One of us

Meanwhile, in Syria, comes word of a hometown fellow who has become famous, but perhaps not in the way he intended:

A former Minnesotan who graduated from Robbinsdale Cooper High School was killed in Syria last weekend, the first American to die fighting for the terror group that calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIL).

Douglas McAuthur McCain’s death is one of the first clues that U.S. officials have as they try to identify the Americans who have joined a group that has vowed to remake the Middle East. And his death is evidence that ISIL is willing to use Americans on the battlefield.

Why is that? As always, the go-to observer is Eric Hoffer, who sums it up quite well:

“For men to plunge headlong into an undertaking of vast change, they must be intensely discontented yet not destitute, and they must have the feeling that by the possession of some potent doctrine, infallible leader or some new technique they have access to a source of irresistible power. They must also have an extravagant conception of the prospects and the potentialities of the future. Finally, they must be wholly ignorant of the difficulties involved in their vast undertaking. Experience is a handicap.” 

There are millions in the West who fit this description -- they are not struggling, necessarily, to make ends meet, but they aren't satisfied with their lot in life and are looking for a cause that will make them great. ISIL, or ISIS, or whatever they are calling themselves this week, offers a greater meaning and a mission. And they need cannon fodder. McCain might be the first story we hear, but we'll certainly hear more.