हिंडो कुश Whistle Blowing from the Hindu Kush

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

When men are put in positions of modest authority, let's say as a colonel in the US Army, get angry, loud and overbearing it is pathetic. I mean that in a kind way. He is displaying his own vulnerability, weakness and flaws; all that is pathetic about mankind. Believe me I am surrounded by it. You may ask what makes me so special that I can see it? Because I can see it in myself and seek to live, as Martin Luther put it, a life of repentance.

I confess that at yesterday's outburst, directed at a colleague, my first reaction was a mix of apprehension, tension and instinct to fight back. "How will I retort if he dares to speak to me in such patronising terms?". Only on reflection did I realise that this man needs compassion, help and prayers. What a dark place to be, where the thing that gets you most fired is some trivial staffing crisis that with patience can be readily resolved.

My greatest concern is for his wife and any children, especially daughters. How do you love well when your passions, energies and talents are so immersed in work? From the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Here is a man who relishes his position as a leader, amusing with entertaining anecdotes, razor wit and valuable experience. Oh pity the wife and daughters of a man of such vanity. Life is more taught than caught. Is it any wonder that girls go in search of similar men offering their bodies for a share of control, seeking the affections of overbearing men? Is it any wonder that wives seek distractions? Is it any wonder that there are so many wrecked lives in my family, my wife's family and beyond? Did you know that the stench of man's vanity lingers even into death. Is that a legacy to proud of or to repent of?

Imagine a British low grade staff officer reflecting on how he is missing the opportunity to brief on a subject that he has researched thoroughly and dedicated time and energies to produce. That officer is keen to have the opportuntiy to show his briefing skills, and the work he has done; he fears another taking his limelight. Is the 'man' here loving the people of the Hindu Kush or loving himself and his career?