ABSTRACT
There was a time when war was close to a “spectator sport,” and civilians could observe battles without fear of harm. Those days, needless to say, are long past. At the time of World War I, only 5% of the victims of war were civilians. By World War II, the comparable figure was 50%; in the Vietnam War, civilian casualties were estimated at 80–90%, and upward of 95% of the victims of current wars are civilians. Thus, earlier conventions which protected civilians, including children, no longer exist. This change has been accompanied by a shift from direct soldier-to-soldier confrontation to release of weapons from a distance: The push of a button can now send weapons many miles away to unseen targets and wreak “collateral damage” rather than “kill people.” Distance no longer protects us. Knowledge of this allows the possibility of war and concern over becoming a war casualty to pervade the everyday lives of those who are geographically distant from war and conflict.
