Afghanistan and Metaphor

For OpEdNews: Rob Kall - Writer

Sports, sex and the the hero's journey narrative all play a role in America's perception of our relationship to Afghanistan. President Obama can pander to our baser instincts, tapping the nation's archetypal sports and sexual images and energy to sell what is becoming his war, as he's been doing, or seek a higher road that takes America home to a higher level as a better nation. 

The national sport of Afghanistan,Buzkashi, involves horsemen knocking around a headless goat and successfully carrying it across a goal line. Unlike American sports, which last hours, Buzkashi can last days.

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Here in the US, where football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey are the national obsessions, the idea of crossing the goal line, finish line or home plate, dunking or scoring is a major metaphor.

Now, that metaphor is being projected upon Afghanistan. 

I should add that my mind is not befuddled, like most American heterosexual males, by sports mania. On the contrary, I have sports attention deficit, an abnormality that led to what came close to child neglect for my two sons, They seem to have survived my "disorder" and are, themselves, quite addicted to baseball, football, cage matches wrestling and the like. 

That said, I feel I can see a pattern that most males and maybe even females who live with such normalized madness would not. 

The American obsession with crossing the goal or finish line is deeply ingrained. 

There's also the Judeo Christian work ethic of doing the job right, finishing the job. 

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Yet Obama is tapping the metaphor, saying, "we need to finish the job." 

We need to challenge that conclusion. It's based on powerful subconsious drives and reflexes that switch on testosterone release, adrenalin, aggression, macho mindsets and worse. 

The job, President Obama, is to re-evaluate a disastrous set of choices. 
The Job, President Obama, is to detach the militarization of Afghanistan from the mindset that got us stuck there.

The Job, President Obama, is to find the fortitude and courage to stand up to generals who are mindlessly stuck with the syndrome described by Abraham Maslow, "When al you have is a hammer, everything is a nail." Those generals want to keep their military erections and Afghanistan is a lot better than Viagra. Same goes for the men who support the war because it subliminally plugs into their sports and sex drive

There's another drug Obama needs much more-- saltpetre. Oops. That won't work either. Wikipedia reports, "Saltpetre is thought to decrease sex drive, but there is no scientific evidence to support that the substance causes such an effect." 

The fact is, it may be that those who resonate with the need to finish the job, to bring the Afghan situation to climax, may even feel castrated by the idea of cutting the war SHORT, cutting OFF funds... you get the picture. 

This idea would be funny if there wasn't truth to it. That makes it pathetic that soldiers will die, civilians will die and billions that could be spent on health care, education, justice, roads, etc. will be poured into a bottomless pit.

There are other metaphors Obama could use to shut down the war, that people could relate to-- fish or cut bait. Digging a deeper hole, waking up, ending a toxic relationship, being a good sport when losing, calling the game on account of rain, realizing that the country can't "get it up" anymore for such an ugly mistake.

Ninety eight percent of American movies are based on the Hero's Journey theme or monomyth, most famously described by Joseph Campbell to Bill Moyers and in his book, HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. This describes the hero myth told by a thousand cultures. The hero receives and accepts the call, crosses the threshold, starts out on a new road. 911 was America's call. Bush and Cheney chose to cross the threshold into Afghanistan and Iraq, these two military dodgers recruiting over a million soldiers to face death, maiming and massive PTSD. Now, still on the road, Obama must lead American on its heroic journey. That's a big job.

The heroic journey MUST involve growth, increased awareness, apotheosis-- the meeting with the all powerful and re-evaluation of one's spiritual nature, the meeting with the father and the goddess-- re-evaluation of one's masculine and feminine characteristics. Then, most important, once the hero has has achieved these and fought and won battles, the hero must return hom. Failed heros do not return home. They are dazzled by the glamour and power of the road. But the true hero leaves the battling behind and brings home the elixir he attained on his heroic journey-- which can be peace, healing, new kinds of strength.

One key factor for any hero is finding making and working with the right new allies. That's a bottom up process that can massively empower the hero. If Obama goes with the old powers that be-- pentagon, military-industrial-corporate-- he's going to fail. Those are from the old world, not the new road of the heroic journey.

And Obama has a long way to go. There's not much evidence America has grown or become more conscious or dealt with its msculinity, feminity or experienced apotheosis. The hero MUST come close to dying to fully become a hero. Perhaps our economic crisis is the battle Obama must yet fight and win as he leads America on her Heroic journey. But one thing is sure, getting stuck on the road, in Afghanistan is a detour that could prevent Obama from ever being a hero and which could slow America from finding its higher self and coming home.