The war in Afghanistan has been going on for nine years. It took me a moment to absorb that number so I think it bears repeating: nine years. It’s the longest war we’ve ever fought. Interestingly, the Soviet War in Afghanistan lasted nine years. In the 1980’s the Soviets were fighting the Mujahideen who got help from the United States because our country hated the Soviet Union then as much as we hate the Mujahideen now.
Anyway, while we’re fighting the longest war in our history, 3-4% of the voters in the recent midterm elections listed the war in Afghanistan as an important factor in their vote. Why is this? Are we exhausted by it? Are we bored? Confused? Or maybe we ignore war in the same way we ignore other complicated, painful topics – like our mortality. Let’s face it, certain topics make us feel bad and are terrible for cocktail parties. Whatever the reason, it seems like we’ve changed the channel on the war.
The screamedia does us no favors when it comes to fixing our attention on the war. This week they spent more time flapping their lips about Obama’s trip to India then anything happening on the ground in Afghanistan. This is just the latest example of news as entertainment although I think it’s time we buried that phrase since the popular news programs are hardly entertaining. That’s a bit like calling it entertaining to watch a car wreck. Just because you can’t take your eyes off it doesn’t mean it’s entertaining.
Nine years of war, nine Veteran’s Days. I’d like to put the nine presidential speeches commemorating the day next to each other to see what’s changed, to see what we’ve learned in that time, to see what we’ve accomplished and at what cost. And maybe most importantly to see where we’re headed and what we are hoping to achieve now.
I would hate to think that Veteran’s Day shoulders the bulk of the attention we pay to our veterans and active military personnel. But with 3-4% of voters basing their decisions on Afghanistan it’s hard not to feel like too many of us are ignoring the war. Here's one way not to: help public school students whose parents are in the military. http://www.donorschoose.org/colbert-wants-you
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