Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia bloody invaded Ukraine. And a lot of people don’t care enough.

Me on the other hand? I probably care too much. I have a stress headache and a stress fever. It’s one of those things I’ve gotten used to. I’ve had them on and off since 2020 and it’s a raging pain right now.

I’m not going to share the facts because you probably know them by now— and if you don’t, spend a couple hours reading about it. Everyone should be preparing for the possibility of a third world war. A possibility once as unlikely as a global pandemic upending the world economy. We are now staring this latest man-made catastrophe straight in the barrel, watching a heartless monster pull the trigger.

But of all the many articles I’ve read today, this is the most important one: Nurses Are Sharing The Last Words People Have Said On Their Deathbed, And They Range From Witty To Tragic To Profound.

Some may say it has literally nothing to do with Russia; indeed, it’s probably trending on Buzzfeed because it’s a cute and powerful article that has nothing to do with the terrifying and desolate horror that is world politics.

But to me, it is everything. Life is everything. And it’s all we should be talking about. More than 13,000 people have died in the fighting in Ukraine already.

I am not naive. I have worked for the federal government. I studied national security and international law at Georgetown. I have written about these issues for years.

But there is no more complex point than this: Death is bad. People are going to die. We should be preventing it.

This is our moment. What the U.S. and the European Union do now will shape democracy for the next hundred years. The world doesn’t recover from war easily.

Two months ago, I sat in a small restaurant on the Italian border with Switzerland, eating cacio-e-pepe, and talking with Europeans about the possibility of a world war. It felt very 1900s and I don’t think we’ve learned any lessons.

“We” is no longer the people in our country. It’s people everywhere. People with lives and desires and families. And we are definitely at war now.

Even if we’re only worried about ourselves, Putin won’t stop with Ukraine. China won’t stop with the Uyghurs. Nazis won’t stop with one race. This isn’t 1938. We should know appeasement doesn’t work.

In fact, the head of Russia’s National Guard said, “We don’t have a border with Ukraine — we have a border with America.” Does he think they’re invading the U.S.? Are we going to stand by and let that happen?

I suspect we’ll say, as we usually do, “Hey, Ukraine’s not America. Those aren’t Americans. You can kill whomever you want because we don’t care about anyone who isn’t American.”

Then in ten years, will we be sewing for the war effort, treating chemical weapon wounds, and preparing for a nuclear holocaust? I can’t confidently say no anymore.

But here are the few things I do know for sure:

1. Words of solidarity and support are the thoughts and prayers of the diplomatic world. (Send aid. Send boots on the ground. Cut off Russia from all avenues of free trade. Fight back.)
2. This should always have been about protecting the largest number of lives. Not money. Not political posturing. Not territory.
3. Economic sanctions aren’t going to be enough.

This is our moment. You can’t put a price on life. You can’t put a price on freedom. What the U.S. and the European Union do now will shape democracy for the next hundred years. The world doesn’t recover from war easily.

I don’t want the possibility of world war to be one more thing — like late-stage capitalism, like the failures of our democracy, like the pandemic — where we need to stand up and help each other and take care of ourselves.

While governments around the world stand by and let people die.

Today, I have many questions swirling in my head as I check up on my Ukrainian friends who range from despondent to dazed. Would Putin have invaded if America had put boots on the ground at the border? Why didn’t our decision on whether or not to include Ukraine in NATO come down to simply protecting people? What point was there in Biden pretending he listened to young supporters when he left Afghanistan to the Taliban, hasn’t forgiven student loans, and fails to protect our allies? And why does it feel like I’m in the lone few who wants to talk about human lives? Haven’t we lost enough of them?

But no one seems to care. It’s all about complex international laws, the costs to a weakening European Union, and a dozen bureaucrats who will sleep in warm, safe beds tonight. In the States, this has already become a Democrat versus Republican squabble— there have been calls of Biden’s “impotence” from the right, while the White House refuses to use the word “invasion” because “Russia has had forces in the Donbas for the past eight years.” (Of course, that sounds to me like they invaded eight years ago. But what do I know? I’m only a writer. Words have meanings to us.)

I hope I’m writing a retraction in two days. Perhaps Biden will do something. I certainly hope he will. Back when I volunteered for his campaign, way back when I worked as a government attorney, and way way back when I considered joining the U.S. armed forces, it was that hope that drove my work. A hope dashed in the long-forgotten years of a patriotic past.

Maybe I expect too much of the U.S. and our allies but I believe we could have stopped this if we wanted to. We still can.