I Had A Dream

Prologue

In the past 30 years, we have been observing the gradual meltdown of our democracy as the two political parties refuse to work together but rather place hurdles in each other’s way. The “extreme-left” has joined hands with the “extreme-right,” both of whom are Fascistic to the core, and do not believe in a democratic society. The tag-of-war between the parties is for sheer power and not for the benefit of the people.

Guillotine

It was early March, the daffodils and crocuses were beginning to emerge from the slowly defrosting soil. I had a dream that occupied my thoughts for a good number of months, a vision based on my frustration with our current political stalemate. So I decided to build a guillotine, or more correctly, a mock guillotine. Why a guillotine? One may ask. Purely for the symbolism it represents, public dissatisfaction with the government. The French revolution did not directly influence me. Still, as we all know, it was a time of upheaval and a time of unruly crowds resulting in gory public executions which the guillotine symbolized.

I collected the wood stored in my backyard shed and started to work on a design that would look realistic yet not be dangerous. The plan called for the standard frame with provision for its stability, a headrest, a slanted blade, a mechanism to raise and lower the sharp-edged metal blade periodically.

My garage was my workshop, where I could build my “toys” while escaping from the day-to-day drudgeries. The job took me only a few hours while the end product looked realistic enough to be convincing from afar. The electric pulley-cam combination lifted the blade, which reached the apex before being released with a sharp clapping sound of a flat woodblock falling onto a hard flat wooden surface.

I was content with my creation; after all, I had a fantasy to enact, a dream with a purpose. The following week I added the electric motor to carry out the automatic blade lifting and dropping with a chilling loud clapping sound. Next came the means to secure this structure onto the flatbed of a semi-truck. All was moving well towards the brewing of a plan which was crystallizing in my mind.

On the following weekend, I started to work on the posters. I needed six or eight signs with succinct messages to catch the attention of the public. The plan was to install the guillotine onto a semi-truck and placing the posters around the truck’s flatbed to deliver a written message of my key points of contention. The addition of a loudspeaker would provide the sound to catch people’s attention. The latter was going to be a recorded message or some music yet to be determined.

The date and route was my next challenge since I wanted maximum exposure so that the message will hit home. My first choice was the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival, which takes place in early April. This festival draws big crowds, therefore potentially yielding good exposure.

The route was a bit more complicated. One could drive around the Mall for a start then circle the Capitol Building between 1st street and 3rd street. Finally, drive to Basin Drive, where the beautiful cherry blossom is the main attraction for the hordes of people, mostly tourists.

The posters were my next challenge. How can I place my “demands” on eight or so cardboard posters that will be read clearly and be to the point? After some brainstorming, I came up with the following unordered list of potential candidates:

1. Members of Congress and senators must have staggered term limits. Senators = four years staggered by two years, on odd years, for a total of two-term. House of representatives = two-year terms staggered by one year for only three terms maximum.
2. Presidential candidates must serve at least one term in the U.S. congress or have one full term experience as a governor of a state.
3. A public vote must approve the merit increases (beyond yearly COLA) for congress.
4. Outlaw gerrymandering and eliminate voting gamesmanship.
5. Political donations can only be from the public (anonymously) and limited in magnitude (<$100).
6. Lobbyists cannot donate money or add perks to any currently serving politician.
7. Establish secure, verifiable, traceable, and hacking free voting by mail to all U.S. citizens.
8. Election campaigns should be limited to 6 month period with news media blackout during the one week preceding the election through close of all polling centers.
9. Selecting the judiciary should be apolitical. Both parties choose their candidates while the voters, in the national elections, decide on the outcome.
10. Mandate retirement of the supreme court justices at 80 years of age.
11. All international agreements must have an automatic 5-year renewal and approval clause to protect us from changes in technology and world threats.
12. All foreign aid should not be via cash, which always ends up in the wrong places and the wrong hands.
13. A political office should never become a profession.
14. The time has come for Single Point National Health (our safety net) for all.
15. Congress members must condemn any form of hate speech and harassment in their midst with known and definable consequences.
16. Congress serves the people who elected them into the office; however, it does not imply that it is for the benefits of the congress members alone.
17. Return the immigration quota system to evenly distribute people from other lands who wish to join our society.
18. Defend our American culture with the implication that we are a multi-ethnic society.
19. Make the English language the legal language of the USA.
20. Foreign investors should be allowed to own no more than 40% of any single business in the U.S.
21. Prevent foreign investments in any religious centers or houses of worship.
22. Land of any religious house of worship needs to be owned by the government and leased out for a minimal fee. Otherwise, tax benefits evaporate.
23. Critical industries cannot move to a foreign land for cheaper labor. At least 50% of its business (TBD) has to remain in the U.S.

