Are We in World War 3?

Ukraine vs. Russia

China vs. Taiwan

Israel and America vs. Iran

There is a slew of other countries either actively fighting or close to is with each other. At what point do we call this what it is? World War III. Countries not involved are talking about what side to take. Allies are being called on. Some countries are fighting multiple other countries. 

I am a history fan. I love it. My favorite time period is around the founding of the USA. Zach's favorite time period is WWII. As I read about world conflicts in the news there keep popping up references to the World Wars. The similarities list is growing. If we are not there yet, we are knocking on the door. Just think about how WWII started. Trump, Putin and Xi are frequently compared to Hitler, Mussilini and friends. There is a reason for that. 

With all the countries sending weapons and the new ways to fight wars. With all the attempts and peace deals. It all makes me wonder. Why isn't this being called WWIII? What would be different to change that labeling? Can't we say the event that started this was Russia's stubbornly failed attempt to take Ukraine? No? Why wasn't the kidnapping of Israeli citizens equivalent to the killing of Archduke Ferdinand? 

The Allies vs. Axis sides are different now. Who would side with whom is different. Although, when American and Russia should be enemies in WWIII Trump seems more like a Russian Ally. We don't want WWIII. But denying that's what this is. That doesn't mean it's not happening. Actually, by not forming those formal alliances and joint battle plans we are making the chaotic mess unmanageable. They won't end without those alliances in place. When all countries and one side are in sync. We are supposedly fighting Israel's war as allied support. Somehow, Israel has become the support. It's WWIII. 

The current status of these nations is on my mind as I think of my ancestry and Duolingo. My love of history adds wealth to my ancestry and the languages I am learning. How the statuses of countries like Germany have gone from enemy to ally. My ancestry has always been an interest. I am embarrassed that we still had distant family in Italy during WWII. I have been learning a bunch of languages in Duolingo. I complete a unit in one language than move on to the next. I recently added two languages. All of the languages I am learning have a connection to me. 

Spanish - I learned it in school and so use it sometimes. The familiarity is comforting. We also had ancestors on my dad's side land in Northern Ireland on the Spanish Armada, so I have Spanish blood too. 

French - "Pourquoi" was my first word (why? Je ne sais pas (I don't know)) with dance, it also provides the comfort of familiarity. 

Chinese - Zach has been learning it in school. I added it for a challenge but it's something we bond over. He won't be talking it in school next year. But he said he will continue it on duo to not lose it. It gets frustrating but the challenge and bonding is good for me. 

Italian - I have talked about my Great-grandpa Rocco. Joe DiMaggio's tailor in a previous post. I can feel the connection to my family as I do these lessons. More comfort. 

Irish - my strongest heritage on all sides is my Irish heritage. Gaelic has always interested me. So, I decided to add this yesterday. It's hard but fun. It's the same familial connection as Italian. The same comfort. Linking me to them. 

German - This is the complicated one and the one that makes me think of WWII and WWIII. Josh's family is mostly German ancestry. Like my Italian side, only distant relatives in Germany during WWII. His dad was stationed in Germany during Vietnam, so he knows a little German. Josh has had a curiosity about it so, I suggested we do it together. Something to bond over. A comfort (odd since it is German). English is actually a Germanic language so there is a lot more in common than you'd think.

It turns out, I might have German ancestry. 

The original side is combining my dad's than my mom's ancestry.com tests, the parts that there is only one of them with. The 45% and 6% is my mom's percentage of the same thing my dad has. This was done over a decade ago. 

So, Scandinavia and Finland were part of Germania before the Celts took Germania. But there is more. Germany itself is in Western Europe. I have Ancestors that spoke a Germanic language (Norwegian most likely and Finnish) and might myself have German ancestors. 

 That's my calculations for what I am. If you pull out a map you can see, we weren't big on long distance travel. The only real surprise was European Jewish. I am curious about how that happened, but I carry that less than 0.5% with pride! Shalom! 

My Italian grandma (Rocco's daughter) used to say, "we're from Southern Italy, the best part!" She insisted we were the part that was superior to the lesser top of the boot. It's also the part furthest from Germany (and not the part Caesar was governor of) so, I have hope they were WWII allied sympathizers. I have always been curious about why that was considered so much more refined than the top of the boot. Probably the Caesar thing.