Leaders Are Playing With WW3
- Jan 9
- 7 min read
Article Type: Fact & Opinion
Article Type: Fact & Opinion
Disclaimer: This article contains a mixture of facts, supported by 3rd party references, and constructive opinions of the author. These are meant to be done in a thought-provoking and non-confrontational way. If you disagree, that’s okay, just be kind in your responses.
You're gambling with World War 3! - "President" Donald Trump
Introduction
The world seems to be in a perpetual state of conflict. From minor fights on streets over a beer to gang battles to skirmishes on borders to full-blown wars, conflict and death are as omnipresent on Earth as oxygen. That evil presence appears to be growing once again in a first of its kind escalation since World War 2, beginning with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This is creating a new level of uncertainty and instability in the world that can easily usher in a new era of global peril.
New Rhetoric, Ancient Outcomes
“You’re gambling with world war three,” President Donald Trump sardonically said to Ukrainian President Zelensky as I watched, jaw agape and in utter disbelief. That was in mid 2025 at a meeting in the Oval Office. The comment was made after J.D. Vance dropped a bombshell comment that took a relatively calm meeting and spun it into a debacle as the entire world watched. Some cheered at the disention it allowed, but I believe that most shook their heads in dismay. Allies fighting visibly instead of working together sets a tone that is then easily taken advantage of by their enemies.
Ukraine isn't the only area of the world impacted by this type of action. Since taking office, Donald Trump has repeatedly made comments such as, “I think we will take Greenland. Maybe by force, I don’t know. We’ll see.” Whether any real action comes from it or not, at a minimum this puts allies on high alert and destroys decades of work on maintaining peace and developing a network of allied nations. The United States has a military base on Greenland already and had, before Trump's comments, enjoyed a good relationship with Greenland and Denmark.
Trump hasn't stopped there, though. He also made comments such as, “Canada will be the 51st state.” Why is such a comment necessary? It sows distrust with a long-standing ally.
With all of these, Donald Trump is pushing the United States toward exiting NATO and losing all of its allies. This would be disastrous not only for the United States, but for the entire world and the level of relative peace that has been enjoyed for decades.
Then on January 3, 2026, the United States attacked Venezuela and captured Nicolas Maduro. Now, we can debate the legitimacy of Maduro and how terrible a leader he is, but it the fundamental issue here surrounds the United States invading and capturing a foreign leader is within its right. One country ultimately should not have the right to interfere in another's sovereignty, no matter what's happening within that country's borders.
If we expand this beyond the United States, there are other countries doing similar things, albiet with more subtelty or in a differing fashion. China, for instance, has made it clear that Taiwan will become a part of China. If China follows through, this alone could start a new world war just based on countries who have defense agreements with Taiwan and those who have similar with China. There are also some reports that China is preparing to take land from Russia, which would spark a very different conflict.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is ongoing only because of indirect assistance being given to Ukraine from NATO nations. Had NATO nations stayed out of the conflict, I believe that the war would have ended within weeks. Russia's reasoning has been debated plenty, and ultimately it is my opinion that it was senseless and has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths among other impacts.
Small Aggravations, Big Losses
Many wars have been started from a series of small aggravations. Tresspassing. Insults. Differences of opinion. Expressing desires. Big ego's making comments rather than controlling their thoughts. All of these individually may be mere annoyances, but added up they can lead to conflicts and potentially wars.
To use a real example today, Trump is announcing very aggressively that he wants to annex Greenland for security reasons. But, why? We already have a military base there. They are already allies. Wouldn't a better approach be to work with Greenland and Denmark, and ultimately all of NATO, to expand security in the region while allowing each country to maintain its sovereignty? War could easily be avoided. New opportunities could be created. Instead, our leaders seem hellbent on conflict and war instead of progress.
Has The World Learned Nothing?
Humanity has come a long way since the founding of the United States. Yet, for some reason, humanity hasn't found a way to take the horrors of war and abolish them. We have yet to find a way to create a lasting peaceful and productive world society.
Why is that?
