distributors of oil and gasoline. Gas prices are 10-to-15 cents more per gallon than before the Israel-Hamas war started, and oil costs climbed 3% higher than their levels prior. Citizens nonetheless attribute these spikes to elected officials despite real evidence of the international consequences of war.

Average American civilians aren’t the only ones feeling the effects of the increasing prices. The inflictions pour into our largest domestic industries, as farmers are experiencing dramatically rising costs of fertilizers. Ukraine is a main distributor of fertilizer that the U.S. relies on to maintain its agricultural production. A limited supply of crops means higher prices for items the public does have access to.

Farmers need to make money, and people need to eat. Politicians greatly benefit from the votes of people who don’t make lots of money and are begging to simply put food on the table for their families. But the blame doesn’t fall solely on them. The governments of other countries in conflict have vast responsibilities in this environment as well.

Although politicians have made largely empty promises to return the economy to standard, the hopes of that reality are looking slimmer as the days pass. And even if we don’t fully blame them, we must still hold them accountable for keeping these promises and initiating greater change.

Households all over the country are seething at the pain of our rising cost of living. Groceries are no longer the only concern — mortgage rates have also increased since Russia’s first attack in 2022, which might affect college students sooner than you think.

“By the end of 2023, mortgage interest rates were more than double what they were two years earlier … leading housing costs to catch up to the price of food as a top economic concern,” Branko Marcetic of The Nation said.

We as students live inside a bubble right now, but we won’t always be this sheltered from these facts. It won’t be long until we grow into prospective homeowners.

I’m not here to convince you to support a specific side in an overseas conflict. The causes you choose to support likely vary depending on your demographic. As the skills and tendencies of media literacy die out, it’s your duty to be more than a spectator.

No matter what we do, our politicians will continue to make shallow promises. With that being said, the responsibility falls to us to keep each other informed on these public issues and form our own opinions. We have an obligation to each other to unite in times of adversity. That’s why we come together — strength in numbers defies hatred in clusters.

Ignoring these conflicts doesn’t dismiss them. They are genuine and impact you all the time. Keeping your eyes shut won’t make them disappear. Gaining deeper knowledge of these intricate complexities molds the future more than you think.

Review humanity’s problems. Observe their depth and know that war starts a domino effect felt in everyday life. Hate for other people affects you, even if you aren’t in the oppressed party. So get your picket signs, share your voice and help create change.

History’s blemishes are rhyming with today’s news, so we might as well repeat the past in a productive, reformative way while we have the chance.

Nina Gugino is a freshman political science major. She can be reached at nagugino@syr.edu.

Published on February 2, 2025 at 9:54 pm