Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Afghan Root Canal

I had a big hole in my tooth. Eventually, because it was ignored, it became infected. The pain spread all across that region of my face. I took anti-biotic and that seemed to help, although the hole remained.

Then, I went to the dentist. He used overwhelming force to cover up the hole. The temporary cover is too big and whenever I bite down, it hits the root and hurts like hell.

Some have said that I was in trouble as soon as the hole developed and that trouble intensified as I ignored it. They claim that I should have taken steps to prevent the hole. Even now, they argue that there are still things I can do to prevent another hole from forming. These critics claim I should stop the drug trade even if it means punishing pro-American Afghans and I should stop giving indiscriminate aid to the Pakistani military because it will just end up in the hands of extremists no matter what the Pakistani military says. If I tell you I've been flossing for the last 20 years and I still have problems with my teeth, there's a chance I might be lying.* But I may have lost the metaphor somewhere in there.


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* I do floss frequently, I just like candy.

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