Selecting the primary six or eight issues would be hard, but there was no way to translate all of these points into readable, eye-catching posters. Nonetheless, I tried to explain the main points through my limited space, and finally, after a few days of mental struggle, I made my selection.

As the D-Day came near, all my props were ready to go. I rented the truck, and with the help of Joe, my next-door neighbor, we mounted the guillotine onto the rented van and secured the structure, so it would not topple. The cam-driven mechanism was installed and checked out for its repetitive up/down motion. The eight posters mounted around the truck were secured and looked readable from a distance and pleasing to the eyes.

Next came the recorded manifesto to spell out my clarion call, which had to be brief and to the point.

“Fellow countrymen, the time has come to update our aging democracy. Congress has proven itself to be dysfunctional these past 30 or so years. Unless we do something soon, we shall see democracy slip away from under us. We need to demand, as a minimum, staggered term limit for our congress representatives, an attempt to rid it of the old mules. Likewise, we need to have qualified presidential candidates who have at least one term of service in the congress or a full term as state governors. As life on this earth is getting more complex, we need qualified presidential candidates, not con artists. Elections should not be a beauty contest; too much is at risk for our nation and our children. Politics should never become a profession but rather a service to our nation. Hate should never be allowed in our midst, especially within congress. What kind of example are they when they require adult supervision to be effective?”

I successfully tested the recorded infinite loop message through the loudspeakers. It looked like I was ready for the next day’s adventure. I sent emails to the local T.V. stations and the Washington Post to alert them to the event. I painted the event as a demonstration (slight exaggeration) against our dormant government. The weather projection for the next day was for a wonderfully sunny day.

The next morning I drove the truck out of the garage and started my trip to Washington, some 30 minutes away. The PA was off, and the guillotine was going through its routine with a chilly clank every time it came down. People that passed me on the highway were staring at me with a smirk on their faces. Few drivers even honked their horns in sympathy or anger; I could not tell which.

As I got into town, the morning traffic was getting heavier. From NY Avenue, I turned left onto North Capitol Street, which somehow led me to constitution Avenue followed by Madison Drive. I circled the Mall returning via Jefferson Drive with all of the museums flanking both sides of the grassy Washington Mall. Once I got into the Mall, I turned on the P.A. and drove slowly along my chosen path. The tourist stopped to see the source of “noise” and smiled at the sight of my active guillotine and the signs surrounding my truck. Some even cheered and gave me the thumbs-up sign.

After my initial run around the Washington Mall, I headed towards the Capitol Building. I followed the circular route around the building, driving slowly enough to get attention from passers-by yet not causing any traffic jams. After my first circle around the perimeter of our government’s heart, I tried to drive by the Capitol Building’s front side. I slowed down as I saw the T.V. trucks parked along the capitol grounds. A reporter waved to me to stop, I slowed down further and came to a stop near the parked T.V. trucks.

I rolled down my window, turned the P.A. volume way down, and smiled to the nervous young reporter approaching my vehicle. She was a pretty young lady seemingly on her first real assignment and somewhat shaky at that. She was flanked by other reporters who gave her the chance to be first; however, they huddled behind her with their recorders running. I wished her good morning, and she asked if I could tell her about the purpose of my demonstration. As her photo crew started to record the interview, I saw red flashing lights from the corner of my eye. A police cruiser stopped near us, and a stern face looking policeman stepped out of his car.

