Being human is hard. Being observant, possibly even harder. The hardest thing of all is caring. I care a lot, but all of us are breakable. That’s not making an excuse, because I know I could have been better, done better.
The only way the USA could have done worse in Afghanistan is if we had gone full scorched earth. Instead, we promised, and promised, and pretended, and pretended, that 20 years would be enough. And then we just walked away while most of us remained completely oblivious. A few of us blamed the Democrats. The people actually paying attention, the ones who tried and failed. Well, we are all angry at the broken promises and the return of the savage barbarians.
This is how empires fall. Our empire is crumbling while we refuse to see the man with no legs begging for a better existence. We would have to be able to see our own problems to solve the problems of another nation-state. We are going in the wrong direction.
This is me being honest about my journey. I’m haunted by my failures. I am haunted by the man with no legs.
Audio Memory #2