Freedom vs.Tyranny

by Ira J. Tabankin

“Mr. President, I’m sorry; however I don’t think the United Nations can supply 50,000 peacekeepers, we lost 6,000 troops due to many different accidents during your July 4th uprising. You have a large and very strong military; we suggest you use your own forces to bring peace to your country.”

  “Mr. Secretary-General, how much will it cost us to ensure you find a way to send us additional troops?”

  “Mr. President, it’s not all about money. Some of the member countries are concerned about the recent losses of their people. They are concerned that your country is going to slip into anarchy, in which case no number of peacekeepers is going to be enough to hold your country together. We think America is going to break up into four or five countries. We’ve been holding discussions with some of the Security Council members who think it’s best for the entire world if America does break up into smaller countries. As such Mr. President, I’m afraid I don’t have support of the Security Council members to send additional troops right now.

  “Mr. Security-General, this is insane, no one in their right mind wants to see America break up, it will destabilize the world.”

  “Mr. President, the Security Council thinks that America as a super power has destabilized the world. If America is weakened by breaking up into smaller less powerful countries, the world will be safer. Mr. President, until the situation in America, stabilizes, the United Nations is going to move our meetings to Geneva. Good luck to you, personally, I wish you all the luck to be able to get control of your internal situation.”

  “Mr. Secretary-General, what’s to happen to the 2,000 troops that are already here in Washington DC?”

  “I’ve decided they can stay as part of your personal security force. I’m not sure I can get them home safely right now.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General.”

  After the President hangs up the phone his temper explodes; he starts throwing things around the Oval Office, he screams out a steady stream of curses. “I hate the damn upper class, they all are going to have to go, once we have settled the issues here, I’m going to deal with the damn United Nations. They should be taking orders from me.”

  The President’s aides know it’s going to take a miracle for the President to get the current situation under control. Incidents are reported in city after city. Clashes between various groups pushing their agendas are reported almost hourly. The President reads pages of lists of incidents, of clashes, of violence across the country. He decides the time has come for him to make an announcement about the violence, he informs his staff, “Inform the networks, I’ll be needing thirty minutes of time tonight at 9:00PM EDT, I’m going to make a major announcement that will have an impact on everyone. Tell them I’m taking their broadcast systems over for the thirty minutes, don’t ask, TELL them.”

  At 9:00 PM EDT, the President sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office looks into the camera, he’s still wearing his black armband he looks tired and sad. Many of the media “talking heads” remark on how tired the President looks, he begins. “My fellow American’s today is the day I never thought would happen. I have spent the day in meetings and reading reports about the numerous clashes between various groups in our country. I don’t understand why we all can’t get along; we’re all Americans we all want the same things, we all want our children to be safe, we all want our brothers and sisters to be safe, to be free to live the life they want. We all want our children to have a better life than the one we have; we all want to go to bed without being hungry, we all want to be educated. We all want everyone to have an equal and fair chance; we all want everyone to pay their fair share. We all want the homeless to have a home. I sit here this evening having to ask, what has Congress done to overcome any of these issues? Who other then I have done anything to address these issues? Who other then I have ever addressed income inequality? Who other then I have worked so hard to bring peace among all of our people? What has Congress done in the past six years? If it wasn’t for the bills, I submitted to Congress they wouldn’t have done anything. We can’t wait for Congress to act, we can’t wait for 500 people to sit around and debate what they think their corporate interests want. Every day we wait, more of our children die; more of us go to bed hungry. Why should we wait? Why should we be held hostage to 500 people? Tonight, I’m declaring a national state of emergency. I’m sending Congress home for the duration. I’ll rule via executive order and cabinet regulations. We can’t wait for the normal political bullshit process to work its way through two house of Congress. Hopefully, this state of National Emergency won’t last long. I’m sure I can count on every one of you to support your President. America things will start improving as of tomorrow, good night and may God bless America.”

  Chapter 29

  Minutes after the President’s address the silence is broken by the internet exploding with rants and posts. Social media posts tripled in number. Twitter reports the highest number of tweets in the company’s history. Many sites are jammed with so many posts they freeze. Facebook crashes four times within two hours. The ratio of comments for and against the President runs 60% against and 40% pro. The 40% pro is very vocal in defending the President. They claim the time has come for a major change in America, the old system, simply didn’t work, a new system a system that responded quickly to the needs of the many. The 60% “scream” the President needs to be removed from office. Some question how did we even get to this point? How did we allow a sitting President to send Congress home and rule by decree? Why did the media miss the warning signs, or were they part of the bigger problem?

