Trent Reedy - Divided We Fall

“The president is not being honest with you, but I promise you that I always will be. President Rodriguez is calling the entire Idaho National Guard to active duty and ordering you out of the state so that he may send in soldiers from other parts of the country or possibly even foreign troops — to illegally arrest me, certainly, but worse than that, to force Idaho to comply with his unconstitutional mandate.

“The media has dubbed this situation ‘The Idaho Crisis,’ but I say there is nothing wrong with Idaho! The crisis is with a president and a federal government that have overstepped their bounds and assumed more power than the Constitution allows. It is the president and the federal government who have committed crimes by passing laws in opposition to the highest law of the land, and, therefore, any effort to resist those criminal laws cannot be illegal.

“However, soldiers and airmen, without your support and defense of the Constitution, without your belief in and dedication to freedom, we will lose this most important struggle and there will be no end to federal tyranny.

“I meant what I said when I promised to be honest with you. I will not force you to actively serve against your will as the president is attempting to do. As governor of the state of Idaho, I, James P. Montaine, hereby activate the entire Idaho Army and Air Force National Guard for state duty. However, realizing that these are difficult times, realizing that you have sworn an oath to obey both the president and your governor, and realizing that you are good and true soldiers and airmen who take your oaths seriously, I offer the following choices.

“First, you may report for federal duty as the president ordered.

“Second, if you are too conflicted by this decision and do not wish to choose one option over the other, you may be released from the service, hand in any weapons or equipment you’ve been issued, and go on with your lives at home.

“Third, if you believe in freedom. If you love your friends and neighbors and wish to protect them from gross invasions of their privacy and from federal tyranny. If you support the state of Idaho and the good things this state stands for, then I ask you, I implore you: Report for duty to the state of Idaho. Support your governor and your state legislature by saying NO to the president and the federal government. No! We will not allow you to unconstitutionally force surrender on us! No! We will not allow you to ignore the Constitution and our freedoms! No! We will not allow you to invade our state, our communities, and our homes with armed federal or international forces.

“Now, I want to take a moment to address those members of the Idaho National Guard who are deployed to Iran or Pakistan at this time. I have received word that some of you have expressed a desire to return home to serve your state, and that some of you have considered refusing to perform your duties abroad. I appreciate your loyalty, patriotism, and sacrifice. However, given the critical nature of your missions in fighting terrorism and preventing Iran from further developing or obtaining nuclear weapons, I am suggesting — and I would issue orders if you were currently under my command — that you continue to obey the orders from your federal chain of command. I can only hope that the president will consider this a reasonable gesture and reciprocate by allowing you all to return when your scheduled tour of duty is over. Deployed Idaho National Guardsmen, my prayers are with you.

“Good soldiers and airmen in the state of Idaho, you have a difficult decision to make. I’m sorry that the federal government has forced this decision upon you. But I know I can count on each and every one of you to make the right choice, and I promise you, the state of Idaho will enact no penalties against you regardless of what you choose. To make your decision, please reply with a call to this number, and officers will assist you.

“Thank you for your time and thank you for your service. May God bless you, the state of Idaho, and the United States of America.”

The screen went blank. I sat back in Mr. Morgan’s chair, staring up at the brown water stains in the ceiling tiles. For a moment, I thought Morgan’s swivel chair was spinning. Then I realized it was just me.

Football practice did not go well that night. First, although all I wanted to do was get out on the practice field to get ready for our next game, Coach kept us all in the locker room for a long time right away, talking to us about the gunman last Friday and the ongoing problem with the press.

“So while I cannot order any of you not to speak to reporters about all of this, I want to make it clear that if I find out that any of you have been in contact with the media, I’m going to wonder if you are truly focused on the upcoming game. I might not be able to start a player who is so unfocused.”

TJ stood up from the bench. “Coach, I didn’t say anything bad about—”

“But you saw how they twisted everything you said!” Coach yelled. “It makes you look bad. It makes your team look bad.”

“Yes, Coach.” He sat back down, keeping his eyes on his feet.

It felt good to see TJ shut down like that, especially after his idiot stunt with the reporters, and I was really glad that the guys all seemed to agree not to talk to the media, but the good times didn’t last. When we finally got on the field, I kept screwing up the plays and running the wrong routes, and I missed about every pass thrown to me. In tackling drills, I got knocked on my ass at least three times. I tried to focus, I tried to give a hard practice like I always did, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that depending on what I chose to do, I might not play in this Friday’s game. I might never play football again.

Finally, Coach Shiratori pulled me aside. I felt sure he was going to yell at me, make me do laps around the field, something horrible. “Listen, Wright,” he said quietly. “Mr. Morgan told me what that comm call was about. I watch the news, and I know what’s going on. Why don’t you take the rest of the night off? Go home and get yourself sorted out. Make plans and things.”

“That’s okay, Coach. I’m fine. I just want to play football. That’s all I’ve ever—”

“This isn’t really a request,” Coach Shiratori said. “Take the night off.”

“You’re kicking me off the team?” I asked. “Coach, I’ve done everything you asked. I’ve had a good season so far.”

“This is bigger than football, Mr. Wright.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder pad. “Bigger than either of us.”

As I walked toward the locker room, the team went back to running our offense. I stopped for a moment at the edge of the field as Sweeney launched a pass. Not one of his best. It wobbled a little. TJ caught it, and even dodged out of the way of three defenders.

“Thatta kid, Teee Jaaaaay!” Randy shouted.

I was so pissed I could have thrown up.

I was sweaty from practice, but I didn’t even bother showering. I changed into my jeans and T-shirt, went out to the Beast, and threw on my cowboy hat. Coach had said “Go home,” but that was the last place I wanted to be. With Mom away at her conference, the place was too quiet, too lonely. With the mufflers switched off, the roar of the engine sang to me. So I drove all over, finally ditching the two news vans that had tried to follow me. I ended up at the Abandoned Highway of Love. Maybe that was ironic. Hell, I didn’t know. I missed that vocab word on my last English test.