Choose Freedom: A Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Series (The Boston Brahmin Book 6) Page 18
The St. Louis Convention, as it was being called, would be a major political event capturing the attention of the media worldwide. Sarge would have the world stage as he opened the first such gathering since 1787. This was the beginning of his plan to set the nation on a new course toward renewed freedom. Or the rhetoric could embolden a wounded President and send them toward a civil war.
This was his opportunity to appeal to the holdout states along the West Coast. The President had cultivated favor with them from the beginning. The vast majority of relief supplies and temporary power stations were directed to areas stretching from the Canadian border to Mexico. Even typically Republican strongholds like Orange County and San Diego sang the praises of the President and his recovery effort. Sarge now had the assurances of the governors of Nevada and Arizona that they’d be on board with the determinations of the St. Louis Convention.
Sarge’s constant companion, Corporal Morrell, gently knocked on the door and entered. “Sir, they’re ready to link you into the system. Press the flashing light on your phone, and you’ll be live.”
“Thank you, David,” said Sarge.
Sarge began speaking from the heart about his love for country. He reminded his fellow Americans about the sacrifices the Founding Fathers had made for the freedoms they enjoyed. Then he reminded America about what was at stake.
“Just nine months ago, during Labor Day weekend, our children were riding their bikes or swimming in the pool. They were playing with friends and doing all of the things happy children do as the summer comes to a close. None of them imagined that the next day, their world would end—failing to resemble anything their young minds could contemplate.
“Most adults never envisioned such a catastrophic event, yet it happened and our government had known it was a possibility for years. It’s natural to point fingers of blame and seek scapegoats for the ills that befall us. But that time is not now.
“We face a bigger crisis in this nation than the loss of power. Our country is being torn apart ideologically. Just like the children riding their bikes on Labor Day weekend never contemplated the collapse, my fear is that the citizens of this nation do not contemplate the collapse of our Constitution and the republic for which it stands.
“I come before you tonight to ask, what if this is our last time to enjoy the freedoms afforded by the Constitution? What if this is our last moment to do something to save America from the downward spiral representative of the last decade?
“I’m calling on all Americans to set aside their differences and come together for the good of the country. I want you to be able to look your children in the eye and say that we lived up to our values—that we did all we could to keep our nation together.
“America is more than just a large stretch of dirt from coast to coast and border to border. America is a concept, a simple yet powerful idea that freedom is everything. Freedom is all that matters. America is exceptional because it was built on a simple concept—I want to be free.
“I want you to join me in a better vision for our future and the future of our children. My vision is centered on the concept of freedom. I ask those of you from Seattle to San Diego and from Salem to Sacramento, join us in St. Louis as we move diligently to setting this country on the course of freedom. Make the commitment to choose freedom!
“Thank you, and may God bless the United States of America.”
Chapter 45
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Noon
America’s Center
St. Louis, Missouri
The five-hundred-thousand-square-foot America’s Center Convention Complex boasted a thirty-thousand-square-foot ballroom, a sixty-seven-thousand-seat dome, an enormous theater and at least eight conference rooms. It had hosted events ranging from a Beyoncé concert to a Catholic Mass presided over by Pope John Paul II—the largest indoor affair ever held in the United States. Today it was going to host a far more important assembly of representatives from forty-five states.
It would be the second such gathering of its kind, the first having taken place in May of 1787. But the Constitutional Convention that began today carried significant importance, and the historical precedent of the First Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia was not lost on many of its attendees.
On May 25, 1787, delegates representing every state except Rhode Island had convened at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania State House for the Constitutional Convention. The building, which was now known as Independence Hall, had earlier seen the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the Articles of Confederation.
The assembly immediately discarded the idea of amending the Articles of Confederation and set about drawing up a new system of government. Fifty-five state delegates, including George Washington, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin, were charged with the responsibility of devising the new Constitution.
During three months of debate, the delegates devised a brilliant federal structure characterized by an intricate system of checks and balances. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States of America was signed by thirty-eight of the forty-one delegates present and was ultimately ratified by the thirteen states.
The U.S. Constitution was the oldest written national constitution in operation in the world, and it was about to be strictly enforced. Sarge and his entourage, which included Donald, Abbie, and Brad, had several things on his agenda.
He would call on the President to resign from office or prepare to be impeached. Second, he would insist that the presidential election be scheduled immediately. Third, he was going to suggest that the nation’s capital be moved to Boston, where the War for Independence began, and that a special session of Congress be convened there.