  Even the media starts questioning the President’s motives, many “talking heads” who are supposed to be constitutional experts debate the President’s actions. Some are saying he’s taking extraordinary measures because of the unusual times and situation the country finds itself in. Some of the so-called experts say that Congress put us into the current situation and question if Congress is even necessary. Many are saying Congress sold their souls to whoever paid them the most, many congressmen held office for so long that a political class rules America. The forefathers thought that people would run for office hold it for a short while and then return to their lives, they never foresaw people who represented people in areas they no longer lived in and shared very little or nothing with. How could such people represent the people? Laws were passed based not what was good for the people but in exchange for future or past owed votes and favors. Bills became so long and convoluted no one read them before voting on them. 2,000-page bills became the norm. It became normal that the only time, anyone understood what was in the bill, was after it was passed, and people started to look into it. Many bills contained rules that conflicted with others already on the books. The entire theory of equal treatment was tossed into the trash can of history. The famous walked from crimes that would see the average person sit in jail for years. Many talked themselves into thinking that maybe the President was right; our current system was simply unworkable. Maybe the founders were wrong, or maybe as time moved forward government like everything else had to adopt. Many in the media talked themselves into supporting the President’s actions.

  A few brave souls spoke out that America was founded to get out from under a king; the last thing, America needed, is a new king. George Washington was offered the chance to be a king, he turned it down saying America should never have a king. Middle America is disgusted with everything coming out of Washington. They agreed change is required, however they didn’t agree the country needed or should have a sole ruler or a ruling class. Local media shouted that the President should step down and cease his plan versus breaking the country in two.

  The next day’s early morning news programs start off with a review of the President’s speech. Almost all of the show’s guests are pleased with the President’s address, they agreed with his handling of the current situation. Most of their guests are Hollywood stars who are to the left of Lenin. Wolf News put on history professors who discussed the forefather’s v
iew of America, they discussed the Federalist Papers, 85 essays outlining how the new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America. All of the essays were signed "PUBLIUS" and the actual authors of some are still under dispute, but the consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed the remaining 5. The history professors are shocked at the President’s decision; they agree that the President may have pushed the country over the tipping point into a second revolution or civil war. All agree that if the country moves to a second civil war, it’ll tear the country apart; most of the professors think the result will be two Americas, one progressive/socialist and the other conservative based on the original Constitution. All agree fighting a war with modern weapons and technology will tear the country apart. Some of the professors think splitting the country is a good thing, the country can’t continue as it is. 55% of the country are takers while only 45% work to support the 55%.

  At 8:00AM CDT 150,000 people march in Downtown Des Moines Iowa shutting down the city, they refuse to move or allow cars to enter the state government building’s parking lots. The police set up barricades to block the marchers from reaching the government buildings. The marchers demand the President resign and recall Congress. Des Monies comes to a complete stop; neither side will move. The state government is closed for the duration.

  At the same time in sixty other cities around the country, similar protests are taking place. Local and national media are recording the marches and protests. Pro President protesters meet each protest against the President. Most of the time the two sides clash, thousands are sent to hospitals; hundreds are killed, and millions of dollars in damage is done. In a few cities, the protesters build barricades, to stop the police from reaching and arresting them. The police try remove the barricades, when they get close or in some cases on top of the barricades, the protesters set them on fire; some of the police are caught in the fire, receiving 3rd-degree burns before they can get off the burning barricades.

  In Charlotte South Carolina, rocks, bottles, bricks and Molotov Cocktails are thrown by both sides. Some protesters have organized a row of archers behind the main body of protesters. The arrows fly over the protesters and barricade striking the pro-President protesters. The arrows come as a rude surprise to those on the receiving end. None of the arrows falls on the police locations which would have returned fire with their firearms. The police call on the fire department to bring high-pressure fire hoses to break up the protests. When the fire department arrives, they are greeted with flights of arrows; they refuse to move forward, moving their trucks back out of the range of the arrows. The police demand the fire department set up their hoses to break up the protests; the fire chief arrives on the scene; he decides he isn’t going to risk his people to do the police’s work. He swore an oath that he decides is more important. Two local militias arrive which encircle the pro-President protesters; they run into the liberal group; fists fly. The liberals learn that sometimes violence is required to settle the issue. All of them are bruised many have broken bones and concussions. After breaking up the anti-protest protest, the militia starts to retreat when the police approach the militia leaders handing them a citation for disturbing the peace. John, one of the militia leaders, asks the police officer, “Rob, what’s the story with the citation?”

  “John, you, and your people, did disturb the peace, the chief said we had to issue citations to all parties of today’s march, as such, you and your men have earned a citation for disturbing the peace. You can plead guilty pay the $15 fine and not have to show up for a court hearing.”

  “Rob, just out of curiosity, what are you charging the protesters with?”

  “Hunting without a license, bow hunting season doesn’t start for another two months, their fine is $25. They will also get a warning for not wearing an orange hunting vest while hunting.”

  John laughs, “What about the guys we beat up?”

  “They blocked the street; they used profanity in public, they threatened police officers, plus they littered. They will have to appear in court to face the judge."

  “I see you’re taking this protest very seriously.”

