From the news I get of the U.S.A. while on the other side of the world, trying to understand the crazy political situations unfolding back home is like looking at a far away island through a telescope. I still remember being deployed to Iraq in 2005, and all of us over there were in absolute amazement at the bumbling mess that was Katrina at the hands of the Local, State, and Federal disaster relief levels. To be so far removed from your country while still having a particular interest in its well being is akin to watching a three ring circus of sorts from the nose bleed seats in the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium. You can't really see the action on the field, but you have a great view of whatever the jumbo-mega-vision-tron is showing at the moment. But the detachment persists.
My concerns are much more local at this point. How to get a country restarted after decades of destructive occupation and civil war. How to convince a generation of people who're used to fighting that they need to learn to forgive and compromise for the sake of their children to live in peace. Is it even possible to understand that Western ideas are not all necessarily evil and can be applied even in an Islamic society? Where to start? Apply our democracy and capitalistic values to this region and let it blossom? Truth be told, this country is much more of a capitalistic society than most of the industrialized Western world. Most third world countries are. Confused? Let me explain...
I work with a number of foreign military who're on our small base because we're in close proximity to the Kabul Military Hospital outside our back gates. They're assisting in training the doctors, nurses, and staff at this hospital how to effectively run their daily business. A rather large woman who's the commander of the Greek nurse training group here sat down next to me one evening at chow and began explaining her frustrations. Not only does it appear that the local Afghans are not properly trained in nursing, but the patients in many cases have to fend for themselves. Since this is a military hospital for wounded Afghan Military, the treatment is paid for. (This is not ever the case for civilians) However, even with this free care, food and water come at a price, and if the family is not there to take care of their needs, they dehydrate and starve. She said she regularly smuggles bottles of water out of the DFAC (which is against policy) and gives it to the people in the hospital. It seems that you pay for everything you need in this, as most, third world countries. Let's examine this concept further.
Children, if not in school, play in the streets because there are no parks. Up until now, schools were run by non-profit or, more often, religious organizations. In hind site, we all see how smart it was to leave education to the religious organizations. (Anyone see "Charlie Wilson's War"?) The Afghan National Army and Police (ANA and ANP) are relatively new organizations. Up to this point, and even now, most wealthy people and businesses hire their own security with private funds.
Bribes and graft are rampant in this country as is with most of the Middle East. It's the way business has been done forever so changing this mindset is nearly impossible with officials currently in power. Money here is the only thing makes the world go around, and coalition forces supply a lot of it through reconstruction and general stimulation of the economy through putting locals to work and buying products from the local markets. Even the U.S. Military recognizes this fact as they have published the MAAWS (Money as a Weapon System) doctrine. Afghanistan consistently ranks in the top ten of the poorest countries in the world. There is no social safety net here to assist those living in poverty who go hungry every night and in many cases live without a decent roof over their heads. I've seen some of the worst poverty imaginable that would make any downtrodden U.S. citizen sober and thankful for what they have.
If you watch the "news" (and I use that term loosely) in the U.S., it would appear that the term "Socialist" is being thrown around pretty liberally these days (pun intended). But what is Socialism? Merriam-Webster defines socialism as "any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." Aside from the political lightning rods of universal healthcare, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Unemployment Insurance, school grants, school lunches, etc, socialism is basically an economic system of sharing the wealth to help those less fortunate than yourself. For a country that touts itself as predominately Christian, not having a "socialist" agenda is not very Christ-like. Just some food for thought to the conservative religious base.
Without socialism, many of the things we take take for granted would not exist in our country. Our parks (National, State, and local) would not exist. Our libraries and after school programs would disappear. Our sense of security from the police, fire department and military would evaporate. If you want an education, you'd be responsible for paying your own way from the beginning starting in kindergarten. Farm subsidies? Don't get me started. How about your gasoline? Ever wondered how much the rest of the world pays in contrast to your comparatively cheap gas? Think about the wide array of programs and services you take advantage of on a yearly basis and then realize you are supporting a form of socialism.
By contrast, pure capitalism is chaotic. Just look at the results of deregulation of the financial and housing markets. It also promotes the unequal distribution of wealth, (not that we want all wealth completely equally distributed) by creating an uneven playing field. Again, reference the flawed concept of "Trickle Down Economics". Go on and tell me how well did that work for the U.S. job market and where did those jobs go? For every product or service you use or need, you'd have to pay for it based on market value. The law of supply and demand would be king.
At this point, you probably think I've become a Marxist. Far from it actually. Both theories are flawed and cannot exist in their pure form. Pure capitalism can't exist due to the human nature of greed, while pure socialism can't exist because of the human flaw of sloth and laziness. Even China has recognized this paradox and has began a number of free market reforms, and look at their economy now. Like most everything in life, a compromise must be reached where a balance of both ideologies must coexist in order to create a stable and fair society. Notice I didn't say equitable or equal.
