Thursday, October 1, 2026
The past few weeks have been very distressing for the few of us who have had any experience living in America when a real war took place. There is no doubt that we are not in the middle of a world war in Iran, but that conflict has all the earmarks of a happening that will trigger years of violence that could hit extremely close to our country.
I’m not an expert on military issues. I have no doubt that Iran is a major threat to the world, and every possible step should be taken to curb its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. I believe that Israel should be protected from a country that has pledged to wipe it off the map. But we must understand that there are consequences to these wars, and we should be aware of them. The problem is no one is telling us whether we should be concerned and why.
Iran isn’t just some crazy faraway country like Afghanistan, where a war took place that didn’t represent any kind of serious threat to America. During the American military involvement in that country, no one ever stopped me on the street to express fears about the “Afghanistan war.” Even though we deployed thousands of our troops in that country, there was no concern on the part of our government that it could spill over into our country.
In the case of Iran, we are dealing with a bunch of idealogues who are not capable of being fully contained. History shows us that Iran enters into peace agreements and breaks its word almost immediately. Even If this current war ends on some type of settlement, there are other consequences that our nation should be aware of. What are they?
In the past month, there have been two incidents involving people who were true believers. In one, a man drove a truck into a Michigan synagogue in an effort to kill Jews. Luckily, that temple had gone through training programs that prepared it for such an event. The war has stirred up further incidents of antisemitism.
The proof that the Iran incursion isn’t a faraway event is what we have been experiencing at the gas pump. When you pick a fight in the Middle East, lots of things happen. The war is having worldwide consequences. As energy costs go up, prices on all types of goods go up. No one is telling us what the long-range plan is to blunt price increases.
There are not too many people around now who can talk about what it’s like to live in our country when there was a real war. As an 8-year-old boy, I experienced what happens when a country is at war. We had blackout shades in our house to protect us in the event of an air raid. Food was rationed and our neighbors became wardens in the event that faraway battle reached us in some way. Luckily, we had President Franklin Roosevelt to assure us that all would be well.
The war in Iran is far away from our country, and there won’t be any air raid sirens. But we have a lot to be concerned about because of the events now taking place thousands of miles from this nation. We are dealing with a different type of enemy and must be aware of that. The zealots who embrace Iran can be found anywhere.
There is no reason for us to start hiding in our homes, nor to curtail our daily activities. But we have to be aware of what is going on on this planet and get the comfort that we deserve. We should question our representatives in Washington on what steps are being taken to keep us away from harm. It would help heal the divide over this new war.
There is no politics to this story. Our leaders, whether Clinton, Bush, Obama or Trump, must tell us what they want our wars to accomplish and what steps they are going to take to limit our pain. That’s not asking too much.
Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He currently chairs the Capitol Insight Group, a government relations firm. Comments? jkremer@liherald.com.
