4/15/2021

My Friend & POTUS, JRB,

It’s tax day. Mine aren’t done yet. Like so many other projects in my life, Started, but not yest finished. I suffer from what some people call, a disillusioned idealism, when you get excited about an idea but half way through, when it’s not turning out how you imagined, you stall. The psychological explanation is “avoidance therapy,” which involves looking for the interesting new activity to avoid doing the boring old one. I have somehow managed to complete enough projects to keep my job, but I struggle with my tendency to peter out at the end. Anyway, I need to finish my taxes this weekend so I stop beating myself up about them.

            I watched your visit to Section 60 of Arlington Cemetery yesterday. The overcast sky was appropriate to the solemn occasion of paying respects to the 2300 soldiers who have died in Afghanistan. I’m relieved that we are withdrawing our troops, but worry that a civil war may start. As former State Department official, Annie Pforzheimer says, “women, young people & minorities will be the ones to suffer if violence escalates there.”

            Speaking of Afghanistan, did you happen to tune into the new CBS sit-com, “United States of Al” about an Afghan interpreter who comes to the US & lives with the vet who he worked with. He positions himself as a peacemaker & tries to help the vet reconcile with his estranged wife. Chuck Lorre, the show’s producer, has gotten flak for casting a guy who isn’t an Afghani in the lead. It’s the MASH of the 2020s in trying “to make nuanced commentary on how war affects people.” Intriguing.

            You should ask Afghan vet, Rep. Kaialii Kahele of Hawaii, what he thinks of the show when you see him today when the Asian Pacific American Caucus visits the WH. He might have some interesting insights.

            Please join me in praying for peace in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria & every other part of the world suffering from violence.

            BYBS,