Change - A Short Story
By R.G. Belie, PhD
Copyright 2011 R.G. Belie
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Tel Aviv, Israel
Wednesday, 12 September 2012, 11 am
It was turning out to be a better than normal fall day.
The populace was making the most of the ideal weather. The air was fresh and temperature and humidity perfect, not unusual for this time of year. When combined with the magnificent view of the Mediterranean, both impressionable tourists and jaded locals could not help but be awed.
Shoppers scurried through the Carmel Market to find the best bargains and the freshest vegetables. School children listened attentively to their teachers as the fresh air kept them extra alert even though it caused more than a few to drift in and out of day dreams of a pending outdoor lunch. Dock workers hustled to clear a consistent backlog of pallets and containers which were clear indication of the prosperity of the country’s commerce. Empty seats at local coffee shops were hard to find as the various brews along with free WiFi proved irresistible on such a fine day. At Ben Gurion airport, the early flights had launched, and now agents, passengers, security, and baggage handlers were well settled into their daily routine on the revolving door of loading and unloading. All across the city, office workers couldn’t wait to leave their concrete caves and join their outdoor colleagues. Even soldiers with their automatic weapons were relaxed, but vigilant as they patrolled the streets and by ways.
It was a bustling, better than normal day all across the city and all across the country.
Less than a minute later Israel was gone forever.
Washington, D.C., USA and Around the World
Friday, 7 September 2012
The national press had hoped the Tea Party would go away after the 2010 election. They wanted to get back to their traditional job of wowing the masses with their uninformed opinions without having to do any real journalism. The Tea Party upset their apple cart by disrupting the predictability of the two establishment parties and their politics. Before the Tea Party, they had been looking forward to the two years before the next presidential election. Now it looked like they had some really hard work ahead of them to make sure the “right” candidates, their candidates, got elected. It would be much harder now with the “Tea Baggers”, as the press liked to demean them, getting citizens to think again. Before there had been no real alternative to the big government “establishment” candidates since the leadership of both parties played the same game. Now Americans were challenging the elites and that just would not do.
Unfortunately for the lazy press, 2010 was just a prelude to the turbulence the country and world would experience leading up to the 2012 elections.
Almost immediately after the dust cleared on the November election results, out of control spending and big government give-aways came home to roost as the debt spiraled out of control. The deficit was already $14 trillion and rapidly accelerating, yet Congress seemed incapable of practicing financial discipline. Instead of addressing the real spending problem, they set up an imaginary straw man battle over raising the “debt ceiling” to avoid a government default. Backed into a corner by the start of their vacation, they raised the debt limit at the last minute, but predictably the US credit rating was lowered because they had not addressed the real problem. The financial markets were not fooled or impressed by their self deception.
Instead of looking out for the country, the politicians entered into a monumental scam called a Super Committee to pretend they were taking positive action to get the debt down to a manageable level. Again, predictably, this committee never had a chance of succeeding and even included a penalty which would punish the country by automatically gutting its defense, instead of punishing the Congress which had been so derelict in its duties. As the 2012 election grew closer, the debt continued to balloon as neither the Congress or the President had the stomach to make the needed changes.
While the US budget crises captured the headlines for many months, the world continued to move forward on its own disastrous path. Arab countries rose up against their leaders, many of whom were friendly to the US. While the administration celebrated the “democracy” of the event, it was clearly a big step for Muslim extremists in their quest for their global caliphate. Across the world, US prestige continued to slip as the administration struggled with inconsistent foreign and domestic polices and performance. Iran laughed at US sanctions and continued their race for a nuclear weapon. The Syrian dictator continued to put a lie to the Obama policy of “Responsibility to Protect” as he, Assad, killed far more of his citizens than were ever threatened in Obama’s “lead from behind” strategy in Libya. As if to prove his lack of military prowess, the President publicly announced to his enemies the pull out schedules for both Iraq and Afghanistan.
