The Great White Kings
A Short Story By
Marc D’Agosta
Copyright 2011 Marc D’Agosta
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
Although this is a free book, it remains the property of the Author.
All rights reserved.
Once there was a kingdom ruled by three Great White Kings. The first Great White King ruled the region of the West and Midwest. The second Great White King ruled the region of the North and Northeast. The third Great White King ruled the region of the South and Southeast. However, while these Great White Kings were the designated rulers, they served the Merchants. And while in truth, the people may have been subjects to the Great White Kings, and the Merchants they served, they considered themselves to be Free Citizens and were addressed as such. And although the Great White Kings were generally well-liked by the Free Citizens, they were plagued with a political opposition of bleeding hearts. The bleeding opposition were these radical liberals known as the Mongrels, described as social dissidents, deemed the very threat to the freedom, health and well-being of the Free Citizens. Even though, the root of the word liberal is liberty, which stands for freedom.
The main dispute formed from the common belief the less the kingdom did for the Free Citizens, the more free, they would be. It even rhymed, so it carried more weight. The Free Citizens were generally pleased with this Conservatism. Nevertheless, this translated into government doing nothing at all.
The Great White Kings would say, “Let the Free Citizens fend for themselves. Doing less was actually doing more.” They would also say, “Feed the Merchants and they will feed you.”
The Mongrels would counter, “What you really mean is feed the rich and they will feed you.”
The Great White Kings would answer back, “Indeed, the wealth trickling down to quench a thirsty economy.”
The Mongrels would reply with, “What the rich really do is feed and fatten themselves, then spend their windfall on a lavish retreat and spa, while the rest of us are left to sweat the bill.”
The government was in debt. Due largely from loans, the bulk of it, however absurd it might sound, coming from a Party with an ideology considered Hostile to the Great White Kingdom--the Manchurian Corporation--the largest and most powerful corporation in the world, a private group, with billions of people at their disposal for both labor and military service and with no accountability to anyone except for Party Stockholders and Board Members. Though the ideology of this Party was considered Hostile, the Manchurian Corporation was quite generous, lending to the Great White Kings, who were their most cooperative candidates. Cooperative, so that the rich, who would come to be known as the Upper One Percent, could keep more of their money--a Tax Break if you will, drafted to initiate job growth. Conversely, what it really initiated was a snowball of debt. One year’s expense rolled over into two, and that rolled over into three, and that rolled over into four, and so on, and so on, and so on. Thus enlarging the very government, this Conservatism was designed to reduce. The wealth may have trickled down to an offshore account or two, but rarely to the Free Citizens. Mostly, it was just outsourced. In truth, the job campaign of this Conservatism was a smokescreen for greed, choking the greater economy, home and abroad. Yet, this smoke was a carcinogen the Free Citizens were quite willing to inhale, sucking it down like oxygen, ignoring the lethal consequences. Thus this contribution of the rich would be best described as a recessing and depressing drought, promising a refreshment of higher taxes. Be that as it may, this Conservatism reacted quite humble and shied away from this credit. It would be the only credit this Conservatism would shy away from.
The debate would go back and forth as the Mongrels questioned the motives of the Great White Kings--how affording them the luxury of doing nothing at all for the Free Citizens, in fact only made the Free Citizens, subjects, and not free at all. And that this afforded luxury only made the Great White Kings and the Merchants richer and the care for the health and well-being of the people almost non-existent, or at least too expensive to really undertake. Even to the Free Citizens, this was blatantly true.
Among the Free Citizens, the joke that went around was, “Better to undertake the undertaker than Healthcare. It was cheaper to break bread in Heaven than on Earth.”
The Great White Kings used this humor to their advantage and campaigned heavily with support from the Health Merchants. They marked up bread. And threatened to lay off workers. Very funny. Very funny. Very funny.
The Mongrels also had a sense of humor. They introduced to the Free Citizens an Option for the public. An Option that would set the bar, providing a higher quality of Healthcare at a lower and affordable cost with the added incentive of promoting competition (the life blood of capitalism) among the Health Merchants. Everyone laughed hysterically. And the most hysterical thing about the Healthcare Option was that if the Free Citizens didn’t want it, they could always go somewhere else and pay more for less. Ha, ha, ha...!
The comedy was too much for the Great White Kings. They rethought their approach, opting for a more sentimental pilgrimage, booking wonderful musicians, a String Quartet, featuring a Fabulous Violinist, who performed the most mournful melody for the Health Merchants, who wept for themselves, feeling sorrow, perplexed as to why the Free Citizens would question the goodness in their hearts.
Tears would not be enough to defeat the Mongrels. That would come from betrayal within. The Hound Dogs, a faction of the Mongrels, a group with a remarkable high opinion of themselves, but no real character, began to feel sentimental towards the Health Merchants. The mournful melody struck a note with the hometown Patrons. They were lead to water, yet this was just the sweet orchestration and provoking patronage they were looking for to prejudice their opinion and find the excuse not to drink from the well of wellness and prosperity. This would be the foundation of the Teetotal Movement.
