In the years of World War II, many people could tell you where our troops were that day, where they had been recently, and how easily they got from one place to another.

During the Vietnam War, my mother recalls having a grade school teacher give students daily updates about military operations and the number of troops that had died the previous day. It would seem that it was important to people that they knew what was happening with our troops overseas. So how does that sentiment compare to our modern war in Iraq and Afghanistan?

To me, our war today seems no less important, but much less comparable. Sure, we hear about something in the news every now and then about how many people were killed on a certain day or in a certain month, but it’s easier to change the channel than to sit through that “boring” stuff. This war is viewed much more apathetically by the average American citizen than any fought in the past. This is because it is not a war most of us can feel.

In World War II, citizens joined together to support the war effort. Rationing was widespread and the economy was converted almost entirely into an economy aimed at fulfilling war-driven needs. The average American family sacrificed so the war could be successful. But more importantly, they paid close attention to what was going on. Families crowded around the radio in the evening to hear daily war updates.

Vietnam resulted in similar cultural changes and unity; but it was unity opposed to the war, not in support. Young men were drafted and killed daily in a war in which most saw little hope. Most citizens, whether by choice or someone else’s control — such as children in school — continued a regular following of foreign events.

Most of us don’t feel the sting that a loved one’s death through combat brings — only about 3,000 American families have. Most of us don’t have to ration our food or give up commodities we prefer to enjoy. Eighteen-year-olds like myself do not have to worry about getting drafted into a situation of which we may be terrified. Just about the only semi-difficult thing we have had to face is the rise in gas prices, which is still nothing compared to the rest of the world and not even entirely because of the war.

We seem to feel this war much less as a culture because we are so comfortable. We can watch the nightly news, hear an update about the suffering and casualties in Iraq and then go out to eat with friends and maybe see a movie — that is, if we even pay attention to the news in the first place. I know a lot of people who couldn’t tell you the first thing about what’s going on in the world. It would seem much of our society does not have time for this war, so we pass it off as just another snippet in the news and for many, it is another excuse to despise our government.

I am no less guilty than anyone else. I will admit that it’s easy to divide parts of my experience as an American citizen into an “emotional box” while I watch the news and then quickly move on to something else. So what can we do? I think it is enough to at least try and spend some time each day sending thoughts and prayers toward our troops. In addition, there are countless ways to actively show your concern. You can send care baskets to the troops or make unified cries for peace; all of which are available and possible on and at a local level. Either way, we are the only ones who can keep ourselves from falling into that tempting state of apathy and transform ours into a culture that can show a little more concern for the world.

Matt Weir is an opinion columnist for the Northern Star.