At home, unemployment remained high as the ruling party cut consumer and investor confidence at every turn. The borders remained wide open while gangs and Mexican nationalists were reportedly planning the final steps in restoring Southern California to its “rightful” owners. Fuel and food prices soared. The President’s approach to these problems remained the same: to take another campaign trip, blame anyone else, and divert federal funds to his cronies and supporters like Solyndra and the unions to stimulate their economies and his own war chest. He also had become more aloof and arrogant in running the government, not seeming to care anymore if his dictatorial tactics came out into the open for all to see.
As Europe predestined the decline that socialist policies and class warfare inevitably bring, the US continued to pump borrowed dollars into their economy until the Euro collapsed under its own weight in mid spring of 2012. US exports dried up instantaneously throwing tens of thousands more American out of work overnight and many thousands more over the weeks that followed. Again the administration had that deer-in-the-headlights look of people who lacked the skill or experience to handle crises, big or small, and this was really, really big. Their ideological bent just could not come to grips with the increasingly evident failure of their liberal policies.
As a result, dissatisfaction and anger grew across all segments in the country; rich and poor, Republican and Democrat, lazy and industrious. The protests of the Occupy Movement spilled over into the lives of everyday Americans. Democrats, fearing massive electoral defeat in the fall, went from slow desertions to massive flight from the Obama coat tails they had all ridden just 4 short years before.
Just 3 weeks before the Democrat Convention opened its doors, none other than Hillary Clinton, Obama’s Secretary of State, joined the coup. She not only resigned her position but surprised everyone by announcing that she herself would seek the Democrat nomination that Obama had snatched from her grasp in the run up to the last election.
This threw the media, the party, and just about everyone else on the planet into a giant tizzy. The predicable two way fight between Obama’s socialism and whatever the values were of the as of yet unnamed Republican nominee was now totally in chaos with many more than two viable contenders even at this late stage, just 2 short months before the election itself.
The Republican Convention, coming just two weeks after Hilary’s stunning announcement, evolved with all the turmoil that had been associated with the rest of this tumultuous year. Every anarchist, special interest, communist agitator, and self serving politician showed up along with every media whore seeking to egg on the circus in the righteous name of journalism.
Internally they had not converged on a candidate, instead having several strong candidates and factions that were averse to being the first to give. The chaos of a convention launched without a confirmed candidate was made complete by the uncertainty of who would get the Democrat nod, as well as by the revolutionaries, laggards, and anarchists who felt morally compelled to make Republicans suffer.
The Tampa police were prepared and generally kept violence and destruction of property to a minimum. The delegates still had to work through a maze of security and normally unnecessary complexity, and anyone expecting a pleasant experience was to be extremely disappointed. Furthermore, the pervasive feeling among the delegates was that they were targets of every misfit in the country and every international terrorist who would love to take advantage of this concentration of humanity for the good of their evil.
Ironically, the Republican Convention itself came off relatively smoothly. Sometimes adversity summons exceptionalism. The press had hoped for more controversy, but like everyone else they breathed a sigh of relief when the week was over.
The Republican candidate and his predictable VP choice basked in the limelight for a moment to await the final selection of the Democrat candidate in their own convention the following week. They would take the time of the Democrat convention to polish their strategy. Once the selection was made and the Charlotte convention over, the Republicans would be well prepared to win an election, highlighting the problems caused by Democrats contrasting them with the values based solutions they themselves offered to renew the Republic in a world turned upside down.
If the Republican convention was a circus, the Democrat convention was not much better. The Occupy people had moved north from Tampa to raise hell with the Democrat establishment the same way they had done with the Republicans. There were just not enough promises in either party to meet their expectations of entitlement. The protestors were worn out, however, from the previous week in Tampa. They also had been well indoctrinated to believe the Democrats would more easily cave to their irrational demands than the evil Republicans. This somewhat dampened their zeal to stir up as much trouble in Charlotte as they had tried to in Tampa. The real chaos came on the floor and in the back rooms as emotional radicals fought it out over choosing Hillary or Barrack. If the Republican process had been messy, the battle between these two camps was nothing short of bloody.
