Wars and Rumors of Wars

Fresh bedclothes, clean with that vaguely floral scent of laundry soap. I tug the fitted sheet over the fat, blunt corner of the bed, stretching the elastic hem and then tucking it under, saying to myself, "The anxiety that comes when it seems the whole world is heading toward war is part of the energy that allows the conflict to take place."

"The fascination with war and the feeling of helpless inevitability that accompanies the build-up are part and parcel of the same process," I continue, carefully evening out the top sheet and executing the fold my father taught me that keeps the foot of it in place. "Therefore, the only way to avoid adding to it is to notice it happening in oneself and recognize that there is nothing inevitable about the process, that rationality may yet prevail, and that, at the very least, one should not contribute further to the unhappy situation by worrying about things over which one has very little control."