November 17th 2012

I never really thought about it. It just didn't matter. After all, why did it concern me? I'd never bothered it; why should it bother me? The dark whispers on the street corners honestly made me laugh. I mean, these people were taking things WAYY to seriously! I knew it wasn't evil. It gave us nice things, like school, and money to buy stuff without having to work for it. That wasn't bad!
No, it was nice. It took care of us. All these theories were just the mattering of people who had lost their minds from age, or just wanted to chew on something.
It's over now. I know more. And I know that it's my fault, not because of what I did, but because of what I didn't do.
But before you scream at me for bringing this on you, you should know something about Americans as they used to be. We had everything. Nice homes, nice cars, good food; it all fell in our laps. Even low-income families had computers and iPods. We were invincible. Except from within.
Everything collapsed. And all because of greed. When politicians see a rich, happy people, they want some of their wealth. So they promise you food, housing, healthcare, an education, and eternal happiness if you'll just elect them and pay a few more taxes. So you peel off the greenbacks and drink the honey of their talk and sit back and enjoy yourself.
And like the old Energizer bunny, it kept going and going and going....And every time, they put the butter on a little thicker and took away a little more, keeping us distracted by throwing mud and worse at each other. It picked up in '09, and people started noticing things. I can remember them, the nutcase conservatives waving signs at the Tea Party rallies. But I didn't understand why anything was wrong, and besides, there was always a flap around election time.
But nothing quieted down. People were getting more and more worried. When my dad went to buy ammunition for hunting, almost a year after the election, he had trouble getting some; it was still flying off the shelves. "I wonder where it's all going?" he asked himself and me and we drove home. Were people stockpiling it? If so, why?
I tried to laugh it off, but my more conservative friends shook their heads dolefully. "Few forms of government have ever lasted much over 200 years. When they hit the two hundred year mark, there's always some kind of upheaval. The country may remain intact, but the system of government changes."
"But this is America," I protested. "So it is, and here lies a spirit of tenacity that, no matter how dormant it grows, is surpassed by few, if any other nations." Their eyes were glowing annoyingly. "And here, if we wake up, there is a chance to break the cycle, or at least have a peaceful transition."
I thought they were crazy. Life was good. Seriously! The politicians were working for our good, weren't they? Why couldn't anyone see that? 'Upheaval.' Pshaw!
I was wrong.
Alot of people were wrong. But things did start happening, and I saw that it wasn't all that I had thought it had been. It was bad, or at least, worse than I had ever dreamed. There was some violence. Shots were fired. People got killed. And we still don't know how it will end, because you're writing the story.
The future swings on what you do and what you don't do.
What's your choice?
--Amelia Turner
Amelia Turner is a character of my own imagination, but the things she speaks of aren't. Yes, this is random stuff that drifts from my head, but I hope that, for once, this is more than playful writing.