History is replete with leaders that have enormous egos, deadly visions, and a bully's attitude that want to solidfy their place in history books. From ancient emperors wanting to expand their empires, to the expansionism of America's early days, the result is always the same: lives lost, progress lost. Just like we study math, science, art, and more, humanity needs to find a way to make history classes incorporate lessons on the impacts of decisions, of morality and ehtics if we are to learn and stop this madness.
Death Toll For Major Wars Since 1900
World Wars
World War 1: 16,000,000 - 20,000,000
World War 2: 70,000,000 - 85,000,000
Early 20th Century
Mexican Revolution: 1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Russian Civil War: 7,000,000 - 12,000,000
Chinese Civil War: 6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Second Sino-Japanese War: 15,000,000 - 25,000,000
Cold Wars
Korean War: 2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Vietnam War: 2,000,000 - 3,500,000
Cambodian Civil War: 1,700,000 - 2,200,000
Rwandan Genocide: 800,000 - 1,000,000
2nd Congo War: 3,000,000 - 5,400,000
Syrian Civil War: 620,000+
Invasion of Ukraine: 500,000+
The list above is not a complete list. Look up additional wars and their impacts on your own. But, for a moment, add up the numbers above. That's a huge impact. It's a huge waste of life. Imagine yourself having to go through the horrors of any of those wars, especially World War 2. Imagine now getting notified every day of family or friends that have been killed. Imagine ancilary impacts such as job losses, hunger, rising disease rates, medicines being unabel to be delivered, and more. Who wants to go through that?
What Could World War 3 Look Like?
Although no one truly knows what World War 3 would look like and it's impact, it's pretty easy to guess what would happen. There are countless books, shows, movies, and more that have all taken a stab at that impact. In Star Trek: First Contact, Commander Riker said ". . . 600 million dead . . . very few governments left . . ." Other shows have estimated "30% of the population dead," which would mean 2.4 billion people (based on 8 billion as of January 9, 2026). At either level, it's unacceptable.
I cannot stress enough that we all must avoid World War 3. We have to work every day to create a peaceful world and ensure that World War 3 never happens. Why? Well, lots of reasons, but if nothing else, just look at the impact that 2 atomic bombs had on Japan. Yes, they ended the war in the Pacific, but look at the impact. That was the beginning of nuclear capability. Now imagine that multiplied by all the countries that have nuclear weapons today, and the number of nuclear weapons. Just hitting major cities alone will result in billions worldwide being murdered.
Yes, I said it: murdered. War is not an excuse for it being okay to kill. It's still murder that is happening, just on a broader scale.
Albert Einstein famously said, "I know not with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stone." I tend to believe that to be true given the impact that just 1 nuclear weapon can have.
War ultimately means that humanity has not evolved. We have failed to learn. We have failed to become greater than those who lived thousands of years ago. We must do better.
Tomorrow’s Impact
When politicians like "President" Donald Trump and "Vice President" J.D. Vance make hostile statements that suggest the United States will forcefully take over another country, and especially a protectorate of a NATO ally, it puts others on an immediate defensive. This is akin to a essentially telling your friend that you're going to take his house and he'll no longer own it.
A single comment can turn an ally into a future, or potentially instant, enemy. A single comment can also turn an enemy into an active combatant.
Wars should ultimately be fought by those who started it, not by the people they lead. If Donald Trump wants Greenland, then he can go himself into the boxing ring and do it alone.
I am extremely fearful that the future impacts of everything going on today could lead us to World War 3. Whether that's in the next few years or a decade away, we all must work together to de-escalate and reset the world with a renewed peace.
I can really only speak for myself when I say, I do not want to see the United States, nor any other country, involved in yet another war. I personally will not fight in a war, nor will I allow my children to go to war either. Just because some politician with an ego makes a declaration doesn't mean that I'm going to participate. If some hostile force attacked United States soil, then that would be different. But I will not go off and fight for a king or politician I've never met. I will not go off and fight, be injured or die, for a king or politician who started a senseless battle.
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