Thoughts on Thursday

I was listening to The Rachel Maddow Show today - in the middle of the night, again - and she had on a NYT reporter who reports extensively from Afghanistan. As the bottom “Breaking News” scroll is showing viewers that Obama is going to double the U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan (oh, when will they ever learn?) the reporter is saying that Afghanistan is living in the 4th century with rampant corruption everywhere. Now I know something about the 4th century in the western world and I don’t think it was a very pretty place to raise your kids - or yourself.

Then the reporter went on to give examples of Afghan corruption: he wanted to visit a regular airport and had to pay a bribe to get in and a news photographer was arrested for no reason and had to bribe his way out.

And that got me thinking.

A U.S. politician would be thoroughly shocked and outraged if a constituent walked into his office with a minor problem (I know this easy access is the first fantasy, but humor me) and offered the politician a modest amount of money to fix it. The constituent would be lucky not to walk out of the building in an orange jumpsuit and shackles.

But change the scene and have a major corporation contact the politician’s aide with a legal offer of substantial money for campaigning, a worthy project - whatever. “Thank you” would fill the air. Appreciation would reign. What a good corporate friend he would be. Nothing more would need to be said.

I think you see where I’m heading.

Afghanistan is in the 4th century. Perhaps the infusion of troops and U.S. values, which we tout always come with them, will help bring them into this century - the one with the corruption so big that it's legal and none (especially the main stream media) dare speak its name.