I’ve really enjoyed your last few posts. This last one was particularly sobering.

The other night I watched a documentary on PBS called “The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan”. What I found particularly fascinating about it was the inside look at Afghani (mostly male) culture. More than once the comment was made to the effect that my wife does what I tell her. And in the clip where they interview the parents of one of the boys, the woman is in a full burka. You couldn’t even make out her eyes. Also in most of the street scenes there were no women to be seen.

Last summer I was walking the dog one evening and we wandered down past the legislative buildings. There were lots of tourists around (of course). I looked up and saw a man and two children walking towards me. It was only a second later that I saw his wife coming along behind him and the kids. She was in a full burka. It was the first time I’d ever seen a woman in a full burka and I felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach. For days after, I couldn’t get this nameless, faceless woman out of my mind. It just felt wrong on so many levels.

I remember once you said that you felt that men in Afghanistan are actually afraid of women. And it makes sense if their interactions with women as they grow up are so restricted and closely monitored. Which in some ways probably explains why this culture of ‘dancing boys’ exists … as horrible as it is.

And it all makes me wonder just what we are going to be able to accomplish over there. It’s a very large stone being pushed up a very steep hill. I have to confess that my reaction to the current uproar over prisoners being tortured is … Oh, please. I’m sure our troops have done their best to prevent this sort of thing. But I suppose it’s inevitable. The real shame is OUR government’s stalling on releasing documents to parliament.

And so the world goes.

I look forward to your next missive.