Chasing Papa's ghost

An American was killed on a battlefield in Syria last week.  This would ordinarily not be news, as we have been getting killed on battlefields in almost every year since the Revolutionary War.  The difference is this is a civilian who made his way to Syria to take part in the civil war.  The last time this sort of thing happened was the Spanish civil war in the 30s.  This conflict was immortalized by Ernest Hemingway in "For Whom the Bell Tolls".  That war was seen as a just fight against the fascist dictator Franco and by extension a battle against fascism everywhere.  The war in Syria is a fight against a dictator whose only goal is to preserve his power at any cost, including the commission of atrocities against his own people.  Unfortunately, the forces arrayed against Assad include some scary Islamic terrorists whose ultimate goal is the creation of a theocratic Islamic state with less freedom than what it would replace.  The murky motives of many of the other groups appear no better.  What idealists such as this fallen "freedom fighter" need is an organization which will promote justice for all people.  The UN could be such a  force for freedom, but we need to get over our petty nationalism and promote the welfare of all the world's people.  Right!