MANICHEAN MOMENTS

Most often, there are valid perspectives on either side of a dispute, not a simple divide between good and evil with no gray areas in between.  That was not the case in Afghanistan in the 1980s.  The Mujahaddin you see here were fighting a morally just war against immoral atrocity.   The war waged by the Afghan Mujahaddin to liberate their country from Soviet Russian conquest was a Manichean Moment.

There is another Manichean Moment taking place right now in Ukraine.  Once again, Russia is attempting to subjugate an innocent country with bombs and immoral atrocity.  This is good vs. evil once more.  There is no gray area.  Those on the side of Ukraine and Zelensky fighting for freedom are on the side of moral decency.  Those on the side of Russia and Putin are not. They are on the side of irredeemable evil.

That’s why, when I see photos of Ukrainian freedom fighters atop Russian tanks they captured, it reminds me of those I took of Afghan freedom fighters atop Russian tanks they captured.  The Mujahaddin defeated Russia a third of a century ago.  The Ukrainians will defeat Russia now.  Good will triumph over evil once more. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #191 Afghanistan photo ©Jack Wheeler)