So as I look around the world at examples of pure socialism and pure capitalism, I see failed countries. Both in third world and super powers. For those I hear clamoring for a pure capitalist free market economy, I would warn you to look around the world and be sure you understand what you are asking for. It's not pretty from what I have seen. And for those decrying the evils of socialism, I suggest you take a second read in your Bible and realize you should practice what you preach.
More to follow.
My concerns are much more local at this point. How to get a country restarted after decades of destructive occupation and civil war. How to convince a generation of people who're used to fighting that they need to learn to forgive and compromise for the sake of their children to live in peace. Is it even possible to understand that Western ideas are not all necessarily evil and can be applied even in an Islamic society? Where to start? Apply our democracy and capitalistic values to this region and let it blossom? Truth be told, this country is much more of a capitalistic society than most of the industrialized Western world. Most third world countries are. Confused? Let me explain...
I work with a number of foreign military who're on our small base because we're in close proximity to the Kabul Military Hospital outside our back gates. They're assisting in training the doctors, nurses, and staff at this hospital how to effectively run their daily business. A rather large woman who's the commander of the Greek nurse training group here sat down next to me one evening at chow and began explaining her frustrations. Not only does it appear that the local Afghans are not properly trained in nursing, but the patients in many cases have to fend for themselves. Since this is a military hospital for wounded Afghan Military, the treatment is paid for. (This is not ever the case for civilians) However, even with this free care, food and water come at a price, and if the family is not there to take care of their needs, they dehydrate and starve. She said she regularly smuggles bottles of water out of the DFAC (which is against policy) and gives it to the people in the hospital. It seems that you pay for everything you need in this, as most, third world countries. Let's examine this concept further.
Children, if not in school, play in the streets because there are no parks. Up until now, schools were run by non-profit or, more often, religious organizations. In hind site, we all see how smart it was to leave education to the religious organizations. (Anyone see "Charlie Wilson's War"?) The Afghan National Army and Police (ANA and ANP) are relatively new organizations. Up to this point, and even now, most wealthy people and businesses hire their own security with private funds.
Bribes and graft are rampant in this country as is with most of the Middle East. It's the way business has been done forever so changing this mindset is nearly impossible with officials currently in power. Money here is the only thing makes the world go around, and coalition forces supply a lot of it through reconstruction and general stimulation of the economy through putting locals to work and buying products from the local markets. Even the U.S. Military recognizes this fact as they have published the MAAWS (Money as a Weapon System) doctrine. Afghanistan consistently ranks in the top ten of the poorest countries in the world. There is no social safety net here to assist those living in poverty who go hungry every night and in many cases live without a decent roof over their heads. I've seen some of the worst poverty imaginable that would make any downtrodden U.S. citizen sober and thankful for what they have.
If you watch the "news" (and I use that term loosely) in the U.S., it would appear that the term "Socialist" is being thrown around pretty liberally these days (pun intended). But what is Socialism? Merriam-Webster defines socialism as "any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." Aside from the political lightning rods of universal healthcare, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Unemployment Insurance, school grants, school lunches, etc, socialism is basically an economic system of sharing the wealth to help those less fortunate than yourself. For a country that touts itself as predominately Christian, not having a "socialist" agenda is not very Christ-like. Just some food for thought to the conservative religious base.
Without socialism, many of the things we take take for granted would not exist in our country. Our parks (National, State, and local) would not exist. Our libraries and after school programs would disappear. Our sense of security from the police, fire department and military would evaporate. If you want an education, you'd be responsible for paying your own way from the beginning starting in kindergarten. Farm subsidies? Don't get me started. How about your gasoline? Ever wondered how much the rest of the world pays in contrast to your comparatively cheap gas? Think about the wide array of programs and services you take advantage of on a yearly basis and then realize you are supporting a form of socialism.
By contrast, pure capitalism is chaotic. Just look at the results of deregulation of the financial and housing markets. It also promotes the unequal distribution of wealth, (not that we want all wealth completely equally distributed) by creating an uneven playing field. Again, reference the flawed concept of "Trickle Down Economics". Go on and tell me how well did that work for the U.S. job market and where did those jobs go? For every product or service you use or need, you'd have to pay for it based on market value. The law of supply and demand would be king.
At this point, you probably think I've become a Marxist. Far from it actually. Both theories are flawed and cannot exist in their pure form. Pure capitalism can't exist due to the human nature of greed, while pure socialism can't exist because of the human flaw of sloth and laziness. Even China has recognized this paradox and has began a number of free market reforms, and look at their economy now. Like most everything in life, a compromise must be reached where a balance of both ideologies must coexist in order to create a stable and fair society. Notice I didn't say equitable or equal.
So as I look around the world at examples of pure socialism and pure capitalism, I see failed countries. Both in third world and super powers. For those I hear clamoring for a pure capitalist free market economy, I would warn you to look around the world and be sure you understand what you are asking for. It's not pretty from what I have seen. And for those decrying the evils of socialism, I suggest you take a second read in your Bible and realize you should practice what you preach.
More to follow.
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