Afghanistanism

 Afghanistanism strikes when opinion writers focus on problems in faraway places while ignoring controversial issues at home.  It started as early as the 19th Century, and use of the term may have peaked in the 1970s. when journalists began to take hard looks at the coverage of news and social issues.
   In its early form, editors and writers let loose serious-sounding tirades on what to do about conflicts -- military and otherwise -- in, for example, Afghanistan, a mountainous country about as far away from the writer as was possible to get.  The label was, and is, derogatory, aimed at those who wrote in high dudgeon on how to resolve conflicts of any kind, especially those that had little or no effect on the interests, needs or everyday lives of local readers. And the further away from Afghanistan the writer was, the higher the dudgeon in which he wrote.
   Sometimes, it was merely a ploy when the editorialists were short of ideas and had nothing else to write about. More to the point, however, it was safe to write about problems in foreign lands, ignoring local controversies which could bring criticism.
   But here's a criticism of the syndrome: There are, of course, problems in other lands, and they should be covered as news events of interest. But not to the extent that local issues are ignored, especially those domestic issues, problems and controversies that can and should be resolved.

   It's a matter of priorities. Which problems should be dealt with first? And in deciding that, it's clear that domestic problems are the ones that can be resolved -- if there is the political will to do it. Ideally, problems in countries as far away as Afghanistan can be resolved. But it's important to remember that the British Army could not control the tribes in the 19th Century, the Soviet Army could not pacify the mountainous region in the 20th Century, and America could not do it in the 21st Century.
   And that raises the question of why these nations intervened in the first place, if not to satisfy the egos and power struggles of politicians.