We Don't Need More Kayla Muellers

 The behavior of the kidnappers is expected. The behavior of our leaders is absolutely appalling, short sighted and is simply sickening. Set all that aside. The first pieces of press on Kayla Mueller made her out as a modern secular missionary. A picture of one that is well aware of the situation and the risks but goes to help any way. Those people secular or not are rare, a few more of them would be welcome. This statement though, has me a little worried.

 Via : Daily Mail Online

 'Kayla has touched the heart of the world,' her aunt Lori Lyon said through sobs. 'The world grieves with us. The world mourns with us. The world wants to be more like Kayla and if that is her legacy... then that is a wonderful thing.'

It is well put and I agree with it as it is written. That is not how it will be read or used. It will be read as a call for ubiquitous, at least in the U.S., community service or volunteerism. Requiring high school students to have community service hours to graduate is not in the same universe as the type of service that gets you killed by Islamist. As well this is perfect for the myriad of activist across the globe. Whether it is climate change, saving whales or the nuclear freeze they don't come close either. Their lives are not at risk and more often than not those they are helping are not facing that risk either.

It is not that we can't use more real Kaylas, it is that we don't need to encourage the lesser, usually at he expense of what we need, leadership. Training everyone to be community organizers is far worst than infantilizing a population. It would be nice to just encourage being an adult. A country of adults would stop ISIS and might have staved Kayla. A country of, call them village elders or wise realists would not only not allowed ISIS to form they would have taken full advantage of the Arab spring. Iran might be a western friendly democracy now.