lick back

Every benefit has its cost, from the individual person, to the international policy. Who pays for our benefits, and what is the price? This allegory takes a very common argument used by Americans when we talk about our presence in the world and our status as the world’s most powerful military and economy, and how much we take from the rest of the world to maintain our relative comfort in the imperial core: Sure, we may cause some harm, and yes, we’ve made a few mistakes, but when you compare it to the good we do, it’s worth it. Rather than the usual retort of Tell that to a 9 year old African miner, suffering from chronic lung disease so our phones are cheap, (which ought to work, tbh.) I thought I turn the lens the other way, and reduce our international cost-benefit calculus to a single person, in a single neighborhood. Which way would you vote? Which way do you vote? Hopefully, this story is thought—and conscience—provoking, and gives you a new perspective on US. Let me know..