The reporter continued interviewing me, ignoring the police for the moment. When the reporter’s question got to the guillotine’s purpose, the policeman got closer to us. I hinted that the guillotine is a sign that we need to clean house in this government of ours, or else we shall lose our democracy. The policeman cut in and asked us to stop the interview and clear the area. He then proceeded, with one foot on the car’s bumper, to write me a ticket for disturbing the peace (a form of civil disobedience) and demonstrating without a permit in front of the Capitol Building. As threatening as he was, he did act with professionalism and respect towards me. I did not argue with the serious-looking officer; however, I did say that I was practicing my first amendment right in support of free speech. The officer smiled and asked me to tell that to the judge. Meanwhile, the news media crews were snapping pictures of the truck with all of its posters, focusing mainly on the guillotine with its menacing repetitive motion.

I had no other choice but to clear up. I took the road towards the Jefferson Memorial, where the cherry festival attracted many tourists resulting in crawling traffic, perfect for getting the attention I was seeking. Once I was away from the Capitol Building, I turned on the P.A. and drove slowly into the traffic jam at the Basin Drive. I got plenty of attention from the tourists and thumbed up here and there. The cherry trees were in full bloom, magnificent in their beauty, announcing the end of winter.

The first chance I had to get away from the traffic jam, I pulled away towards the highway’s direction that would take me north, back home. I turned off the P.A. and the power for the guillotine and headed home.

When I got home, I parked my truck in the garage, and for the first time, I got a chance to see the little “gift” the police officer left with me. The ticket was a warning ticket for illegal parking and disturbing the peace. I took a deep breath, maybe the officer agreed with my message but had to show that he is doing his job, I will never know.

I got back into the house eager to see the local news on T.V., did I make it? Will I get the extra mile I was hoping to get via the media? I flipped through a few channels, but nothing was about me, the message, or the truck. Well, I said to myself it should be on the evening news for sure.

I ate my dinner in a hurry while telling my wife all about my experience this morning. At 6:30, I tuned the T.V. to the national news and listened to any hint about my attempt to make people think about our democracy. The half-hour news came to an end with no mention of my protest. I was sad; I failed.

I decided to watch the local 11:00 PM news and see if it captured my demonstration and call for action. Some 15 minutes into the various announcements, a short blurb summarized my single-handed protest attempting to wake up America. My truck’s pictures with a closeup of the posters with the lady reporter next to it were the backdrop of this news segment. The camera focused on the menacing guillotine going up and down while the reporter was asking the critical question, “is our democracy evaporating before our eyes? Do we need to fine-tune it to make it work for us for a change?”

Even though the report was short and only hit the main points, I was content that I may have succeeded in planting the seed in the listeners’ ears. Maybe I said to myself the informed public would start to think about the points of contention and begin to demand some of what I tried to preach. After all, I am the last person who wishes to have our democracy evaporate or remain dysfunctional as the world around us collapses.

I slept well that night. In all of the excitement, I forgot to return the truck to the rental office, so the next day I had to pay the extra charge, indirectly my warning ticket punishment.

The next morning I cleaned up the truck and removed the guillotine. On the front seat, I found the crib sheet I had from the Lawyers Committee for civil rights, my insurance just in case I got into deeper water with the police. I returned the truck to the rental agency, where I had to pay the extra day of use. I was glad this experience was behind me, and I was hoping that I succeeded in getting the public to think about our fragile democracy.

Epilogue

Our democracy was born with high ideals, an attempt to make us into a more perfect union. Our national ideals and aspirations have been a bright light to people around the world. Yet with time, it seems that the machinery of government has gummed up. The two parties fight to eliminate their rivals without attempting to work together towards a compromise that will be good for the people they are supposed to serve. Elections turn out to be expensive fiascos, and many of the candidates running for office seem to lack the background and knowledge to lead our nation. The time has come to fine-tune the rules of the game. Some fundamental changes must force congress to be more productive and end the current blood-feud mentality that seems to be dragging us downwards. If we are to survive as a democratic nation, we must stand up to the required fine-tuning that will keep us going for at least the next 100 years. Political “an eye for an eye” will render our government blind and incapable of running the country.

GAB