There was historic precedent for this. President Washington first took office in New York City, but when he was reelected in 1792, the capital had already moved to Philadelphia, where it would remain for a decade. Thomas Jefferson was the first president to be inaugurated in the new and current capital of Washington, D.C., in March 1801.
The District of Columbia was the product of political compromise. As part of the struggle over Alexander Hamilton’s financial policy, Congress supported the Bank of the United States, which would be headquartered in Philadelphia. In exchange, the southernmost states in the fledgling nation demanded a capital more centrally located and in a rural area. The District of Columbia, to be under congressional control, would be built on the Potomac River.
The irony of this compromise was readily apparent. While Hamilton’s policies encouraged the consolidation of economic power in the hands of bankers, financiers, and merchants who predominated in the urban northeast, the nation’s capital was established in a more southerly and agricultural region apart from the economic elites who were located in New York and Philadelphia.
Our nation was never intended to be governed from one central location where power could easily corrupt our elected officials. It was Thomas Jefferson who warned that a government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have. Sarge intended to remind his fellow Americans of this fact.
Chapter 46
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Noon
America’s Center
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis was known as the Gateway to the West, as evidenced by the magnificent six-hundred-foot-tall arch on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Sarge saw the Constitutional Convention as a portal through which he could drive the train of freedom to every corner of the country.
The gathering was slated to last three days, with various amendments to the Constitution proposed, argued, and voted upon. There were also points of order to be introduced that did not carry the weight of law, but were intended to symbolically reach a consensus for getting the nation back on its feet.
The primary goal of a major political party convention every four years was to nominate and confirm a candidate for President and Vice Preside
nt. Sarge had laughed to Donald that the goal of this convention was to keep the attendees from killing each other. It would be a historic gathering of Americans from all across the political spectrum.
Donald and Abbie, in conjunction with respected governors from across the country, were the primary organizers of this event. The task of bringing together people from around the nation when most parts of the country were without power was daunting, but the full attendance was indicative of what the nation could do when people pulled together for a common goal without the partisan bickering typical of society prior to the collapse.
Ordinarily, the choice speaking slots were designed to be in front of the most potential media viewers—primetime on the final night of the convention. However, television coverage of the St. Louis Convention was limited to film snippets used for broadcast to an elite few. Americans would learn about this historic event through AM radios around the country, the vast majority of whom would be tuned in at the beginning.
It was for that reason, and the fact that Sarge was a political unknown across much of the country, that he chose to give the opening remarks as the keynote speaker. He intended to introduce himself and set the tone for the convention. If his speech was successful, his name would become known to everyone in attendance, and most Americans, as being synonymous with the Choose Freedom movement.
As the keynote speaker, Sarge hoped to convince the politicians to look at conducting the business of the nation in a different way. This was his opportunity to move them away from the top-heavy, centralized federal government towards a state-centered republic. If he was successful, he’d convince them to discuss the prospects of dismantling the broken system and abandoning the massive bureaucracy that had become the root of the nation’s problems.
Sarge took the stage and approached a lone microphone in the center. There were no ornate Greek columns, digital flashing billboards, or Bruce Springsteen lyrics designed to convince the attendees that he was born in the USA.
There was a podium, a pitcher of water, and the United States flag.
Simple and without distractions. No smoke and mirrors.
Chapter 47
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Noon
America’s Center
St. Louis, Missouri
Sarge took a deep breath and addressed the St. Louis Constitutional Convention and a worldwide media audience.
“My fellow Americans, thank you for attending this important gathering as we set the course of recovery and renewal for our great nation.”
Sarge paused to take in the magnificence of the arena filled with thousands of community leaders. He wondered if they could come together to save America.
“This is a historic day in many respects. In the predawn light on this date in 1775, the beating drums and ringing bells throughout the Massachusetts countryside summoned seventy American patriots to the town green at Lexington. As these brave men lined up in battle formation, the distant sound of marching feet and shouted orders alerted them to the approach of the much larger force of seasoned British soldiers. Soon the British column emerged through the morning fog. Both sides eyed each other warily, not knowing what to expect.
“Suddenly, a bullet buzzed through the morning air. It was the shot heard round the world, and the confrontation that would launch our nation began. A dozen difficult years later, fifty-five Americans attended a gathering just like this one in Philadelphia. They faced a task as challenging as the one we face today. The results of that first Constitutional Convention speaks for itself.
“The United States Constitution is, quite simply, the finest document ever devised by man. It’s brilliant in its structure and intent. The House of Representatives, elected directly by the people, has its allocation of representatives based on population. Our United States Senate was designed to provide equal representation for each state. This incredible legislative body, our Congress, however, was circumscribed in its ability to infringe upon the freedoms of the states and the American people by design.