The outcome was predetermined, however, as Clinton had learned from her past mistakes. She simply out Chicagoed Obama. Many people had forgotten that, while Obama was a committed follower of Saul Alinsky and his Rules for Radicals, Hillary herself studied directly at the feet of the master of perverted manipulation. She out sold, out extorted, and out hustled Obama who behind the scenes recognized that he had been in over his head from the beginning. He wouldn’t admit it publicly, nor would his pride let him back out gracefully. So the liberal war was launched and concluded with Hillary Clinton as the last man standing.
For the last 4 years, Obama had relished the one thing he excelled at, campaigning. He was so focused on looking forward to the final 2 months leading to the election that he overlooked the immediate threat in his own party. The great campaigner was ready to be in his element, primed for the thrill of the trenches that he would now never feel and the adoring drone crowds he would now never excite. He left the convention in a state of shock. When things went poorly in the past, campaigning had always boosted him back up. Now he had nowhere to campaign, but he was still stuck with being president for 6 more long months. The great campaigner now had no campaign and suddenly was yesterday’s news!
Hillary wasted no time picking up right where Obama’s rhetoric left off, espousing redistribution, equality of outcomes, and class warfare. While she had learned and matured as a candidate in the last four years, the Shrilly of old still snuck in uninvited at many of her speeches. With the exception of her gender, race, and having a closer relationship with Bill than Obama ever did, Hillary would very much fill the bill on the campaign trail as if she was Obama in a skirt.
Now the political battle was joined.
Washington, D.C., USA
Wednesday, 12 September 2012, 4 am
Despite the early hour, the Pentagon exploded with activity as bits and pieces of information trickled in at first, then became an overwhelming mass of excited reports from the Middle East. No one doubted what was happening as they had known this day was surely coming. It had not been politically correct, however, to challenge the wishful thinking foreign policy of the President.
While they knew what was going on, there was nothing they could do about it now other than stay alert and keep the White House informed.
The President had made a regular habit of late night entertainment even before the convention, but since then he had been taking full advantage of the unique perks that would be available to him as the leader of the entire free world for only a few more months. This meant many late nights and few early morning risings. Today would be different
When he was awakened and had a chance to clear his head of its sleepy fog, the President called together his staff to craft a response, something a more experienced, less arrogant executive might have already anticipated. As they assembled at the White House, it was unclear if they were overwhelmed by shock or the unusually early hour.
Washington, D.C., USA
Wednesday, 12 September 2012, 7 pm
If the loss of 3000 Americans eleven years earlier had stunned the civilized world, the loss of a whole nation left many unable to function, so horrible was the deed. As with 911, there were those in the Muslim world who celebrated in a perverted view of religion and history, yet all but the most strident Jihadist had to have at least a passing thought that there was no good in this act of barbarism.
The President had finally put his thoughts together and was now set to make an unprecedented speech to the nation and indeed the whole world. It would be unprecedented not just because of the horror of the event but because of the actions his inner circle had now set in motion. They had often said “Let no opportunity go to waste” and now they intended to make lemonade out of the lemons they themselves had grown.
The bright TV lights came up and the President looked directly into the camera to begin the most important and far reaching speech of his life.
“My fellow Americans and my fellow citizens of the world, today we faced a tragedy of unheard of proportions in all the history of the mankind. Today, the State of Israel was unexpectedly attacked by Iranian missiles armed with nuclear warheads. In such a small country, the results of the attack were devastating. While it will be some time before any human can enter the area to do a proper assessment, we know from satellite images that the major cities took direct hits and have been destroyed. Radiation levels in most other areas of the country are too high to support life, and in the remaining areas we expect the long term prospects for survival are low. This includes widespread areas in adjacent countries and the Palestinian Authority in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
My heart goes out to all those lost and their surviving families. This was an act of unheard of barbarism and the Iranian people will bear the shame of this cowardly act forever.
My staff and I have been meeting since word of the attack came in early this morning to assess the proper response to this atrocity. We have concluded that there would be no useful purpose in retaliating in kind. It would only make us as guilty as those that launched this attack. We already have strong sanctions in place and are encouraging our allies to increase these sanctions to completely isolate the country of Iran as a rogue nation. We believe our restraint in this difficult hour will preclude the Iranians and their partners from any further violence.
My immediate concern is for the safety of the people of the United States. I have therefore put in place a number of actions to protect Americans during this time of international turmoil.
First, I have suspended the national election scheduled for less than 2 months from now. At this time of crisis, we need strong consistent leadership. The uncertainty and confusion of a rancorous election could tear the nation apart and make us vulnerable to our enemies, and the transfer of power during these crises introduces unnecessary risk and could further the confusion and hurt people are feeling today.
Second, to further secure the safety of Americans, I am declaring martial law effective immediately. The leadership of SEIU has agreed to enlist its membership to assist local police in keeping the peace and suppressing rumors. I know I can count on each American to support these efforts to keep us focused on being safe.
Third, I have offered protective custody to key political and industrial leaders, and they have all accepted. This includes the members of Congress, the Supreme Court justices, and the candidates for president from both parties. Almost all have already been taken to an isolated location where they will be safe, but necessarily out of touch with their families and the American people.
Fourth, because they did not do their duty in identifying this threat to the safety of the world, I have ordered the arrest of the Chairman and the Joint Chiefs. I will be naming their replacements shortly. I will not rest until all those who let the country down today are punished.
In order to ensure efficient operation of the government while our political leadership is under protection, I have appointed a Federal Advisory panel led by myself with Van Jones, Andy Stern, Richard Trumka, and Samantha Power as co-leaders. I am also pleased to announce that Jim Wallis has agreed to be the spiritual advisor for this group and the country as a whole during these difficult times. Jim has already assured me he will not rest until he has rallied all Americans around social justice everywhere throughout the land.
Finally, I am asking Americans to refrain from large meetings like church services, football games, or other public gatherings which could be tempting targets for terrorists and anti-government subversion.
I know the American people will embrace these efforts to keep the country safe and to maintain our way of life in the face of these unprecedented threats
I know all good patriots will come to my aid during these trying times and we will get through this together.
May America be blessed!”
The End (of a great experiment).
As Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. “
Epilog
Somewhere in the US
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
As with most policies of the Obama administration, there was little preplanning for potential events, no contingency plans, but more of a shoot from the hip reaction. The goal seemed to be transforming any crisis dialog into a propaganda victory or a political opportunity, rather than substantive long term solutions. With this kind of off-the-cuff policy making, the dangers of unintended consequences were heavily multiplied, as the President was soon to be reminded.
He had not counted that some of the critical political and media detainees would not welcome his “voluntary” protection and some were simply not easily located or silenced. Any hope the President had that there would be no loyal opposition to his plan was quickly dashed as the uproar over his announcement was both loud and close to universal. He and his close advisors quickly realized that the Internet and electronic communications media that they had always leveraged so effectively were now being used to challenge his takeover of government and his lack of response to the destruction of Israel.
This oversight was quickly corrected as a massive communications failure swept the nation. Unfortunately for the conspirators, the new national warning system they used to grab control of the all the communications hubs had many failures just like the ones that occurred during its testing. The result was that some areas were completely cut off while others had uninterrupted access, while still others had only occasional access.
They had also not anticipated the response of the military command structure or the troops. Many were torn by a dilemma they had never even imagined before, to unquestioningly support the Commander and Chief, or the Constitution. The Pentagon generals had been systematically replaced by the administration with loyalists who knew their place, so the allegiance of top military leaders was not in question. It was the field officers, the junior officers, and the enlisted troops that either rebelled openly or at least openly questioned the President’s take over. Many had developed close friendships with the Israelis over the years and admired their courage. Others had committed their lives to the vision of the Republic and simply could not square the claims of the administration with history or their own understanding of the world.
