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Gil Mildar
As the song says, a Latin American with no money in his pocket.

Did the Ukraine war flop?

Ah, welcome to the digital arena, where everyone has an opinion, especially about Israel and Hamas. It’s as if our keyboards transform into battlefields, and each post becomes a missile launched into the ether. And amidst these digital skirmishes, what happened to the war in Ukraine? Did it “flop”? Was it eclipsed by the ever-changing spotlight that shifts as quickly as our scattered attention?

As you swipe your finger across the screen, partaking in this frenzy, how much have you spent on impulse online shopping? Between a tweet advocating for Israel or Hamas and an Instagram post where you distill your certainties as if they were universal truths, have you ever paused to consider the cost of it all?

I don’t just mean the financial toll of those impulse online buys, but the human and intellectual cost. The erosion of critical thought and empathy happens as we chase likes and followers, forgetting that the conflicts we treat so lightly have real consequences—lives lost, stories shattered.

Social media may have amplified our voice, but it has also magnified our stupidity and indifference. It turns us into emperors of empires of fools, oblivious that true wisdom begins with the acknowledgment of our own ignorance.

The real tragedy is not merely that the war in Ukraine has “flopped” in our collective consciousness. The true tragedy is that we’ve become so engrossed in our own narratives that we forget to question the price we’re truly paying. And that price is steep, measured not in clicks and likes, but in the degradation of our humanity and our increasing disconnect from reality.

As Giuliano da Empoli mentions in “Engineers of Chaos,” this digital landscape serves as a breeding ground for disseminating hatred, fear, and influencing outcomes far beyond elections. We are all, knowingly or unknowingly, participants in this chaotic engineering, forgetting that some costs are too high, even if they can’t be measured by our screens.

About the Author
As a Brazilian, Jewish, and humanist writer, I embody a rich cultural blend that influences my worldview and actions. Six years ago, I made the significant decision to move to Israel, a journey that not only connects me to my ancestral roots but also positions me as an active participant in an ongoing dialogue between the past, present, and future. My Latin American heritage and life in Israel have instilled a deep commitment to diversity, inclusion, and justice. Through my writing, I delve into themes of authoritarianism, memory, and resistance, aiming not just to reflect on history but to actively contribute to the shaping of a more just and equitable future. My work is an invitation for reflection and action, aspiring to advance human dignity above all.