What if this were Iraq?

You know, sometimes it’s really hard to visualize the horror of what is going on in Iraq. I hear all the time from people who can’t fathom why people think it’s a problem, because clearly democracy is winning. Setting aside for the moment all of the issues that raises about what they mean by “democracy,” I think it’s helpful to take a look at Juan Cole’s description. He’s a professor of history at the University of Michigan, and he’s tried to put the situation in Iraq into context.

For example:

"What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number. Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll."

He goes on from there to imagine the equivalent chaos we would experience here in the US. It is sometimes so hard for people to experience empathy (being able to place themselves in someone else's shoes long enough to see the real differences). Maybe we can at least invite people into sympathy ("feeling with" somebody, based on your own situation). If we can help people imagine what the equivalent would be like here, perhaps they might engage more?