The Hound Dogs felt overwhelmed with sentiment from the Patrons. They retreated under fire, though made it look like a cost-cutting maneuver. They thought this maneuver would be strategic to hold their positions. But it was really just a blue-blood act and showed what remarkable cowards they were. They wept for the Health Merchants. And later, for all the effort put into their blue-blood act, they would weep for themselves and be done in by the Teetotal Movement.
Betrayal weakened the Mongrels. Even the Free Citizens began to weep more for the Health Merchants’ profits than their own Option and Healthcare. The betrayal of the Hound Dogs was just the mallet the Great White Kings needed to smash the Option to defeat the Mongrels and what was called the burden of their social impropriety and a grave threat to the national freedom. With the Option now compromised and defeated, the Free Citizens were now forced to pay more for less--completely opposite of what the reform was meant to accomplish. However, the Great White Kings were forced to concede to the Mongrels that the Health Merchants could not deny Coverage to any Free Citizen for a pre-existing condition. And while this was an important and great victory for the health and well-being of the Free Citizens, it also came at a great cost. With the Option compromised, the Health Merchants showed what goodness they truly possessed in their hearts with a stingy tune and a whopping spike in rates.
The Great White Kings argued, “This was good for jobs!”
The Mongrels argued back, “This was a holdup!”
But the arguments and power of the Mongrels were compromised with the Option, along with the health and well-being of the Free Citizens.
The new joke among the Free Citizens was, “Coverage can not be denied, however the cost of an arm and a leg is now required.”
The campaign for the Great White Kings went better than planned. In fact, their campaign was so successful the dirtiest word uttered from anyone’s mouth was Healthcare.
Such was the practice, turning something good into something profane.
It didn’t help matters that while Physicians were a godsend or benefit, their first priority was always the same as any other member of the work force--payment for services rendered. Despite the severity of injury or ailment, their first response was always, “What Coverage do you have?”
Required or not, Coverage was the password to a treasure of treatment. And a treasure is what treatment would cost. You see, the Health Merchants were not the only ones responsible for the high cost of living. They were just the ones everyone asked to pay for it.
Regardless, as time went on, the Free Citizens began to notice that the comfortable capitalistic standard of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, really in fact, was not that comfortable. What’s more is they even began questioning their own intelligence and sanity for shouldering a loan for the Upper One Percent, while necessities to their own daily living under the description of Entitlements were now under profane attack.
Like Healthcare, Entitlements would translate to the Patron ear as hand outs to the lesser non-great, non-white minority, even though the greatest majority of recipients were most likely Patrons, themselves, of the greater great white majority.
Then there were these Studious Band of Strikers. And while their vision was a bit hazy, they filed an occupational grievance against the Upper One Percent at the point of their financial haven, Mercantile Avenue, or more affluently looked upon as the Great White Wall. The strange thing was, the Local Coppers, whose vision was much more blurred, clashed with them. Instead of serving up evictions and arrests with bashing batons, they should have been serving up dunkin’ delights with cups of joe, refusing to dislodge the Studious Band of Strikers as a show of gratitude for the grievance filed on behalf of Entitlements (wages, benefits and pensions) indebted to them for the hazards of their occupation.
Despite these inexplicable nonsensical conflicts of interest, the Free Citizens began turning to the Mongrels to put pressure on the Great White Kings to make things right again. This is usually how it worked with the Free Citizens. The Mongrels would bare the burden, while the Great White Kings would delight in the fruits. It was a rollercoaster ride from bottom to top, then top to bottom. The formula to this haphazard governing was--the lesser the comfort level, the lesser the ignorance…the greater the comfort level, the greater the ignorance. The political climate was always measured by the comfort level of the Free Citizens. And once more, the debate would be over the debt with plenty of sarcasm coming from both sides.
The Mongrels argued, “A poor man, taking out a billion dollar loan for a rich man for a wishful and whittled weekly wage in return. Sounds reputable. As reputable as magic beans, or fowl that lay golden eggs. The Free Citizens have been bushwhacked and want out of this harebrained transaction!”
The Great White Kings argued back, “Friends, Countrymen, spare me your coin, spare me your currency. I only ask that you tender to me the clothes off your backs, the keys to your castles, and the food on your tables. What is yours is mine. For I am entitled!”
The Mongrels replied, “You sound like a great white King.”
The Great White Kings replied back, “And you beg like a mongrel.”
To the pure capitalist, it was a dilemma--more will always lead to less. And greed will lead to ruin. And for what it’s worth, the Great White Kings and the Mongrels shared mutual concerns. The Great White Kings knew a nation that was not financially strong would surely collapse, especially a free nation. And the Mongrels knew a nation that collected too much in taxes was a throwback to tyranny--a nation with no freedom. Of course in fairness, the taxes of those times went to the fortunes of the Great White Kings, and the taxes of these times went to the fortunes of the Free Citizens in such places as a socialized infrastructure, education, defense, securities, farm subsidies, and yes, even medical aid and convalescent care for the elderly. Ironically, all were Public Options and Entitlements. Still, again in fairness, placing your fortunes and freedoms in the hands of Great White Kings does defeat the whole purpose of freedom itself.
