Phoenix Rising:

by William W. Johnstone

  “We declare that that education should be the responsibility of individual schools with maximum parental input. Prayer should be allowed in school, but no student should be forced to participate in the prayer.”

  “We are adamantly opposed to any sort of government sponsored health care. Health care should be determined by a free market. Emergency, and lifesaving medical procedures cannot be denied due to a lack of funds.”

  “Retirement planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the government. There should be no government-sponsored Social Security system.”

  “There should be no governmental impediments to free trade. We oppose tariffs and will not trade with any country that imposes tariffs, or otherwise introduces an unfair trade practice.”

  “The citizens of this nation shall have the power of initiative, referendum and recall to be applied to everyone in public office, to include all elected and appointed government officials. The judiciary at all levels, whether voted upon or appointed, are subject to this process. We believe that repeal can, and should, be used as popular checks on government.”

  “We believe, and by our actions herein demonstrate, that should the government become destructive of individual liberty, it shall be the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to agree to such new governance as to them shall seem most likely to protect their liberty.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The first items to be voted on were the amendments, and though there was spirited discussion for and opposed to the amendment that would establish term limits it, as did the other amendments, passed.

  With the new amendments passed, the other proposals were voted upon. Nine of the ten proposals were passed by acclamation. The only one that encountered difficulty was the one dealing with Social Security.

  “Mr. Chairman,” James Laney said, raising his hand and calling from the floor. “Permission to speak?”

  “The chair recognizes the delegate from Alabama,” Bob said.

  “Mr. Chairman, I have paid into Social Security since I was twelve years old. I don’t consider Social Security as being any kind of a welfare program. It is a promise and an investment, and I don’t think it’s right to take it away.”

  Stump Patterson was recognized.

  “Like Mr. Laney, I paid into the Social Security system for many years. I also served in the army for twenty-four years. But my army retirement, like my Social Security retirement, was paid into a government that no longer exists. And because that government no longer exists, the accounts for Social Security, for military and civil service retirements no longer exist. There is no money available, therefore there is no Social Security to take away.”

  The question as to whether or not to establish a Social Security system was tabled for further discussion.

  It was decided to keep the current officers in place until one year after the new country was formed, at which time a national election would be held, and that kept Bob Varney on as provisional president.

  One of the most contentious discussions arose over what to call the new country. There was a strong movement to name the country Fredonia, and because George Gregoire sponsored that position it had a lot of support.

  “Fredonia has a connective history with the founding of the United States,” Gregoire said when he presented his argument. “It was a name first coined by Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill in 1803 when he wrote his Proposal to the American literati, and to all the citizens of the United States, to employ the following names and epithets for the country and nation to which they belong, whereby they may be aptly distinguished from the other regions and peoples of the earth:

  1. Fredonia, the aggregate noun for the whole territory

  2. Fredonian, a sonorous name for a citizen of Fredonia

  But it was no less than the new president who spoke in favor of the name United Free America. “We all know that when we say United Free America, what we actually mean is the United States of America. We have always called ourselves Americans, and with this name, we can continue to call ourselves Americans.

  “I believe that we are all in agreement that what we want now is an interim country, a placeholder if you will, until once more our land will stretch from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. We have no ambition for a new country, or a new name. We exist for one purpose only, and that is to take back America.”

  Bob’s speech was met with a standing ovation, and, before the vote was taken, Gregoire asked for permission to speak one more time.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of this historic convention, I withdraw my support for the name Fredonia, and move that we adopt the name United Free America by acclimation.”

  The move was seconded, and by acclimation.

  “The task before us is clear,” Bob said as he addressed them at the conclusion of the convention. “We must now return to our respective states to report to the people what we have done here. Then, with the full knowledge and support of those whom we represent, we will reconvene on the fifteenth of October, to organize our Republic. I am going to call upon Father Ken Coats to give a closing prayer.

  Father Coats, the same man who had performed the marriage for Jake and Karen, stepped up to the podium, wearing the vestments of his office. The gathering grew quiet, as he intoned his prayer.

  “Our Eternal Father, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old, grant, we beseech thee, that we, and all the peoples of this new endeavor, may have grace to reestablish these liberties in righteousness and peace for the benefit of all. Amen.”

  During the time Mobile was under the dominance of the State Protective Service and the Janissaries, the Moqaddas Sirata had published a newspaper called the Way of Enlightenment. When Mobile was freed, the publishers of the paper, who had stolen the paper from its original publishers, were run off, and a new newspaper, the Journal of Freedom was started. The Journal of Freedom published an article telling about the convention just completed where a new nation was born, and a new constitution developed.

  IS A NEW NATION TO BE BORN?

  On July Fourth (the date was purposely chosen), the old and historic city of Mobile added yet another page to its long and illustrious list of historical achievements. The states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Florida, Tennessee, and Texas have declared themselves free, and forever unencumbered from the entity that now calls itself the American Islamic Republic of Enlightenment.

  Representatives from these states met in Mobile for the purpose of drawing up a constitution for same. The hopes and prayers of an anxious people will be with these men and women as they undertake the arduous task that lies before them.

  God be with them, and God bless their efforts.

  Philadelphia

  Ann McPherson had watched the telecast the night before of the constitutional convention of United Free America. She had not been back to school since her brother, and many of her friends had been killed in the auditorium. Although the news reports said that it was an accidental release of toxic fumes, she knew, with a certainty, that Jack, Carl, and the others had been murdered.

  For several days after that awful tragedy Ann had been so shaken by what had happened that she seldom left the apartment. Then, this morning there was a loud knock on her door. There was something frightening about the knock; it wasn’t the light and inquiring tap of a friend, it was loud and aggressive.

  Taking a deep breath and drawing herself up, Ann answered the door. She saw two, black-clad Janissaries standing there.

  “Miss Ann McPherson?” one of the men asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Come with us, please.”

  “May I ask what this is about?”

  “Come with us, please,” the man repeated.

  Ann was handcuffed and taken to what had been in the pre-O time, a precinct of the Philadelphia Police Department. Once there she was taken into an interrogation room where the handcuffs were removed,
and she was told to sit down.

  Then, the two men who had brought her here left, and Ann was alone in the room.

  She looked around the room, which had three bare walls, painted a pale green. The fourth wall was a mirror, and Ann had seen enough crime movies and TV shows that she knew the mirror was a one-way window.

  She was glad the handcuffs had been removed, and as she waited, she rubbed the redness on her wrists that the cuffs had caused.

  She drummed her fingers on the table, and waited.

  She looked around for a clock, but there wasn’t one. They had taken her watch when they brought her here, so she had no idea how long she had been here.

  She waited.

  It felt as if her legs were going to sleep, so she got up and began pacing around the room. She could see herself in the mirror, and she realized that she was seeing exactly what those unseen eyes on the other side of the mirror were also seeing.

  Finally she returned to her chair, then put her clasped hands on the table and stared, pointedly, at the mirror.

  She waited.

  She thought of her brother, killed, no, murdered, along with two hundred others at the auditorium. She wondered how he would act if he were here, and she imagined that he would probably flip a bird to the mirror. The thought of that tickled her, and she smiled.

  Almost immediately after that, the door opened and a black-uniformed Janissary came in. He was an average-sized man who had a splash of color above his left pocket. They were ribbons, like the kind of ribbons she used to see worn on the uniforms of soldiers. He sat down across the table from Ann.

  “I am Major Fatih. And you are?”

  “You mean you brought me down here and you don’t even know who I am? Good, then you have obviously made a mistake.”

  Fatih reached across the table and slapped Ann, the move coming so quickly and so unexpectedly that she didn’t even have time to duck. Her cheek turned red from the blow.

  “I will not put up with insolent comments from a woman,” Fatih said, harshly. “You will apologize for your insolence now.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ann said in a small, frightened voice.

  “What is your name?”

  “McPherson. Ann McPherson.”

  “Miss McPherson, what did you find humorous?” Fatih asked.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Just before I came in, you were smiling. Why were you smiling?”

  “I don’t know,” Ann said. “I wasn’t even aware that I was smiling. It must have been a nervous reaction. Believe me, I find nothing humorous about this situation. Why am I here?”

  “I will ask the questions. Why didn’t you go to the assembly hall with your brother?”

  “There was no reason for me to go.”

  Major Fatih removed a folded sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, then slid it across the table.

  A CALLTO ALL STUDENT REVOLUTIONARIES If you wish to demonstrate against the government, gather in assembly hall at eight o’clock Monday morning.

  “Do you deny that you saw this e-mail?”

  “I saw it.”

  “Did you and your brother send this e-mail?”

  “No.”

  “Is this e-mail the reason your brother went to the assembly hall?”

  “I suppose it is.”

  “If your brother went, why didn’t you go with him?”

  “My brother was interested in politics. I am totally apolitical.”

  “Why have you no interest?”

  “I am a woman. Such things are not for women. It is our duty to be a good wife and a good mother. As women, we exist only for the procreation of the species, nothing more.”

  “And yet, you are not married. Why is that you are not married?” Fatih asked.

  “I am true to Allah, and if I am to marry, it must be to someone who shares my faith.”

  The interrogating Janissary nodded his head, and drummed his fingers. Then without another word he got up and left the interrogation room. A few minutes after he left, the same two men who had brought her here came back in.

  “Am I free to go now?” Ann asked.

  Her question was unanswered as the handcuffs were put back on her.

