True Allegiance

“Ten seconds,” said the cameraman. “Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four…” Then he motioned silently, three, two, one. He pointed at the president and the little red light went on. Prescott was now speaking to three hundred million Americans on every major network. That had been a tougher sell than the debt to China—a prime time slot on all the networks would have cost an advertiser millions. For the president, all he had to do was threaten a bit of FCC scrutiny, and promise a few cash payouts from advertisers who would quickly pay up when threatened by the executive branch.

Prescott gazed into the camera and opened his eyes innocently. The wide-eyed look spelled sincerity. He’d learned that from a speechwriter a decade ago, and it worked wonders.

“My fellow Americans,” Prescott intoned in his sonorous baritone. “Today we decide whether or not every American truly has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

“That was the promise of our founding fathers. And the key to realizing that promise lies in the right to work. Life cannot be sustained without work. Liberty cannot be attained without income. And happiness is a distant dream to those without a job.

“Our country is too great, our economy too powerful, our mission on this planet too important, for us to continue to tolerate the growing gap between rich and poor, between those who are lucky and those who are less fortunate. For generations, our parents and grandparents have told us that this was the land of opportunity. Coming from the Soviet Union or from Nazi Germany, they were right—compared to those places, America was a land of opportunity.

“But that did not mean that American opportunity was open to all. African Americans were denied work based on the color of their skin. Women were prevented from entering the workplace based on sexism. Minorities of all stripes were subject to discrimination at the hands of an unfeeling and uncaring majority.”

Prescott’s lower lip trembled—his pain at such evil was palpable.

“We still live with the vestiges of that system. A system that allowed some to exploit their privileged status to bully others, and to build their own wealth from the backs of those they could chain to low-paying jobs. A system that sucked workers dry, then tossed them to the ground in contempt. A system that assumed that some would prosper while others would succeed, that some people deserved to work while others did not. There are still those in Congress who advocate for such a system, who say that if we reject that system, we reject America.”

Prescott shook his head in disappointment and disbelief. Then he stared into the camera, determination in his eyes. That meant not blinking, as he’d learned while playing the Henry Fonda role in 12 Angry Men in high school.

“The critics and cynics are wrong. That old system’s time has passed. We are better than that system. We are stronger than that system. Together, we can fix the imbalances that plague our society. We can ensure that everyone in this country has equality of opportunity by ensuring that everyone has the right to work. Our corporations must no longer line their own pockets and pad their bank accounts at the expense of the workers they refuse to hire. Our companies must no longer tell us that the free hand of the market will solve everything, or that handing money over to the rich will allow it to trickle down to the less fortunate.

“We have seen the results of that philosophy firsthand. We have seen the skyrocketing unemployment, the fiscal mismanagement, the utter irresponsibility and its fallout. We have seen what happens when the market is left to its own devices—we have seen the injustices and wrongs that ensue.

“There is no such thing as a magical system that punishes wrongdoers and rewards those who do right when it comes to economics. God granted us the power of free will and the power of free choice; God granted us the intellectual power to overcome inequality. All we have to do is use that power to be our brothers’ keepers.”

Sympathetic face, he said to himself.

“We already know the consequences of turning our backs on our brothers and sisters. We see it in our daily lives: the young single mother who struggles to make the rent because she can’t take care of her child and work a full-time job. The elderly man who can’t hold down a job because he suffers physical and mental ailments. The middle-aged couple trying hard to feed their kids, but failing because either mom or dad can’t get a job.

“Maybe it’s your next-door neighbor, who has to ask you for a handout. Maybe it’s your mom or dad. Maybe it’s even you.”

Then he grinned that famous Prescott grin.

“That time is over. A new day has dawned. A day when everyone can live with security, without fear. A day when everyone can wake up in the morning without worrying about the next paycheck.”