The Unseen War
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Apr 18, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 18, 2025
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. STUDIO - 18:00
Quiet. Sitting on a sofa, PETER scrolls through his Facebook feed.
PETER (V.O.): Here's a post about US's economic policy.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Tariffs are going to lower living standards of all?
Peter reads on.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They're going to wreck the US economy... Why?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Why does the US run a large deficit in its trade in goods and services?
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Are other countries ripping off the US?
Act 2
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Peter takes a look of the Fender guitars near him.
PETER (V.O.): Fender guitars made in the US are more expensive than those made in Mexico, Japan or China.
Peter continues to read the meaning of running a current account deficit.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It means the US is spending more than it's producing. That's what leads to a deficit.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Due to low savings, the US has been facing enormous budget deficits.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So the government is like a national credit card?
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It transfers money, pays for wars, pays for military bases around the world...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Why doesn't the US use the money to refine its infrastructure? Isn't it a peace-loving nation?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And the US government blames other countries and raises import tariffs to correct its large deficits.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): US citizens will shift their spending, say, from imported cars to US-made cars and pay higher prices for them.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Can US export more US-made cars? Pretty unlikely, as it doesn't have the comparative advantage in the first place, even if there're no retaliatory tariffs.
Peter reads on.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's an unbelievably bad economic policy.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And China's remarkable success has positioned it as a rival to the United States.
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Amid the ongoing tariff war initiated by the US, who are the friends of the US?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They should be mindful of a quote: "It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."
Sighing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While I'm immersed in my emotional relationships, the world's systemic issues serve as effective distractions.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the past, surrendering to the truth was the only ceasefire that ever worked.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But all such ceasefires were short-lived.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The greatest war is the one we don't see.
The study grows dark, leaving only the faint glow of Peter's smartphone visible.
Act 3
INT. STUDIO - 22:30
Peter inserts an AI drawing titled: "The Unseen War..." to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O): Wars aren't fought where the cameras are. They're fought in ledgers, sanctions, and the words we never hear.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): My first battle is to realize I've been drafted into an unseen war I never agreed to fight. However, ignoring it won't keep me safe either.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): The casualties of the unseen war are in the minds, left to rot in quiet.
FADE OUT
END
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