Kael Weston has been successful in the two most recent stages of his life, as a diplomat and a writer. The time he has spent in those roles has prepared him well for what he hopes is his next stage: Congress.
Weston, a Democrat who is running for Congress in Utah’s 2nd District, spent seven consecutive years (2003-10) in hot spots in Iraq and Afghanistan for the State Department. His counterinsurgency efforts entailed making and preserving delicate relationships with Iraqi and Afghan citizens who were resisting the terrorists in their midst (Al Qaeda and the Taliban, respectively). If you want someone who knows about “crossing the aisle,” Weston knows all about that.
After he returned home in 2010, he decided to write about his searing experiences. The result was “The Mirror Test,” a compelling book that was published in 2016. It is an honest and acclaimed account of his involvement in what he calls America’s “9/11 wars” and his perceptions after he returned to this country.
Early in the book, Weston explains the derivation of its title. He learned about the “mirror test” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, when visiting our disfigured soldiers from the 9/11 wars. After a badly burned soldier-survivor has endured multiple surgeries to put his face and body back together, he faces one more painful test: the courage to finally look in a mirror to see if he can recognize himself there. The Mirror Test.
Weston asks his readers to look in the mirror to see the truth about America’s involvement in its 9/11 wars — and not look away. I contend that we face our own “mirror test” in this election: whether to allow the further erosion of democracy under Donald Trump and his Utah sycophant Chris Stewart, Weston’s opponent on the ballot, or to vote for the kind of thoughtful and serious leadership that Kael Weston will provide.
Lex Hemphill, Salt Lake City