Still the chaos caused by the uncertainty and mixed loyalties rendered ineffective what had been the strongest military in the history of the world. All bases were order to be put on lock down. Some commanders obeyed; others didn’t.
While it took some weeks for the impact to play out, enemies of the US took the confusion and lack of meaningful action by the President against Iran to be a sign of utter weakness. As a result, Iran, feeling its oats after getting away scot free with the attack on Israel, now set its sights on the oil fields in Iraq. In weeks, anything of value in Iraq had been captured or looted. The countries of the region and around the world had built “pretty” ceremonial armies and air forces counting on the real strength of the US for protection. Now all that was gone.
China also saw the chaotic situation in the States as a way to finally resolve the Taiwan issue, and although the free Chinese exacted a horrible price on the Communists invaders, without US support they simply lacked the resources to sustain the fight.
The government impotence encouraged quasi-military activities in an unexpected arena. Mexican drug cartels teamed with La Raza, Mencha, and other Mexican nationalist organizations to take over several border cities including San Diego, Tucson, and Phoenix. It was not a well organized or efficient effort, but such was the collapse of the infrastructure in the US that success was all but assured for all but the most incompetent. Besides, the cartels were well armed and not at all squeamish about using violent overkill to silence any opposition.
Shipping lanes became fair game for pirates of nations and self serving individuals alike, although small groups of US naval units did their share of damage on the pirates before their supplies and support ran low.
Since the majority of those leading the new Obama dictatorship had no practical knowledge or experience with any form of business, they had not anticipated the impact that shutting down communications would have. In the highly automated and inter-related business enterprise that had been enabled by new technology, the loss of a reliable Internet and telecommunications almost immediately wrecked havoc on the economy. Airlines, transportation, fuel, and resupply ground to a halt. The store shelves emptied overnight and were only occasionally partially restocked. For a people used to having everything they wanted, not even having the basics of food, heat, and transportation was a terrible shock. Many quickly used up the supplies they had, assuming they would be replenished as they always had been. The thought of conserving resources was such a foreign concept that many simply continued their excessive consumption until everything was gone. Then, since they had been so condition to avoid personal responsibility and initiative, they just sat around until they died believing the nanny state would somehow come to their rescue.
The new dictatorship had counted that most Americans would remain ambivalent and ill informed to the politics and power plays going on all around them. The American people, even the most disassociated, however, could no longer ignore the lack of food, fuel, and information that was now their lot. Lack of email, surfing, texting, and tweeting just could not be tolerated even by the most politically uninvolved. Now even Democrats, liberals, and independents were openly rebelling. Ironically, the Occupy movement got its way. Income disparity was gone because prosperity for anyone was gone. Everyone now was equally poor, equally cold, and equally in economic chains.
With the collapse of the US economy and affluence, the areas of the world that had not already failed on their own, now followed the US into turmoil. The poor of the world found that they could be poorer, and the affluent found what it is like to be poor. The people had voted for change, and change they got.
Today, one year later, the nation remains in chaos. The new dictatorship still exists but it has to rule from hiding with as much intimidation as it can muster as the mass of the population no longer remains silent, and violence has become the norm of the desperate. Ironically, the dictatorship can still issue orders, some of which are be obeyed, some not.
Even though strong opposition leaders have recently begun emerging to rally the people to restore the Republic, it is unclear if anyone can ever restore even a fraction of the vision of the Founders, or the freedom and prosperity that Americans once enjoyed just a few short years ago. Only time will tell if the United States was a one off accident in the natural order of human folly, hate, and violence; or if it is a roadmap for us to follow into a better future.
Reagan, it turns out, was right!
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