Member-only story
Actions based on ignorance, no matter how well-intentioned, are dangerous.
After the longest war in its history, the United States is withdrawing its military forces from Afghanistan, with all of the sad, predictable consequences that will entail. Why did U.S. government leaders think it would end otherwise — that an alien, external culture could transform Afghanistan from a tribal society into a “modern” democracy?
That decision was based on ignorance, both of Afghan history and, ironically, of American society. Recent events have demonstrated that American democracy is not as solid and well-functioning as even Americans used to believe.
That’s not to argue that intentions of democracy and civil rights, including equality for women and men and for people of all skin colors and sexual preferences are wrong. Far from it. It’s just that advocates of those intentions need to demonstrate their efficacy at home, and thereby hope to persuade others to emulate them, rather than attempting to export those ideas by force.
