The year is 2013. The United States is withdrawing troops from Afghanistan as the Taliban take control; Afghans are fleeing the country.
The year is now 2023. The United States started withdrawing troops from Afghanistan two years ago as the Taliban took control; Afghans are fleeing the country. Again. How can a decade have passed and a harrowing event impacting millions still be happening as if nothing has changed in ten years’ time.
Media sensationalism, news-blips, and the never-ending stream of immediate access to everything, everywhere, and all at once has led to more than just empathy fatigue. In the minds of the masses, particularly those more technologically engaged with social media, it has led to cultural shortsightedness. A thing is happening. Somewhere that isn’t here. And it’s unfortunate. And we feel bad. And we move on. But that doesn’t mean this is the first time, the only time that such a thing has happened.