After the Republic (2 page)

Caroline sighed and rolled her eyes.

Drew shrugged. “I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree. The bottom line is that he helped Wagner win the election. I guess I’m just a bit more pragmatic than you on issues like this. We needed him to win.”

Joshua waved Drew off. “Pragmatic or unprincipled? Not everyone who helps with a campaign needs to be at the leadership table
after
the campaign.”

Rebecca back-handed Joshua on the thigh. “Enough back-and-forth for tonight. Let’s just watch the speech!”

“Amen!” Caroline chimed in. Perry smirked.

After the dignitaries were seated, the Sergeant at Arms bellowed
Mister Speaker, the President of the United States!
President Wagner entered the House chambers, escorted by members of the House and Senate. Members of Congress gave the president a standing ovation as he slowly made his way to the dais, shaking hand after hand along the way.

As the president worked the crowd Joshua couldn’t help but think out loud. “President Wagner has given renewed hope to a lot of people who had given up on America. You can tell he
truly
loves America, believes in freedom and wants us to be the greatest nation on--”

“We get it,
you like the guy
.” Perry rolled his eyes.

Joshua patted Reagan on the head. “In some ways he reminds me of my dog’s namesake.” The puppy wagged his tail vigorously.

Rebecca cocked an eyebrow. “Comparing a brand new president who hasn’t even given his first State of the Union speech to Ronald Reagan is a pretty bold statement.”

“No doubt, but one can hope. We could use another Ronald Reagan.”

“I’ll second that,” Drew agreed. “By the way, naming your dog ‘Reagan’ is pretty ape.”

Perry looked at Drew and then Joshua, his brow furrowed. “Ape?”

Joshua shook his head and chuckled. “Inside joke with Drew and some of his friends who work at the legislature.
Don’t ask
.”

Perry rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

President Wagner took his place on the dais. The Speaker of the House and the Vice President stood behind him, overshadowed by an American flag that stretched to the ceiling. All conversation ceased as the statuesque, silver-haired president began his address.
My fellow Americans, this will be different than most State of the Union addresses you’ve heard in the past. Far too often, political leaders have told you what you WANTED to hear, not what you NEEDED to hear. Far too many politicians have danced around serious issues rather than dealing with them head-on. Far too many politicians have made big promises, without telling you how they planned to pay for them. Far too many politicians have spent their time focusing on what divides us, at the expense of the ties that bind us. All too often, politicians have been so worried about the next election that they forgot about the next generation.

Enough is enough. Tonight, we will begin a candid, adult conversation about the TRUE state of our union. We must take an honest look at where we are, reflect on how we got here, and have a serious, mature discussion about where we go from here.

Joshua smiled broadly.

The President continued:
As I traveled this great country over the past two years, one thing became even clearer than I could ever have imagined. America is filled with great people who love God, love their families, love our nation and want to work hard and make a better life for themselves and their children. And the federal government needs to get out of their way, not stand in it.

For the better part of a century America was the undisputed leader of the free world. In World War II, our Greatest Generation helped turn back the face of tyranny by leading the fight to defeat Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. That war would likely have ended differently – and our world would be a much darker place today – if not for the United States of America.

Joshua glanced at his grandfather’s flag from World War II, which hung in a framed case across the room.
Granddaddy would be so happy if he were alive to hear this speech,
he thought.

President Wagner continued:
We put a man on the moon. We stood down the Soviet Union and won the Cold War. Our nation has been the source of much of the world’s innovation over the past 100 years. America has been a beacon – THE beacon -- of freedom and hope to those who have neither.
Joshua felt goosebumps form on his arms.

That has been our past, and it can be our future -- IF we are willing to make the tough decisions that demand to be made. Before I discuss the specific steps we must take to get America back on track, it is appropriate to reflect upon the things that made America the greatest nation on earth.

President Wagner reached into his jacket pocket and held up a small pamphlet.
Let’s start with our Constitution.
The entire chamber erupted into applause, with many Members of Congress rising to their feet. Joshua glanced up at the framed print of George Washington signing the U.S. Constitution.

I challenge every person in this room, as well as every person watching at home, to read and study our Constitution. Get to know it. Understand how it applies. Learn what the framers were thinking when they crafted this great document. Don’t believe the snippets you hear on television. Read it for yourself!

The Constitution of the United States outlines a framework for the greatest free government this world has ever seen. A system centered on the people, not the bureaucracy. A system in which the government derives its power from We the People, not the other way around. A system which recognizes that our rights are bestowed by God, not by the government. I fear that we have strayed from the timeless principles for which our founding fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

We live in a great republic. But tonight, I am reminded of Benjamin Franklin’s timeless words. A lady asked him what form of government they had instituted. His centuries-old response speaks to us today. ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’

I am also reminded of the words of another great American, President Ronald Reagan, who admonished us that ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.’

That is the question before us today. Can we keep this great republic? Or will we one day be relegated to telling our children and grandchildren what life was like in the United States?

Again, I believe our Constitution outlines the framework for the greatest free society this world has ever seen. The Constitution protects our God-given rights -- freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom to assemble. It protects our private property rights. It ensures that no one person – and no one branch of government – has too much power over the people. We must return to those Constitutional principles if America is to once again be the world’s greatest beacon of freedom, hope and opportunity.

