Why do only some lives matter?

What would it take for everyone's life to matter as much as Jamal Khashoggi's?

I ask this question over at the edge of the news, looking for a doorway into the human conscience.

Consider:

"The U.S. sold a total of $55.6 billion of weapons worldwide in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 -- up 33 percent from the previous fiscal year, and a near record. In 2017, the U.S. cleared some $18 billion in new Saudi arms deals."

This is from two weeks ago. No big deal, just a look at the U.S. weapons