OpEd: Guilt and the Daily Contribution to Terror

"Two years ago his sister was burned when she fell into the open cooking fire inside their mud hut. As he sat talking to to the US Army Special Forces Medic, he pleaded for help. One of his sister's hands had been burned to stubs; her face left with visible scars. The young girl's eyelids were no longer able to close; her family would place a cloth over her face at night so that she could sleep. There was no medical care available at the time of her accident; and now the damage was so severe that there was nothing that the Medic could do for her. Her fate was sealed.
Back home a group of people sits around a table at a local pub. They talk about politics, the problems of the world, the problems of America even though most have never left the country. As the conversation continues it strays to the new car, the house they want to buy, the cost of day care and Johnny's private school. With the arrival of their food comes another round of beer as the conversations continue. At last the evening begins to wind down, as they pay their tab, say good night, and drive home to the comfort of a clean sheets, thermostatically controlled heat and the relaxing grip of a down filled pillow.

... the consequential politics of a spoiled nation."
KGW Afghanistan