Quit comparing Afghanistan and Ukraine in terms of bravery

I'm so tired of reading "Why are Ukrainians fighting but Afghanistan gave up?"

Ukraine has been a relatively stable country, even with the 2014 revolution, for quite a while. Decades. It has a culture where neighbors know and trust each other and its institutions - bodies that, while having a BIG problem with corruption, do actually get things done, enough that they are functional. Ukraine is a country that has been quite functional for decades - mass transit, public utilities, roads, etc. Women have full access to most roles in society, including the workplace - they are a critical, integral part of the society. Upward mobility, while difficult, is possible. And it takes a society that is functional and trusts each other and where a lot of people have opportunities to make their lives better through hard work to be able to mount an effective defense against invaders or insurrectionists. Not that Ukraine doesn't have a range of critical issues - if it didn't, the United Nations wouldn't still be working there. 

By contrast, Afghanistan has long been fractured, for many decades, and its institutions haven't been stable without an extraordinary amount of propping up by other countries, primarily the USA, for decades. It is a society where neighbors don’t trust each other, where people retreat into tribal identities and loyalties, and where women have been regularly marginalized - they had access to jobs and education because of the will and force of foreign powers, and once that left, so did their access. There are incredibly smart, wonderful people in Afghanistan who really wanted their country to stay on the path of the last 20 years, and who are very capable of running their country, who have great ideas, work hard, are innovative…but corruption, outdated traditions and entrenched internal power structures keep them marginalized. You can’t unite people for a cause when they can’t even agree what the cause is.

And let’s remember that women have been incredibly brave in Afghanistan, protesting in the streets even when they know they could, and often will be, imprisoned or murdered by the Taliban. 

Both countries welcomed me. Both countries had people eager to work with me for the greater good of their country. Both have people eager to make their country better. I respect and love both immensely. One is not "braver" than the other.  

Does Ukraine have lessons for Afghanistan? Yes. But that's for another blog.