Terry Anderson, RIP

I am struck, on the death of Terry Anderson, at how the American hostages held in Lebanon was a story in the 1980s that was at least as equal in the American imagination as bombing Libya or all the crimes the government was committing in Nicaragua. This was like a daily thing on the news and really at least to a reasonable extent until Anderson was released.

Then it sort of disappeared from our consciousness. I would say far more people talk about Nicaragua these days when they think about 80s international issues than about the hostages. And if they are talking hostages, it’s of course the ones in Iran, understandably.

Maybe I’m completely off-base here. Be curious as to what you all think. But that was the first thing that came to mind when I saw that Anderson had died.