["Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people." -- Carl Jung]
["The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances. If there is any reaction, both are transformed." -- Carl Jung]
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Along with some updates on Afghanistan, the big news today may seem to be merely a formality: The FDA has officially approved the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. But this matters.
The delta variant continues to mess with those who are unvaccinated, but the much-hyped risk of "breakthrough" cases among the rest of us is minuscule. Beyond remaining extra vigilant for the safety of immunocompromised people, we desperately need to continue to emerge from isolation and resume our pursuit of normal life.
In doing so, it's vital that we live our lives fully and with integrity. We need to live honestly.
Yesterday's "Letter From Helmand" stirred up a lot of emotions for me and for several others who read it and I especially appreciate the positive comments some left on Facebook.
But I failed to make one important point yesterday and for reminding me of this I am indebted to Punit Saurab.
A major part of the reason the Hazara people are so discriminated against in Afghanistan is that they are Shia Moslems whereas most Afghans are Sunni. That split among the religion's followers remains a fierce dividing line in much, though not all of the Islamic world.
During my time in Afghanistan, I found the Sunni-Shia divide less intense than in other places, i.e., in the Middle East, but it still was and is a factor in the case of the Hazara.
One final note on this for now. Behind the scenes, four people (M, A, L and S) helped me evaluate and manage the process of extending protection to our friend in Helmand while establishing my blog as a channel for him to get his impressions of life under Taliban rule out to the larger world.
Those of you who did that know who you are, and I am grateful to you.
خدا همیشه به شما برکت دهد
***
For anyone who does not already know this, and that is most of you, everything I post at Facebook is actually a reprint of what I've posted earlier at my personal blog page: <https://hotweir.blogspot.com>.
Unlike at Facebook, my blog is ad-supported, so theoretically at least, it could evolve into a revenue source for me, though it is not at present because nobody goes there. In addition, the full archives of my 4,000+ blog posts over the past 15+ years reside there and are freely accessible.
I used to keep this private but now it is public.
Over 3,300 of my posts have never appeared on Facebook. But for those that are appearing on Facebook these days, there are links to the news stories that I include in my daily roundups. (Facebook strips out those links.)
Facebook artificially caps my audience at 5,000 for its own purposes. My blog theoretically could reach anyone with Internet access. But people have to choose to go there.
In case it sounds like I am dissing Facebook, I am not. It has been a wonderful platform for me to connect with new people during the pandemic, and I treasure those relationships. The function that allows people to leave "likes" and hearts is fabulous -- those gestures matter and I'll tell you why.
The majority of my career I never knew who was reading my articles unless people sent letters or found a way to contact me through other means. At Facebook when you add a "like," I can see your name and that is heartening.
In a world too stunted by anonymity, communicating using our real names is refreshing and one of the true benefits of Internet-based interactive media. In all of this, interactivity is the key. I don't wish as a journalist or a person to have the last word on the issues I write about. My desire is to start conversations, not finish them.
In the near future, I will also be adding a subscription option for those who wish to support my writing directly. But I also will preserve the free option because I know some people cannot afford to pay for content or are opposed to doing so.
***
Like any editor, I choose my headlines carefully. The headline on this particular entry, "Why Do I Write?" needs an answer but I haven't gotten to it yet.
I don't write just to start conversations or to be of service or because I am addicted to the news and to the beauty of language.
I write because I lost part of myself somewhere in the past and I don't know when or how or why this happened or whether I am ever going to find it again.
From time to time an image comes up for me -- a void, a hole, an empty place. Something in a book or a movie strikes a note and an old awareness of what is missing begins vibrating within me again.
I know I am not alone in this but it has become palpably visceral during these past few weeks.
I draw a bright line between virtual life and real life, and that distinction *is* important right now, because many of us are just trying to re-emerge from isolation to seek real and meaningful connections in our lives.
It is much easier to hide behind masks in virtual life -- there is always the option to escape and immerse yourself in the fantasy that things are okay when in fact things are not okay.
Real life is incredibly dangerous and I don't mean only in the literal sense of what our beautiful friends in Afghanistan are facing. Confronting their situation and that of everyone who is vulnerable to violence and oppression is an important reminder of how lucky we are by comparison.
And if there is one enduring theme to my work throughout my career it has been to give voice to the voiceless as well as to hold accountable those who are taking away those voices.
But a secondary and more personal theme is the importance of seeking connection with others. And as we attempt to do that, in the real world, we open ourselves up to another type of danger, which is rejection.
To share your innermost thoughts and feelings with another leaves you incredibly vulnerable.
