Been thinking a lot about the API as a metaphor and the peace above vs the war below (both Covid and protests/riots/looting) API as storefront glass: read-only aspirational life API as great filter on social mobility API as defensive perimeter against viruses and violence
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The People of Action don’t exactly think highly of the above-the-API set, so it can be hard to believe in what you do (especially while wallowing in a sense of unfair, unearned comfort and security while others suffer). It’s easy to conclude you’re in the bullshit class.
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Yet the below-the-api wars are never actually winnable by the good guys without whatever the above-the-api classes bring to the party eventually. They’re just buying time in an asymmetric losing conflict. Time for above-the-api classes to bring a decisive winning factor to bear.
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So don’t feel too guilty (feeling a little guilty is good motivation) for safely watching the world burn on twitter and tv while enjoying your grocery and takeout deliveries brought to you by people taking more risk than you, for you even as poor-people resources burn.
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Even in the worst conflicts there are inevitably better and worse places to be. If you happen to be in one of the better places you could of course rush to the frontlines. Possibly you can be of use there. There’s people doing that. Kudos. I’m not one of them.
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But possibly you might be the one to discover a decisive tide-turning factor because you have the safety and security above the api required to bring the right kind of imagination and boldness required to turn the tide.
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For eg, the war against U-boats sinking shipping in the Atlantic was basically won by scientists in labs developing codebreaking tech and radar. Lots of examples like that in history. They didn’t risk being killed by torpedoes. Yet their contribution proved decisive.
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End of conversation
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