Sacrifices

Matt Bors is a Portland-based editorial comic artist whose work I see frequently, and whose style is immediately recognizable to me. I suppose it helps that most often I'm in agreement with his points, as above.

Whether or not you agree that energy is a central- if somewhat obscured- cause of the two conflicts in which we're currently engaged, I think one of the most important differences between our current wars and the one I grew up with, Vietnam, is that there seems to be more or less uniform agreement across the political spectrum that we honor the people in uniform who are carrying out the orders of our leaders, whether or not we agree with the leaders' decisions. Apparently, Bors and I are in agreement on that, as well. From Steve Duin's OregonLive column,

He's also among the first to respond professionally. On Aug. 9, Bors will fly -- via New York, Moscow and Dubai -- into Tajikistan, then caravan across the border with cartoonists Ted Rall and Steven Cloud for a first-hand look at how Afghans are dealing, yet again, with war.

"Obligation is too strong a word, but I feel obligated to put myself out there, to risk a little bit," Bors said.

"Am I going to make a difference to anyone on the ground in Afghanistan? No. But I want to do something as an editorial cartoonist beyond simply reacting to today's news."

(...)

The war in Afghanistan is in its 105th month. U.S. troop levels approach 100,000. "Twenty-six million Afghans have been dealing with this my entire adult life," Bors said. "As someone who cares about the politics, I can get on a plane and check it out for myself. And I should, given the opportunity."

I can't help but feel a great deal of admiration for a cartoonist, of all people, willing to put his life at risk for the sake of bringing better perspective to his art.