New World screwworm prevention raises a question about independence: how much do we owe the people whose work keeps a threat out of sight? In this literary essay, a sailor returns to South Texas to find another kind of watch. Fictionalized ranch scenes follow a sick calf, a self-reliant father, and airplanes releasing sterile flies over the brush.
George Kennan’s containment strategy and Edward Knipling’s sterile insect technique meet in the same question. Can we hold a threat away from home through patient cooperation, or must independence mean doing everything ourselves? The son knows what his father cannot see: a healthy calf may depend on people in other countries who keep doing their jobs, long after anyone thinks to thank them.
Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/06/16/man-eaters/
