On Afghanistan, we must break with the binary blame game

[ad_1]

Molineaux is Chairman / CEO of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, and Nevins is its co-founder and Chairman of the Board. They are co-publishers of The Fulcrum.

The horrific scenes that we have watched over the past few days from Afghanistan are unbearable to watch. How did we get here? And what can we learn?

As we witness the unwinding of 20 years of hard work, hopes and dreams, what options do we have to help? For veterans, active duty military or peacemakers, this is particularly difficult because they measure what they see against the sacrifices they have made. For ordinary Americans who wanted us out of Afghanistan, emotions are still mixed.

Yet here we are, safe and sound in our homes, and as so often happens, our national leaders shift from empathy and benevolence to the political game of taking advantage of a situation; the blame game begins. In Afghanistan, there is enough blame for everyone.

Along with the blame game is the usual oversimplification of an incredibly complex situation. This is what we do as Americans. We oversimplify. Our leaders reduce complex situations to catchy, easy-to-grasp sound bites with binary choices that do nothing to solve the problem. Nothing.

President Biden said on Monday: “I strongly support my decision. After 20 years, I have learned the hard way that there is never a good time to withdraw US forces.” He admitted that his administration miscalculated and took responsibility, saying “the responsibility ends with me”. Still, that won’t change much to the nature of the political battle that will ensue.

Subscribe to the Fulcrum newsletter

And who can blame Republicans for taking advantage of the situation to portray Biden as weak and ill-prepared when we all know Democrats are just as quick to take advantage of the strategic mistakes of past and future Republican presidents.

This is how our system works. Or does not work.

But a problem like Afghanistan is not black or white, good or bad, smart or stupid. Our country’s 20-year history in Afghanistan is complex, nuanced and contradictory. And how much easier is it for each of us individually and for us as a nation to turn to our conditioned use of binary decision making. No critical thinking required. No questioning of the choices offered.

“The dualistic spirit involves everything in a sort of tit-for-tat system of false choices and overly simple opposites,” explains Fr. Richard Rohr of the Center for Action and Contemplation.

The world we live in is more complex than ever. In the midst of multiple existential crises, we must change the way we solve problems and face the future. We have to deal with complexity differently; not by reducing us to binary choices, but by expanding our capacity to think with nuance and to accept paradoxes. We must have a holistic approach that studies all the factors that could lead to multiple results; see systems and connect with others. To restore our humanity, we must wean ourselves from simplistic binary choices and avoid the blame game.

Ask yourself what are your choices to help the Afghan people? Who do you have influence with? As we face feelings of guilt, loss, shame, etc., the Afghans are trying to survive. Our immediate goal should be to help people, not to get into the binary thinking blame game.

As the Afghan crisis fades (and they all fade – including Vietnam, Rwanda, Sudan, Yugoslavia et al – fade over time), what lessons have we learned ? How to react differently next time?

What is the role of the United States in the world? If China took over Taiwan, or if Russia invaded another country in the former Soviet bloc, what would we do? What are the national interests that will guide us in an increasingly hostile political world? How could we be better prepared to deal with the complexity of situations involving the United States, within the borders of other nations?

As civilians, we will not know the extent of the complexity that confronts the military and diplomatic corps. We do not know of the delicate negotiations that took place. The blame game further erodes our confidence that professionals are doing their jobs to the best of their ability. The media exacerbate our indignation and our fear by feeding us images of suffering.

For average citizens, we have nothing to do as individuals beyond expecting more from our leaders. Our leaders must not demonize their political opponents at this time. Bold leaders will seize this opportunity to take political risks and develop long-term solutions. This in turn will help define America’s responsibility to the world for generations to come.

As citizens, we deserve better than tit-for-tat politics.

[ad_2]