Now generally I try to keep this column as local as possible and I’m sure some of you will feel I shouldn’t be writing about the fall of Afghanistan.

After all, what do I know about the intricacies of foreign policy?

Well, I do know about “local” and this is indeed a local story.

There are many men and women in Massachusetts who served in Afghanistan. They answered their country’s call and served with honor, tenacity and dedication. Unlike the veterans of WWII there was no acceptable end to this conflict. These new vets were cheated of that satisfaction.

The labors they undertook on behalf of their nation should be celebrated by all, though.

People laid down their lives there. People lost limbs or were injured in other ways. Sacrifices were made by many. Reservists had to put their life on hold while serving their country.

This story is local because they are local.

It is now our time to make sure these men and women have what they need to go with their lives. The victory we all need will be accomplished by making sure these vets are not treated like too many vets of Vietnam were.

There’s another part of this story that will indeed be local. Afghan refugees may be coming to the commonwealth and I hope people will understand that as a nation,  we owe them.

The people who worked with our armed forces and diplomats must receive some real compensation and that compensation is a new home in a welcoming country.

USA Today recently reported, “The House overwhelmingly passed a bill to make it easier for Afghans who assisted the American military to relocate to the U.S. The Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act (ALLIES) Act was approved by a 407-16 vote on July 22. The 16 ‘no’ votes were all from Republicans.

“The ALLIES Act removes some application requirements for Afghan special immigrant visas that led to long backlogs and wait times. It also boosts the number of visas for Afghans by an additional 8,000 to 19,000. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., introduced the bill in June, with 24 bipartisan cosponsors.”

What the hell? How is this remotely controversial? Please explain to me how this is worth opposing.

You want to argue about whether or not this horrible 20-year war was justified? Go ahead.  You want to post memes about how this withdrawal of troops was accomplished? Do it. Lob bombs in whatever direction you want on social media. It’s still your right.

Here is what I see as important immediately: we thank our vets by helping them. We thank the Afghans by giving them a new home. Saying ‘thank you’ is not enough. Actions are the most important thing.

With all of the efforts to recover from the pandemic, I realize some folks will see these developments as issues that can be kicked down the road a bit. That’s not the case. We need to address them now.

Thanks Sheriff

Once again, I want to thank Sheriff Nick Cocchi for allowing Reminder Publishing in partnership with Focus Springfield to cover his annual picnic.

For political junkies, this was a mosh pit of candidates, officials and potential supporters. What fascinates me so much about the event as a journalist is the access to so many people at one time.

There is simply nothing like it.

Steve Cary of Focus Springfield and I taped interviews for about five hours last week, which will find their way into stories for our editions.

It was fun, but challenging, as we had to make sure our audio managed to overcome the band that was playing. Thanks to Steve, it did.

And my apologies to those candidates and officials we missed. This was a first-come, first-served situation and getting interviewed was not an endorsement by Reminder Publishing or Focus Springfield.