Pissing on the Taliban

The video showing four American marines urinating on the corpses of three Taliban members has provoked several profound questions.

During the 1990s, only three countries in the world recognized the Taliban's authority in Afghanistan (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and UAE). The group faced near-universal condemnation for their anti-woman, anti-Shia, and anti-Milton Berle stances. In 2001, in the wake of the attacks of September 11, few disagreed with the U.S.-led invasion against the Taliban.

Fast forward a little more than ten years. After yet another horrendous American scandal in Afghanistan, the Taliban said that though these actions are inhumane, peace negotiations would continue. Think about that for a second. That is a tremendously wise and mature sentiment. The Taliban actually has the moral high-ground over the United States at this point. How far have we fallen? That is the impact of war; we lose our values, our core, our sense of self. It makes me sick.

On the other hand, the urination scandal shines a bright spotlight on humanity itself. Some people have decried the logic behind the Geneva Convention's principle that it's ok to kill someone, but you can't pee on them afterwards.What does that say about human beings that we have rules for being respectful to people after we've murdered them?

My final point. I've lived for about 11,000 days on this Earth. I've peed some multiple of 11,000. I've never filmed myself doing it.