Firemen Don't Talk About Whether A Burning

How Do Men Act On A Sinking Ship? Do They Hold Each Other? Do They Pass Around The Whisky? Do They Cry?

I Went To Afghanistan In '96 To Write About Terrorist Training Camps South Of Jalalabad And Tora Bora, In The Mountains. I Was There Right Before The Taliban Took Over, Literally A Few Weeks Before They Took Kabul. The Frontline Wasn't Terribly Active, But It Was Definitely There. And They Swept Into Power.

The Cause Doesn't Have To Be Righteous And Battle Doesn't Have To Be Winnable; But Over And Over Again Throughout History, Men Have Chosen To Die In Battle With Their Friends Rather Than To Flee On Their Own And Survive.

If Hardship Brought Out The Worst In People, The Human Race Wouldn't Have Survived. Right After 9/11, For Instance, The Murder Rate Actually Went Down In New York City. In World War Ii During The Blitz, The Civilians Of London Were Bombed Almost Every Night For Six Months, But Psychiatric Admissions Declined.

I Think Objectivity Is Like This Strange Myth That People Think You're Supposed To Achieve, But Actually, The Dirty Little Secret Is That It's Not Attainable Any More Than Pure Justice Is Attainable By The Courts.