The Monday Mix (16/08/21)
Hi friends,
The big news this week has been the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. I remember coming home from school and watching the twin towers fall 20 years ago. I never thought the subsequent war would last that long or that when the end did come, it would end in such an ignominious fashion.
It’s hard not to look back and think what was the point? Was the war in Afghanistan worth it? What’s been achieved? Has it all been in vain? The collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban has been catastrophic and will set the advances made back years.
It just goes to show that intervention is never as easy as it’s made out to be. Sometimes winning the peace is harder than winning the war.
Women in Afghanistan
One of the worst things about the return of the Taliban to power is that the freedoms women won following their defeat in 2001, will now likely vanish. This piece is heartbreaking and shows the real pain and suffering that women will face at the hands of the Taliban should they return to type. Of all the bad things about the past few days, the repression that will come is a harrowing reminder of the bigotries of many ideologies around the globe.
Environmental Issues
Another issue that looms large over us is the environment. This piece summarises some of the biggest problems we face as a species from the rise in sea levels, biodiversity loss and nine other issues. Fixing them would go a long way to alleviating some of the potential worst-case scenarios of climate change.
Britain and Slavery
As an Englishman, this was a difficult piece to read. Britain is complicit in the slave trade and colonialism whether we like it or not. As proud of our history as we are, there are dark sides to it that need to be recognised. A shocking stat in this piece was that Britain only paid off a slave compensation package that was authorised in 1835 in 2015. A compensation package which went mainly to the owners of slaves rather than the slaves themselves!
Book I’m reading - Who Owns England? Following on from the above, this is a fascinating book about the various people who make up the majority of the landowners in the country. If you’re English and want to know about the ownership of land in the country, or you’re just interested in England in general, this is a good book to help you better understand the country.
Quote I’m pondering - “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” - Mark Twain
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom