Reading books has seldom let me down. I can almost always distract myself from my day-to-day problems or other bad news by escaping for a while into another world via a novel or a well-written piece of historical nonfiction. Today that is not possible...and I don't know when, or even if, it will be possible again.
I am devastated by what is happening in Afghanistan right now, especially the needless slaughter that took place at the Kabul airport this morning. Dozens of people, including an unknown number of American soldiers, are dead. For nothing.
I pray for the families of all of the people who were murdered in Kabul this morning, but my heart and my spirit are truly broken at the moment.
It is so heartbreaking! I watch the news and I end up in tears. And it's only going to get worse for the people of Afghanistan. It makes me so sad.
ReplyDeleteIt's just unnecessary; didn't have to happen this way. That's what really kills me.
DeleteThe needlessness of all of this is what makes it so hard to watch. And what makes me so angry! Because it didn't have to happen. At all.
DeleteI'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone stays safe for the next three days, and that not too many people are left behind. I dread to think what happens to those left behind as soon as we are gone.
DeleteAs you know, I don't watch the news, but I have still heard about how horrific it is. The world is "too much with me" and seems like it has been for getting close to two years. Thank you for writing this.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, Nan, I feel like becoming a hermit, just finding a spot somewhere in the middle of nowhere and quietly living out the rest of my life completely oblivious to what the crazies are doing to destroy each other.
DeleteThat may have been a hippie ethos. And there are still a lot of us around who try to live a good life, close to the earth without too much regard for the news of the day. I just feel that it is beyond my emotional capability to be dealing with personal situations and then adding on the horrific stuff that goes on in the world. I am going to write a blog entry about something that happened today that is something very good in the world. It may be tomorrow.
DeleteI think lots of us are numb to the reality of the brutal world we live in right now. Thirty years ago I found myself in a similar situation in Algeria while that country tore itself to pieces...with tribal fighting, thousands of innocents being slaughtered, and foreigners kidnapped and beheaded on a regular basis. Even during the years I lived there, it was hard to comprehend how people could do that to each other.
DeleteNews is hard to watch or read of late. I can only absorb so much- and then I let my husband fill me in on what he's seen. So far away, so useless I feel to do anything- it just eats a hole in my heart to hear of the suffering and devastation.
ReplyDeleteThe images are devastating, Jeane. The children...the panic...the waste of lives.
DeleteIt's unbearable to watch what's happening in Afghanistan. 60 dead today I gather, including 12 American soldiers, for nothing. ISK, a breakaway group opposed to the Taliban, responsible. To me they're all power crazy to the point of insanity. No humanity at all. And I can't even begin to say what I think of our role in all of this.
ReplyDelete"Unbearable" is exactly right, Cath. I"m not a particularly religious person, and all this killing in the name of religion is completely absurd to me. I don't even believe it has anything to do with religion anymore...just pure power and hatred of "the other." I'm embarrassed by the US role in this travesty.
DeleteA horrible, sad situation for sure.
ReplyDeleteWithout end, Susan. Hundreds of years of this kind of fighting each other have taught us nothing.
DeleteSadly, it has been a tragedy for 20 years. And it will still be a tragedy once we are gone. We should never have been there in the first place. James Taylor's song "Far Afghanistan" expresses it very well.
ReplyDeleteI think we went in for good reason 20 years ago, but should have been out of there in a year or so when it became obvious that the original mission was largely accomplished. It is worse today than ever, and our grandchildren and their children will pay the price for decades to come, long after those responsible are dead and gone.
DeleteA terrible day. The Talaban is as awful as they ever were and I feel so bad for the Afghan people and for the brave US soldiers who died trying to help people get on planes to safety.
ReplyDeleteThose soldiers were there in a role they were unfamiliar with and one during which they could not possibly protect themselves and others effectively. Such a waste of life today...soldiers and civilians alike.
DeleteHuman behavior never seems to change much. I had high hopes of getting out without an attack, but when it did, I couldn't read beyond the headlines. Don't even want to know what will happen next.
ReplyDeleteI hate to think how much worse this can still get, and probably will. But, frankly, I am still finding it difficult to concentrate on anything other than this situation right now.
DeleteI thank you for raising my awareness of this tragedy. Since Covid started I have tried to follow the news more just to stay aware, but had not realized the extent of the damage and loss of lives. The whole situation in Afghanistan is appalling.
ReplyDeleteTracy, I'm still finding it difficult to concentrate on anything while all of this is playing itself out. Three days to go now...and then I'm afraid that the real slaughter begins. It is discouraging.
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