Zucadragon writes:
When I was going through a financial hard time, friends helped keep me on my feet without asking for anything in return.
Now I'm more comfortable and I in turn have helped those who I consider friends in troublesome situations, because their comfort is worth more to me than having a few hundred euro more.
I don't ask for them to pay me back, that's a personal choice, but really, they know they can trust in me and not have that stress, and I know I can trust in them if I were to stumble and require aid.
I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
That is exactly my experience. I got help from friends and family when I was struggling, and they never asked for anything in return. Instead of paying it back, I pay it forward.
To tie this back to our allies, that is exactly what happens. We give aid when help is needed, and down the line those same countries will help out allies, perhaps even the US. Why do (or did) we have such a strong alliance in Europe? Because of what we did during and especially after WW II. Without us, Russia may have very well rolled over the rest of Europe. We also helped to rebuild their countries and economies, ultimately to our own benefit as we grew wealthier together.
For someone to think this should be a direct 1:1 transactional process, they need to look back at history. They need to understand why the US is (or was) a leader in the free world.
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