Jack was 30. His life was boring. He was American. The world wouldn't stop functioning on his whim and no one really gave two hoots. He went to work, came back, the same daily cycle over and over. He wanted a holiday to get away from the monotone and the mid-life crisis, he couldn't afford a staycation in Europe, he chose Bhutan.
Oh, Bhutan was amazing! People treated him like royalty. They were just friendly people and he was novelty, but he mistook that for importance. He talked about American aid, NATO, mutual defence pact, the wonders of US power and how benevolent he was being to Bhutan. The locals humoured him because it was the polite thing to do.
But something was amiss. Deep down, Jack knew that he was as close to Obama as Hitler was to Jesus. He didn't really make things happen but it was fun to pretend in front of the Asians. One day, disaster struck. Bhutan was struck by an avalanche. Jack couldn't help himself. He told the new Bhutan premier that US would help him if Bhutan stopped supplying energy to Xinjiang province in China. And if Bhutan failed to do so, US would consider this a test of the supposed alliance.
It caused panic in Bhutan. Chinese didn't know any better as well. Jack was just trying to keep himself busy. After a few days, the premier decided to call Obama. Obama said he had no idea of this plan. Obama wanted to scold Jack, but well, what was the point. It was the people of Bhutan surely that were stupid enough to believe him. In Jack's head, he was Bhutan's gateway to the US. To him, Bhutan was third-world. To Bhutanese, this was the country they were born in. They were determined to make their homeland better.
But Jack had an ego. He couldn't take this. He said he would commit suicide. But committing suicide also needs some will power and resolve. He decided to stop contact with the Asians. But old habits die hard. He couldn't believe the Asians didn't miss him. To this day, he keeps sending the Bhutan government messages of resignation. The natives are perplexed and make fun of it within government complexes, but they are a proud people. They give him face everytime in the hope that he will mature.
Today, Jack is happy. He found Instagram - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/12/influencers-are-faking-brand-deals/578401/ |
