a difference of opinion

S:     I can’t stand it! Do I have less of a value as a human being, that I am not free to roam where I please? These borders and passports and trappings are the death of us all.
A:     Your visa got rejected, didn’t it?
S:     DO I LOOK LIKE A TERRORIST?
A:     Not at all. Just a burger, on
a rant.
S:     Don’t make fun of me, Ameen. I was looking forward to travelling. Why are we trapped in this box? A world of nations, trapped in boxes, for no real reason.
A:     You could always go to Madagascar. I hear Pakistanis don’t require visas. But in all honesty, I do agree with you. Our state should have protected us. Given us security and dignity. Got rid of terrorists, protected our image from being tarnished.
S:     That is all very well, Ameen, but I feel the whole set-up of the nation state is a bit of a joke. Visas, visas, visas. Why do they even matter? We live in a complex, insecure world. I get it. But we’re human, with the same fundamental desires and natures. I want to try Burger King as much as the next black-white-orange-purple-or-mixed-rainbow colored man. This system needs reform.
A:     Trust you to desire a cosmopolitan world, and be simultaneously thinking of food. Your meaty utopia is not possible. We’re all human, but we’re tribal. We cling to kin and country. It’s also part of human nature to identify with a flag, and a community.
S:     But should we really not be able to identify with humanity rather than a brainless, heartless piece of land?
A:     Who are you calling heartless? By the way, Burger King just opened in Lahore. When you can’t take the burger out of the land, you bring the burger into the land.