“The presidency is a masterwork of compromise—a powerful executive maintaining a duty to defend our nation, with the partial ability to check the legislature, yet subject to re-election every four years by the people. Today, the American President has been uniformly accepted as the leader of the free world.
“The third branch of government established by the Constitution, the judiciary, was largely restricted to deciding outcomes based upon the express provisions of the Constitution. Its important function is the ability to check the other two branches.
“The Constitution is as clear a document as any yet written. Yes, it contains lofty language—promoting the general welfare, for example—but it is largely a document of specifics. The Constitution is not poetry, open to all forms of interpretation. It is not a literary piece designed to reflect individual whims. The Constitution is, first and foremost, a governmental document, written in plain English—legal and understandable. It does not mutate over time. It does not reflect what we wish it to be. It is what it is. It requires no embellishment.
“No, the Constitution is not a perfect document. Amendments to the Constitution have been necessary and have strengthened the document itself. But again, the founders realized that changes would be necessary for this great nation of liberty and freedom to adapt to changing times.
“Longevity means we have to evolve, that we have to change and be open to change. The evolution of the Constitution was embodied in the amendment process—a process that has abolished slavery, given women the right to vote, and protected freedom of speech, religion and the press, among other necessary and virtuous developments.
“Dr. Benjamin Franklin once pointed out that the Constitution is but a document that relies on the people to give it truth and life. If the Constitution is not revered and followed, then our nation can, as Dr. Franklin pointed out, only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other.
“We are at a crossroads in the history of our great nation. The challenges we face are not a result of the devastating cyber attack of last year. The trials and tribulations we face have been brought on over many years. As the checks and balances restricting federal usurpation of power fell away, the American people became more and more dependent on an all-powerful centralized government.
“In 1787, as our predecessors adopted the United States Constitution, Americans were given the greatest mechanism for the protection of freedom in human history. The choice to maintain that freedom remains, as it always has, in our hands.
“My fellow Americans, all empires collapse eventually, and America is not immune from this fate. However, the actions we take in the next three days can preserve her ideals, protect her citizens, and ensure the goals of our Founding Fathers.
“Freedom will lift the American people out of this malaise. Freedom will lift our family and friends out of the cycle of dependency. It’s the love of freedom that will allow millions of Americans to pursue their dreams. We must make the most of this opportunity to fight for freedom and to protect our God-given rights.
“Join me as I say when given the choice between tyranny or freedom, I choose freedom!”
Chapter 48
Sunday, April 23, 2017
9:00 a.m.
Massillon, Ohio
Katie and Smalley hid in the trees across the street from Rory Elkins’s home. It was their fourth day of surveillance. With each passing day, her contempt and hatred grew for the coward who’d stabbed Steven in the back. She’d made a solemn promise to Sarge to bring Elkins back alive—a difficult pledge to make, and maintain.
The overgrown weeds and brush provided them perfect cover as they observed the activity around the two-story, white-sided home. Several vehicles were parked in front of the house, which obscured their view somewhat. A blue four-door sedan and a white grocery-getter, as Katie liked to call the so-called crossover SUV
s, were parked in the driveway. A utility truck, bearing the blue and red logo of Calcom, blocked the concrete driveway on the right side of the house. Its right-side tires were flat.
For days, Elkins and several men would leave for hours at a time and then return carrying boxes of looted supplies and liquor. At times, they would return with women, treating them roughly as they forced them into the house. The men who constituted Elkins’s posse were hardened and undisciplined. But they wore military fatigues on occasion, and thus Katie didn’t want to take them lightly.
The residence was the only one occupied for several blocks. Nearby Orrville Street was littered with trashy properties containing junked cars and debris strewn about. It was hard for Katie to determine if the entire neighborhood had been looted other than the Elkins home, or if this was just the way the neighbors lived. In any event, the area was deserted and her target was now left alone except for a woman who rarely left the confines of the house.
This was only the second time Elkins had been left alone without his entourage. Katie had grown weary of waiting and decided it was time to make their move. Based upon their observations, the group of men had partied late into the night. Women’s screams had been heard during the evening, but Katie resisted the urge to assist them. She had to stay on mission. When they left this morning, the women were escorted into a truck and driven away.
“He’s alone now except for the other woman,” said Katie. “The back of the house has two exits, both of which lead to a concrete sidewalk and parking area. If he’s gonna bolt, it’ll be toward the adjacent house or into Newman Creek.”
“His boys are gone, so the pussy’s alone,” added Smalley. “Let’s get this job done and deliver him to Steven’s brother.”