Nothing to Lose

Recently, most of us have heard of the developments in Afghanistan. Our departure from a near twenty year war.  I explained to our sixteen year old, heading into her junior year of high school, the reason for the U.S. trained Afghan Army's seemingly failure to 'hold'... well any line of protection. Yes, failure or so one would think.

Instead I told her, "It wasn't a failure. My take is that it was the will of men in a culture who do NOT want women to become anymore than what they already were, and less than that."  Indeed, that is what I told her.

I continued, "And we have the same people, the same men here who are white who share the same ideology as the Taliban.  The difference is, here the men who think this way may know they have something to lose. They are not those like in the Middle East who only know constant conflict and feel they have nothing to lose."

If you have nothing to lose, then you're more willing to think about death as if it's a natural phenomenon for you. And you will most likely be willingly to do anything for pride, personal elevation, or any sort including but not necessarily money.

How would I know this? Because I've had many years in my life where I felt I had little or nothing to lose. It's freeing, yet filled with some kind of torture.  Still even now, only my conscience prevents me from acting out as if I have nothing to lose.

So I can tell you what that feels like. The feeling where you are disposable at any moment and no one will ever miss your presence.  This is something the American people need to consider when they vote or think to go to war.---Semper Fidelis,  Jody-Lynn Reicher