Changing Heart and Minds

Life is a series of circles within circles by which actions are constantly repeated. Logic and teaching seek to encourage the break-up of behavior that is determined to be destructive to self and others. It has been shown that the young are much more receptive to such instruction. Although the very same tendency can be exploited by demagogues to promote endless cycles of doom.

This does not apply strictly to humans. Every Thursday night we keep our car garage closed because we can expect a visit from our local contingent of raccoons who will enter through a garage door left open, jump atop our garbage cans and rock them until they fall over. This will dislodge the lids and the animals can joyfully tear apart the bags and scatter their contents in advance of Friday’s morning pick-up. The rest of the week it’s just fine to keep the garage doors open. Any hunter will confirm my story as it pertains to the wanderings of deer as well.

As it is difficult to break one’s own habits (smoking, blogging, boasting, reading, etc.), it is even more difficult to intervene in the habits of others. How stale is the story of a young woman saying, in all sincerity, that her love alone will suffice to entice her lover to relinquish troublesome or even criminal habits?

This is why in the Middle East changing hearts and minds has always been a tall order. Besides betraying some degree of arrogance, it may well be fundamentally impossible. To stop the raccoons from coming back, we may well have to shoot them (or simply keep the doors closed on Thursdays). To put our nation back on track, we may have to impeach its present leadership. To save Afghanistan, we may have to abandon it. It will fall from within if the circle of distrust, brutality and loathing is allowed to fester beyond the people’s ability to contain it.