January 19, 2026 – This morning’s grocery run was interrupted by the following upsetting NPR story: “Families of Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza Are Retrieving Sperm from their Bodies.” The idea is to make babies posthumously—to seize a bit of life out of tragedy.

I get the anguish of the families who have lost sons who are barely out of their childhood. I have sons who are in their thirties. I don’t think I could handle losing one of them. So, I suppose there is some solace in the wish for a grandchild to carry on for the child. What wouldn’t I do to make that happen?

But let’s back up. Why aren’t we preserving the lives of the soldiers so there’s no need to collect their sperm posthumously? Why do we need a consolation prize for their sacrifice in the first place?

This post is not about the horrific Gaza war. It goes way beyond.

It is an indictment of world leaders who think nothing of sacrificing the lives of their young people—for security that remains forever out of reach, for material wealth that enriches only the elite, for “spiritual” goals that reward only after death.

And it is an indictment of us that we accept the sacrifice and restrict our resistance to the fight for sperm or embryos—not for those who live and struggle to make a good life today. It’s always about tomorrow, never about today. It’s about the future of civilization and not about homes and food and safety and community.

What about the living? And why do we let our politicians get away with what they do to us in our name.

Shouldn’t these soldiers have the chance to meet a partner, make plans, have careers, see the birth of their children, grow with their kids as dads, and see their own grandchildren? Their lives are not resurrected by posthumously harvesting their sperm.

Even the word makes us into little more than agricultural products.

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