Afghanistanism

English Etymology From en Afghanistan ism. The first recorded use is by Jenkin Lloyd Jones, editor of the Tulsa Tribune, in 1948; see quotation below. Noun ~ The practice of concentrating on problems in distant parts of the world while ignoring controversial local issues. en 1948 Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, American Society of Newspaper Editors Jenkin Lloyd Jones Editorial Page Panel 73 I don't wish to belabor this subject of Afghanistanism, this business of taking forthright stands on elections in Costa Rica, while the uncollected local garbage reeks beneath the editor's window. Usage notes The term originally referred specifically to a focus on problems in far-flung lands that were inconsequential to one's audience; Afghanistan was a place of little or no importance to American interests at the time the term was coined. See also en Jellyby en hybridisms suffixed with -ism