In class, our teacher had us write them thank- you letters that were later delivered to the base. I don’t remember what I was supposed to be grateful for, only that gratitude was important. That without these people, and what they were willing to do, the world would be a very different place.
-- Omar El Akkad (Chapter 1 paragraph NA)

Importance: This passage refers to Akkad being asked to write a thank you letter to American soldiers while studying at an American school in Qatar during the first Gulf War. The quote captures Akkad’s early exposure to a politicized form of gratitude, instilled through institutional education. The emphasis on gratitude without understanding suggests a form of ideological conditioning, where children are taught to bestow valor on military power without critically examining its consequences. The phrase “what they were willing to do” is deliberately vague, gesturing toward violence that is both central and unspoken. The reflection sets...