America is full of God-fearing, hard-working people who want to earn a living and take care of their families. To those of you watching at home, I believe you are more than capable of running your lives without the government watching over and micromanaging everything you do. What you need is for the federal government – and this goes for state and local governments as well – to get out of the way and let you live your lives.

Joshua clapped. “He sounds more and more like Reagan!” Perry frowned, snatched the remote control and turned up the volume.

“Let’s just watch the speech!” Rebecca said.

President Wagner continued:
Unfortunately, there are some in this country, and many who have stood in this building – even some who have stood at this podium – who have pushed the federal government into more and more aspects of your lives. They promise you everything and make the next generation pay for it. It has been said that a government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have. We must resist the temptation to go further down that perilous path.

President Wagner again held up the Constitution.
If this Constitution does not specifically give the federal government the authority to do something, we shouldn’t be doing it. Period. Unfortunately, for far too long our federal government has tried to be all things to all people. And every pet project, every handout, every new program costs money. The politicians have run up the bill with well-meaning initiative after well-meaning initiative, all of which sound good in a speech or 30-second ad and look good on paper, but none of which we can afford. That’s why our national debt is now over $20 trillion. We simply cannot continue piling on more debt for future generations to pay. That’s why we must--

The screen went white and the only sound was static. Joshua cocked an eyebrow.

“What happened?” Perry rubbed his fingers across his goatee.

“I don’t know.” They had been watching on CSPAN. He flipped to Fox News, CNN, the major broadcast networks and even MSNBC. The result was the same each time: white screen and static.

“Probably just a problem with the satellite.” Caroline pushed herself up off of the love seat. “This looks like a good time for a bathroom break.”

Joshua switched to a movie channel. The scheduled program came through crystal clear. Next he flipped to a 24-hour sports network, where a sports news show was broadcasting uninterrupted. “Strange.”

Joshua switched back to Fox. This time there was a picture, but it was from the studio in New York, not the Capitol.

“That is weird.” Perry’s brow furrowed.

“Let me see if I can find any news online.” Drew fixated on his smartphone for a few moments. “Nothing. I’ll try to call a few friends in D.C.” He dialed a first number. “Can’t get through.”

Joshua left the television on Fox. The rattled anchor struggled to explain the situation.
Folks, we are not sure what is happening. We are trying to reach our Washington bureau, but have been unsuccessful thus far. We will keep--

The screen again went blank. White picture, static for sound. All of the major news networks were again blank.

Joshua’s stomach twisted like a tornado. His gut told him something was very wrong. He glanced at Rebecca, who was nervously twirling her hair between her fingers.

Joshua silently walked to his home office, returning with his tablet computer. He walked past Charlie and Allie, who were absorbed in a cartoon and oblivious to the fact that something was out of the ordinary. He went to the most reliable news source he could think of: Twitter. He felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at Rebecca, speechless.

“What?” Rebecca’s jaw dropped.

Perry, Caroline and Drew stared at Joshua, waiting for a clue. Rebecca twisted her hair tightly. “Josh?”

Joshua swallowed and struggled to get the words out. “I… can’t believe it.”

“What is it?” Perry asked.

Joshua bit his lip. “Over Washington.” His hand quaked as he held up the tablet, which brightly displayed a photo of a mushroom cloud. “From Arlington.”

Rebecca’s cup fell from her hand, splattering tea across the room as it crashed to the hardwood floor.

“Someone probably just downloaded that and posted it,” Perry said. “Doubt if that has anything to do with the TV not working.”

“I’m not so sure.” Drew held up his smartphone, displaying another picture of mushroom cloud. “From Bethesda. If this is real, then it took out the president, VP and most of Congress.”

Joshua swallowed hard and looked at Rebecca. “Phil…”

Drew grimaced. “Congressman Moyer would be a terrible loss.”

Everyone stared at each other in stunned silence. Tears streamed down Caroline’s cheeks. Joshua closed his eyes for a moment.
What is happening? Is this the start of World War III?

“My best friend from college works on Capitol Hill.” Drew frantically made a call. “Still can’t get through. Fast busy signal.” He frowned and sent a text.

“Who did this?” Rebecca’s voice quaked as she spoke.

“Sounds like Al Qaeda,” Perry said.

“Or ISIS,” Joshua said. “Or a copycat.”

“Or anyone else with a nuke,” Drew said. “China. Russia. Pakistan. North Korea. Maybe Iran.”

“What does this mean?” Caroline said between sobs. “Are we safe here? What do we do now?” Perry put his arm around her and silently wiped the tears from her face.

“We don’t even know for sure if it’s real,” Drew said. “Twitter and Facebook are already lighting up with all kinds of wild conspiracy theories that this is hoax. Others are saying it’s an inside job.” He cleared his throat. “But I’ve got a bad feeling…”

Rebecca squeezed Joshua’s hand.

“No!” Joshua stared at his tablet, gripping it tightly. A deathly chill ran down his spine.

Rebecca grabbed his knee and squeezed it. “What now?”

Joshua shook his head, a tear in his eye. “Reports of mushroom clouds over five more cities.” Rebecca silently grabbed his hand.