Ben Shapiro - True Allegiance

Then he fell to his knees and buried his head in his hands, screaming silently.

“GOOD EVENING, MY FELLOW AMERICANS.”

The former governor of Michigan looked directly into the camera. She spoke from the East Room of the White House. The tears in her eyes were genuine; she forced them down.

“I know many of you may not know me; few Americans bother to learn the name of the vice president of the United States. But my name is Allison Martin. A few hours ago, I was sworn into office as the president of the United States.

“By now, I’m sure you have heard the news from New York City, where our nation’s greatest city has once again been struck by the scourge of terrorism. I am also sure that you have heard that the president of the United States, Mark Prescott, was the target of that attack, along with hundreds of thousands of the citizens he loved so much.”

Her green eyes, hardened by years in the political limelight, glinted. She had earned the lines around those eyes, the worry lines around her mouth. Allison Martin had fought her way to the top of American politics. She had done so not as a token woman on a vaguely inspirational ticket, but as her party’s chosen ideological warrior. Allison Martin, they said, backed down from no one. She would keep Mark Prescott honest.

Her enemies had questioned her qualifications, her achievements. They had implied that her sex had elevated her to the second highest office in the land; they ignored her degree from Harvard, her law degree from Columbia. They had overlooked her.

Her speaking style was mechanical. She was unlikable. She did not have the charm of Mark Prescott; she did not inspire. She was, as she liked to think of herself, a grinder. She did not, she reminded her subordinates, tolerate losing.

“I would give my own life to have preserved Mark Prescott’s. Mark Prescott was a visionary leader, a public servant for his entire life. He died serving the public, standing for you. He lived for unity, not divisiveness. He lived to bring people together.

“We will live for him, and for his memory. We will keep our commitments, and the commitments of President Prescott. The commitment to build. The commitment to love one another. Mark Prescott’s visionary sense of Americanism will live on in our hearts, and in our policy. What Mark Prescott brought out in us, we will magnify; what Mark Prescott uncovered in us, we will allow to shine forth.”

Her voice rose a pitch in urgency and tenor. “Mark Prescott was always honest with you. And I will be no less honest. Here is what we know tonight. We know that there was an assassination attempt on President Prescott today at New York Harbor; it was thwarted through the diligent work of our security on the ground. We do have a man in custody.

“Shortly after the attempted attack on the president, the president’s security team moved him aboard Air Force One, where he was accompanied aboard by media and political figures. We have released a full list of those aboard the plane, all of whom lost their lives in today’s tragic terrorist attack.

“The White House has been in negotiations with the State of Texas over Texas’s refusal to abide by federal immigration law, and Governor Bubba Davis’s unconstitutional use of state troops to attack a sovereign nation outside the borders of the United States. President Prescott had invited a representative of Governor Davis to New York City to discuss possible solutions. That representative, Ellen Hawthorne, is suspected of having smuggled and detonated a small-yield nuclear weapon aboard Air Force One.

“This aggression will be answered. As President Abraham Lincoln once did, I now appeal to all loyal citizens to aid the effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our national union.

“Now, life will undoubtedly change in the short term. Our intelligence shows that the highest levels of our government have been penetrated by those who sympathize with the extremism of Ellen Hawthorne and the State of Texas. This is a time for unity, not disunity, and we must steel ourselves for the battle ahead.

“There is also no question that America’s capacity for rebuilding has been significantly damaged by recent events. Our estimates show the loss of tens of thousands of American troops. Our stock market has dropped precipitously; the value of the dollar has fallen off. But hope is around the corner. Tonight, we request that the American people stand together and find the best in themselves. Help is on its way.

“And we will help ourselves. Those who perpetrated this heinous act will be brought to justice. America will be made whole again. I stand with you, and we stand together.

“Let me end tonight with a quote from President Mark Prescott, spoken just a few weeks ago at the site of the George Washington Bridge bombing. ‘Love for each other,’ the president said. ‘Care for each other. Sacrifice for each other. And that’s what I’m going to ask of all Americans now. Not anger, not lashing out, not blame or knee-jerk reactions. Love. Love your neighbor. Love your country. Stand together. And together we will rise. For in times like this, in times of tragedy and horror, it is love we most need.’

“We will love each other like never before. America, we are strong. Good night, and God bless us all.”

The red light on the camera blinked off. Allison Martin looked at her reflection in the dark eye of the lens. Then she stood, ramrod straight, and walked briskly toward the Oval Office.

Levon spoke into the computer’s camera. On the line, he could see from the list on the right-hand side of his screen, were the mayors of Indianapolis, New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis, Boston, Memphis, and a dozen other major cities. He’d talked with all of them repeatedly over the past few weeks, since the media and Mark Prescott had appointed him an emissary of peace, and since his big victory over Detroit Energy. Levon had reached out to others, too—“activist affiliates,” he called them—who could influence the community to bring pressure against companies and government actors.

Now he sat alongside the mayor of Detroit in his conference room.

“Folks,” Levon said, “I have known President Martin for a long time—we had dealings when she was governor of my state. She has asked me to speak with you all about basic security within your cities.”

“We’re at war,” Levon said, “and that war is down south, as you know.” Some of the mayors nodded; a few looked uncomfortable. He pressed on. “That means that we’ve got to have order in our own cities. I know that you’re all doing your best. But as you know, and as Mark Prescott said, police departments across this country have a long legacy of racial bigotry. With the current shortage of National Guard and federal military aid available, there’s bound to be some unrest.”

Levon looked at the faces of the mayors—most of them nodded along. “So here’s what needs to happen, and here’s what President Martin wants to happen: you’re all going to set up civilian oversight commissions. These will be parallel to your city councils, and they’ll have real authority, real public authority.” He hoped his emphasis conveyed the threat. Just in case, he added, “If not, I can guarantee violence will happen. That’s a guarantee.

“Now, don’t worry—all of the leaders of these commissions will be in touch with me regularly, and I’ll be in touch with President Martin. She has also asked me to work with the commissions to recruit for the new civilian national service corps she’s planning, as well as help fill out the military’s needs. So we’ll all be working together a fair bit. Hope that works for y’all.”