  “What’s happening? Why can’t I go? I answered all the questions.”

  Still not responding, the two men led her into the back of the building where there were several holding cells. She was put into one.

  The cell was depressing. It had one bunk, and an aluminum lavatory and toilet bowl sticking out from the back wall. Because the cell was completely open, she knew that she would have to perform any toilet functions without privacy.

  Ann lay on the bed and wept quietly.

  Later that same day, Sally Mosley was brought into the jail and put into the adjacent cell. Ann said nothing until the guards were gone then she moved quickly to the bars that separated their cells.

  “Sally, they brought you here, too?”

  “Yes,” Sally said.

  “What have you told them?”

  “I’ve told them nothing. I told them I didn’t know anything about the meeting.”

  “Did they believe you?”

  “I don’t know,” Sally said. “I told them that I was a woman, and that whatever my husband did was his business.”

  Ann started to say something, then she saw a very tiny microphone at the top of one of the bars. She put her finger to her lips, then mouthed the word “bug” without speaking aloud.

  “That is true,” Ann said. “Those who question us are men, and do not understand how we are blessed by Allah to be women, and because we are women, we are uninterested in things of a political nature. Perhaps, after they do more investigation, they will realize that we are innocent of any wrongdoing. Allah be praised, I think this is how it will be.”

  “Yes, Allah be praised.” Sally said. “I have another blessing from Allah.”

  “Oh?”

  “I am with child.”

  Ann’s eyes grew wide, questioning whether this was part of the playacting they were doing, or whether Sally was telling the truth. Sally nodded yes.

  “Oh, Sally,” Ann said, sticking her hand through the bars to grasp the hand of her friend. “Did Carl know?”

  “No. I did not know I was pregnant until I was told by my neighbor. She is a wise woman who has assisted many women bear their children. She has said that she will assist me.”

  “Oh, but do you think that’s wise. I mean shouldn’t you . . .” Ann started to ask if Sally shouldn’t see a doctor, but even as the question was forming, she cut it off. Sally couldn’t see a doctor, because women were not allowed medical care, except for that provided by another woman. And, as women were not allowed to practice medicine, that meant that any woman who had an actual malady, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, or any other major disorder, had to go untreated. “Shouldn’t you pray to Allah that your pregnancy be an easy one?”

  “Yes, I do pray that my pregnancy be an easy one,” Sally said. Ann noticed that Sally did not say “pray to Allah,” and she knew exactly what Sally meant.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Sikeston, Missouri

  Dr. Taylor Urban’s office was on the corner of New Madrid and Center Street. The office had been there for over fifty years, first with Dewey Urban, Taylor’s father, and now with Taylor. There had been a decided change in the practice beginning from the moment the “Ohmshidi Care” bill was passed establishing socialized medicine and putting all doctors on the public payroll.

  The workload for doctors increased, then, when nearly half of the doctors quit their practice, the workload increased exponentially. Taylor Urban didn’t quit, it wasn’t about the money for him. It never had been about the money. He treated patients because he felt as if he had been born for that purpose.

  After the United States collapsed under Ohmshidi, to be replaced by the American Islamic Republic of Enlightenment, there was an even more drastic change in the practice of medicine. All women doc
tors lost their license to practice and it became law that male doctors could no longer treat female patients.

  Dr. Urban refused to follow that decree, and he let it be known that he would treat female patients. He established a second office in the back of a store that sold muslim clothing for women, such as abaya and jilbab, hijab and scarf, kurti and tunic. Because the store specialized in clothing for women, it did not immediately arouse suspicion that there were always women going in and out.

  Then, one day in late July, Dr. Urban had Blanche Percy, a single young woman in her early twenties, sitting on the padded table. Blanche was topless, and Dr. Urban was feeling her breasts to search for lumps. It was at that precise moment that the door to his “secret” examining room burst open and four armed Janissaries burst in.

  “Here, what is the meaning of this?” Dr. Urban demanded, indignantly.

  “You and the whore are both under arrest,” the leader of the Janissaries said.

  “This woman is my patient!” Dr. Urban said. “How dare you break into my office like this! And how dare you call this innocent young lady a whore!”

  Blanche Percy was ordered to cover herself. Then both she and Dr. Urban were taken to jail.

  Blytheville, Arkansas

  Merlin Lewis was an extrovert. He greeted everyone effusively, even people who were on the other side of the street, often calling them by name. He was a heavy-set man with white hair and an almost perfectly round birthmark on his face. Many years ago Lewis had been a star football player for the Blytheville High School Chickasaws. Then, he went by the nickname of Bull, the sobriquet earned by his bruising defensive play.

  On this morning, Lewis went into the SPS headquarters which was located on Walnut Street in what had once been the police station. The desk clerk looked up and, recognizing him, said, “You here to see Captain Mahaz?”