Afghan Commentary Post

  By Wahab Raofi Afghans have a saying: “What comes out of a mug is what is inside the mug.” As Afghanistan faces a decades-long series of major crises, its best hope lies in “what is inside of the mug” – its own people and government. And if the latest news is any indication, it does not bode well for Afghans. The New York Times reported that a group of lawmakers “blocked the Afghan Parliament’s newly appointed speaker from taking his seat on Sunday, and security forces were dispatched after a scuffle broke out. Members of Parliament on Saturday picked Mir Rahman Rahmani … for the role of speaker despite his just failing to win the number of votes needed to take the job. The turmoil came just a few days after the newly elected Parliament started its first session on Thursday. The election in October was delayed by more than three years and was plagued by vote-rigging and bribery.”   Chaos in Parliament, rigged elections, corruption at many levels and stalled neg...

 

  By Wahab Raofi   In his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation ,” American psychologist Abraham Maslow described his “Hierarchy of Needs ,” writing that human beings are motivated first by the basics, and then, once those needs are met, they are free to devote more time to meeting emotional needs centering on relationships, productivity and self-esteem. Food, water and shelter are at the base of his pyramid; achievement and creativity are at the top. But if Maslow were alive today, might he add one more tier at the top of his pyramid to include deliberate indifference?   It appears that when all of the needs on Maslow’s list are met – arguably the case for many living in the United States – humans move to a level that is even more self-centered than the lower levels. They tend to ignore issues that don’t seem to affect them personally and focus mostly on getting what they want.    This is not to suggest they don’t contribut...

Published on Foreign Policy Journal In his famous essay “Why I write,” George Orwell (1903-1950) revealed, “When I sit down to write, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.” To follow the path of George Orwell requires courage and dedication, if one wishes to dig out the truth. But sometimes, doing that can be costly. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Journalist, was assassinated in Turkey last year, allegedly by Saudi authorities working at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Hundreds of journalists have been kidnapped, persecuted and even killed, like Khashoggi, simply for doing their jobs to expose wrong-doing, human-rights violations, corruption or crimes that have been covered up by governments or the powerful.  Consider the story of legendary Afghan singer Sadiq Fitrat, who adopted the pseudonym Nas...

Afghan Commentary Post: Freedom of Speech Requires Courage : In his famous essay “Why I write,” George Orwell (1903-1950) revealed, “When I sit down to write, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to ...

In his famous essay “Why I write,” George Orwell (1903-1950) revealed, “When I sit down to write, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.” To follow the path of George Orwell requires courage and dedication, if one wishes to dig out the truth. But sometimes, doing that can be costly. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Journalist, was assassinated in Turkey last year, allegedly by Saudi authorities working at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Hundreds of journalists have been kidnapped, persecuted and even killed, like Khashoggi, simply for doing their jobs to expose wrong-doing, human-rights violations, corruption or crimes that have been covered up by governments or the powerful. Consider the story of legendary Afghan singer Sadiq Fitrat, who adopted the pseudonym Nashenas (which means unknown ) to hide his i...

Afghan Commentary Post: Biden's Candidacy Would Help Republicans : If I were a Republican strategist advising the party on how to win the 2020 presidential election, I would do everything I could to help J...