Blogson Mike the Marine of From the Halls to the Shores put up a post about how cool the Marines are, and a goofy troll started ranting about the evils of the Iraq war in the comments. One passage particularly intrigued me.

Why are we there again?
[...]
To spread freedom?
Yeah, that's it. That fit's everywhere w[h]ere there are not enough McDonnalds.

Oddly enough, SamTroll is perfectly correct to single out McDonald's as an icon of freedom. Although the golden arches seem universally ubiquitous, locations are actually restricted.

You'll find them in Egypt and South Africa, but not in Ethopia or Sudan.

You'll find them in Kuwait and Qatar, but not in Iran or Syria.

You'll even find them in China, but not North Korea.

McDonald's is a corporation so greedy and rapacious, it makes Monty Burns look like Mother Teresa. Where there's a buck to be made, you'll find pimply-faced teen-agers saying "fries with that?" in the local lingo.

Yet there are still places they won't set foot. Why would that be?

Because in order to make that buck, the host country has to have - if not freedom - at least a base level of civilization.

There has to be a stable currency, a transportation infrastruture to ensure the regular delivery of supplies, a ready supply of clean water, and a high enough level of societal trust that the citizens of that country are comfortable trading cash for goods & services.

This situation is taken for granted in America, but there are a LOT of nations that have some climbing to do before they can even hit the bare minimum to support a fast food restaurant.

So, without intending to be, SamTroll is right.

No nation is truly free until someone owns a McDonald's franchise.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:57 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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