There are those who believe we fall in love not so much with each other's strengths as with our vulnerabilities. If true, this is the better part of our humanity -- to want to help another as they reach for their dreams, escape the trap they are in, and to find meaning in their life.
But by truly opening up to do this, you run the risk of allowing your own equally important dreams, traps and quests for meaning to go unattended.
Because in order to love, you need to be loved back. It can't be one-sided. Otherwise life turns out to be an empty journey.
And for those of you who are not journalists, that is what we call 'burying the lead.'
***
THE HEADLINES:
* Firefight involving Western forces erupts amid Kabul airport evacuation chaos (Reuters)
* Chaos Persists at Kabul Airport as Taliban Discuss New Government -- The militants have engaged the former officials Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, as well as Moscow, to seek help in building an “inclusive” government while cementing their rule. (NYT)
* Biden says safe zone around Kabul airport to expand as U.S. airlines enlisted for evacuations -- The operational shift comes as U.S. commanders gear up for what officials hope will be a dramatic acceleration of evacuations from Afghanistan in the coming days. (WP)
* Biden touted Sunday the surging number of Afghanistan evacuations carried out so far by the United States, but acknowledged that such a massive operation does not come “without pain and loss.” The White House said the U.S. has evacuated about 35,500 people since July. [HuffPost]
* Analysis: China, Pakistan, India jockey for position in Afghanistan's new Great Game (Reuters)
* Did the War in Afghanistan Have to Happen? -- In 2001, when the Taliban were weak and ready to surrender, the U.S. passed on a deal. Nearly 20 years later, the Taliban hold all the cards. (NYT)
* Taliban fighters head to resistance stronghold, seeking to seize ‘control’ (WP)
* VIDEO: How the U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks led to decades of war. -- Officials who drove the decades-long war in Afghanistan look back on the strategic mistakes and misjudgments that led to a 20-year quagmire. (Retro Report)
* VIDEO: Crowds Continue to Surge at Kabul Airport (Reuters)
* ISIS Poses ‘Acute’ Threat to U.S. Evacuation Efforts in Kabul, National Security Advisor Says (NYT)
* Dozens of Afghan Americans marched in Fremont on Saturday in support of refugees, demanding that the Kabul airport be kept open past the Aug. 31 deadline. (KQED)
* The Taliban's Rise Is Complicating Biden's Efforts To Close Guantánamo's Prison (NPR)
* Taliban issue death sentence for brother of Afghan translator who helped U.S. (CNN)
* U.S. regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (FDA)
* Third Pfizer dose significantly lowers risk of infection in seniors, Israeli data shows (WP)
* Will the Pandemic Make Los Angeles More Pedestrian-Friendly? (California Today)
* Because of growing Covid concerns, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival in San Francisco will not be held in person for the second year in a row. (SFGate)
* Phil Valentine, a conservative radio host and vaccine skeptic who said he wouldn’t get vaccinated because he had a “low risk” of getting COVID-19 and dying from it, has died after being hospitalized with the disease, his employer said. A statement from his family at the time of his hospitalization said his illness led him to have second thoughts about the vaccines’ significance and encouraged people to “go get vaccinated.” [HuffPost]
* Across much of California, Covid-19 vaccination rates are significantly lower among law enforcement than the rest of the population. (The Guardian).
* Portland protests descend into violence as left- and right-wing demonstrators clash (WP)
* A Tidal Wave of Water and at Least 22 Deaths as Floodwaters Ravage Rural Tennessee (NYT)
* Sardinian Village Tries to Save an Ancient Tree Scorched by Fire -- A team of experts, with the help of local residents and authorities, is trying to revive an ancient olive tree in the hilltop village of Cuglieri that was engulfed in a catastrophic wildfire. (NYT)
* Tropical Storm Henri Brings Power Outages and Record Rain to Northeast (NYT)
| * In the latest release of U.S. Census Bureau data from the 2020 decennial census, Bernal Heights was one of only six San Francisco neighborhoods that recorded fewer people in 2020 than in 2010. * The data supports Chesa Boudin’s record: Why doesn’t the media tell us that? -- Boudin is charging cases at the same rate as other local DAs. He has increased prosecutions of sexual assault cases. But the "balanced" Chron misses the point. (48 Hills) |
| * What Your Therapist Is Actually Thinking About You While You're Talking (The Onion)
***
"I Will Remember You" (strictly excerpted)
Sarah McLachlan
Songwriters: Sarah McLachlan / Seamus Egan / Dave Merenda
I will remember you, will you remember me? Don't let your life pass you by I'm so tired but I can't sleep Standing on the edge of something much too deep It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard I will remember you, will you remember me? Don't let your life pass you by -30-
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