  “Look John, most of us don’t agree with the President. However, we’re charged with keeping the peace in this city. We can’t allow it to turn into a civil war; we’ve already done that once before, it didn’t work out so well for us the first time we tried it.”

  In Normal Illinois, two equal sized groups meet each other in the towns square. Each side tried to stay on their side of the street. At first this worked until the name calling and rock throwing got the best of each group; both sides rushed to meet the other, after twenty minutes the police arrived to separate the two sides, a total of forty-two are taken to the hospital.

  The press is having a field day reporting only one side of the story; they report only the violence performed by the anti-President protesters.

  @@@@@

  At 6: 30PM three broadcast anchors go on the air with scripted reports reporting the President’s actions in a positive manner, in the middle of their scripted remarks the three reporters look directly into the camera. They pause; they veer off script to start talking about the dangerous path the President has set the country on. They start discussing the impact of a civil war in America when each of the three of them is cut off the air. Government censors have a “kill” switch which can cut the transmission of any seditious comment. The three kept their promise to the people who woke them in the middle of the night, they honestly tried to speak out against the President’s plans. However, anyone, who speaks out against the President, isn’t just considered an opponent, they are classified as an enemy of the President and an enemy of the state. An enemy of the state is attacked with everything the government can bring to bear, the IRS tears into their financial dealings, DHS tears into everything else, from their internet posts and web searches to their phone calls and even what they eat and drink. From now on their lives are open books that the government vultures now pick clean and use against them and their families.

  @@@@@

  “General Brownstone, the country, is starting to burn, so far most of the demonstrations have used limited violence, one group in Charlotte South Carolina used a row of archers to attack the pro-President side.”

  The general spit up his coffee, “Archers, like in the Middle Ages?”

  “Yes sir, they were ticketed for bow hunting out of season and not wearing orange hunting vests.”

  “I want to meet that police officer who wrote those tickets; he’s got a hell of a sense of humor.”

  “Sir, Rash, and Glenn are trying to organize a mass march on the White House.”

  “That’s one of the harebrained ideas that got us into this mess, where are they? I need to talk with both of them.”

  “Sir, when the bird went down, they got out with some minor bruises and minor burns, they were both picked up in a white cargo van and disappeared before we could get to them.”

  “Captain where are they?”

  “Sir, we think their hiding in Richmond, Virginia.”

  “I should have known that, knowing how much both of them studied history. Richmond was the Capital of the South in the Civil War, I wonder what their planning. My gut tells me they’re going to excite their listeners to push the President over the edge.”

  “General, I think the country has reached the tipping point, I think Middle America is saying they’re not accepting the President taking sole control of the country.”

  “Captain, frankly it’s what I’m afraid of, what have we heard from the other senior staff?”

  “General, the Air Force is still sitting on the fence. The odds are most will sit it out, the Army is split 60/40 for, the Marines or should I say the ex-Marines are 90/10 for, the Navy is 75/25 for, the Guard is split almost 50/50. The reserves are mostly against the President.”

  “I don’t want to watch the countr
y ripped apart the way other countries have been in civil wars.”

  “General, maybe shows of force and mass protests will convince the President to change his mind.”

  “Captain, how many countries have we served together in? How many civil wars have we seen? In how many of those did the king or dictator, warlord whatever title they used ever surrender power from demonstrations without violence?”

  “General, that’s not a fair question, every country we’ve served together in, when the demonstrations didn’t think their voices were being heard, they all turned to violence, it was a threat and many times the outright violence that forced the dictator out. I can’t think of one who just looked outside his window and said, my people aren’t happy, I better pack up and leave.”

  “My point exactly. We need to find a different way to get the President’s attention.”

  The phone on the general’s desk rings, he picks it up, “Hello, yes I understand, and I’ll be there tomorrow.”

  “Captain, I think we just crossed over the tipping point; a group in New Hampshire just took over their entire town. They hanged the Mayor and town council who supported the President. When the local police came to investigate, they were forced to stop at a roadblock the patriots built. The police were surrounded; half of the officers turned around, taking as many of the militias with them as they could, the other half returned to their station reporting they couldn’t go any further due to the barricade. Pictures of the hanged Mayor and town council have been posted on the internet. Each was hanged with a sign around their necks reading “traitor." The Mayor was running for Governor; he was a large financial backer of the President. The President responded by sending hundreds of DHS agents and his Citizen Defense Forces to the town. They burned the homes and businesses of the patriots to the ground. Many of their homes were burnt with their families trapped inside of them. DHS burned those people alive. Someone posted the pictures of the burned homes, in some cases the homes burned to their foundations sitting next to a house untouched, pictures of the burned to death family members somehow slip through the censors and ended up posted on social media before the DHS censors realized their error and took them down, the outrage is spreading faster than the flu. I think we crossed the line. The President showed his hand, we’re going to have to cut his hands off him.”