Hi all folks and jlw first of all,
Going back to the basic issues concerning us all, this series of pictures are very very powerfull.
The first time I was personally exposed to the power of the photo-essay, was upon looking at an old book about the fascist skin heads in Europe.
The series here about Afghanistan had a similar effect on me:
A real high quality photo essay shows you the inners of something you never knew before.
What is going on in Afghanistan between the US troops and the Taleban, it was a question I had in my head somewhere to get.
This series show me the Americans on the ground are having it hard. BUT
Dear JLW,
- this series don't show me how the Taleban are having it.
- I do not see any reason to make a link between these pics and the Vietnam war. Afghanistan is not Vietnam, nor the Taleban are the Viet-Cong, nor Bin Laden nears the shoes of Ho Chi Minh.
(We all have seen that video displaying Bin Laden re-joycing about the twins massacre among his disciples. I would like to see a video about the Taleban leaders enjoying loosing control of Afghanistan upon Bin Laden's action.)
- I am sure some folks at your home are making the link with the Vietnam war, appealing to the lowest level of intelligence, but you jlw strangely seem very entangled with them and thus you play to their hands.
- The assumption that the leading politicians of the US have not learnt anything from the Vietnam war sounds to me a very low level one to be taken seriously. Not that I behold a great symphaty for these folks, but I would never belittle them.
- And finally, there is one nice folk among us whom I have to say Afghanistan is Afghanistan, Iraq is Iraq.
So jlw, take it easy, relax, let the cheap politics aside, ignore their chorus, and if you must to engage in politics upon any offense you feel on your opinions, at least do it at a serious in-depht level.
Like the referred photo-essay, say something really new, original, appealing to our highest level of intelligence. Your audience then will broaden.
Cheers,
Ruben