However, one should also consider, what was not provided for at the higher level would be made up for at the provincial and local levels with higher fees and higher provincial and local taxes with the added insult of Provincial Governors stripping away any Collective-Bargaining rights for the Free Citizens. In this inconvenient time, this latter measure was strongly supported by Pundits in favor of this Conservatism, even though their deals were negotiated by Lawyers or Agents--the ones who collectively bargained for them.
So the question was after all the Entitlements and Tax Breaks, who had more and who had less in the Great White Kingdom? Well, as one might guess, it was hard for the Upper One Percent to argue they had less. The peculiar thing though in the debate was that a primary villain, the Fuel Merchants, always managed to escape scrutiny from either the Great White Kings or the Mongrels.
Before they were great white kings, the Great White Kings were Fuel Merchants, themselves. And once they rose to power and became rulers, the Great White Kings decided to hold a Clever Auction for their merry band of Fuel Merchants--primarily Speculators and Fuel Chiefs. The auction lasted over a span of just eight years, the exact length of their current reign. The bidding started at one bill and four bits per gallon--the current going rate. It quickly jumped to two, then to two and four bits, then to three, then to three and four bits, then to four, then to four and four bits. And at the end of the span, the Great White Kings called out, “Do I hear a bid of five--five bills per gallon?!” It was inconceivable. It was robbery. The Free Citizens gasped. In spite of this, the Speculators and Fuel Chiefs made the inconceivable bid. The Free Citizens were stunned. They were also broke. Let this be clear, the highest the price of fuel ever was on average in it’s entire decades of history was one bill and four bits. And in just two years under one decade, the length of their reign, the Great White Kings had auctioned fuel off at the outrageous price of five bills per gallon. Indeed, it was a Clever Auction.
They blamed it on supply and demand and wars with Surrounding Enemies. But the reality of it was that they had hatched a variable scheme that was quicker to the punch than the variable scheme hatched by the Mortgage and Loan Merchants, who had to be bailed out. The daily commute was picking pockets faster than rising interest rates. Everything went to the pump. Everyone felt the pinch. Potholes and pumps prompted a precarious path.
A quick side note. Caught in the crossfire of the variable schemes were the Money Merchants and their Money Insurers, both Variable Schemers in their own right, gobbling up worthless mortgage assets like famished fools, placing the entire financial system at risk. They, too, had to be bailed out by a Mongrel Money Package, the first of many hostage negotiations. The trade off was, in return for stabilizing the financial market, preserving the savings, credit and investments of the Free Citizens, the Variable Schemers would get in return a Money Package that included bonuses obligated by contract that were passed out like it was Christmas time. Naturally, the Free Citizens were a bit perturbed with these lucrative rewards for malicious misconduct and incompetence. And once more they were saddled with the debt. The spurs dug deep. And while this malicious misconduct and incompetence was at the heart of the grievance of the Studious Band of Strikers, the Free Citizens really only had themselves to blame, voting twice over in favor of the Great White Kings, thus surrendering themselves as willing hostages to their Great White Rule and the great white rule of the Great White Wall. However, as fate would have it, with no funds available to bail out anyone, everyone would have a second chance to lose everything.
Anyhow, returning to the prompting of the precarious path, the Great White Kings also pointed the finger at the dependency on Foreign Merchants. Here is where it becomes most peculiar and where the Free Citizens should have been highly critical and suspicious. The Mongrels actually agreed with this argument. Mongrels and Great White Kings actually agreeing on something? Right there, should have been enough of an indicator something wasn’t quite on the up and up in the Great White Kingdom. The Mongrels made token proposals and gestures to acquiring alternative fuels. But their hearts were no more into it than the Great White Kings. It was always the same song and dance, a variety show of propaganda on both sides. The Mongrels knew as the Great White Kings, it wasn’t supply and demand, it wasn’t wars with Surrounding Enemies, it was the Clever Auction. Speculators and Fuel Chiefs were the real thieves. And it was the Great White Kings, who were the clever auctioneers. Even with the inflation of the modern time, the most the price of fuel should have ever reached on average was two bills and four bits. And the truth of the matter was, while the Mongrel Liberalism was to the left, and the Conservatism of the Great White Kings was to the right, like the Great White Kings, many of the Mongrels, themselves, were also in the Upper One Percent. And here is where they quite possibly had met in the middle--fuel is a profitable investment.
Could explain the peculiarity why a primary villain, the Fuel Merchants, always seemed to escape scrutiny.
In any case, don’t misunderstand. The pursuit of alternative fuels should be considered a worthy action, as long as the fuels are not radioactive--nature’s constant and unpleasant reminder. And the Fuel Merchants did shower the Great White Kingdom with hope and a new standard for what was considered a bargain or cheap by lowering the bidding, for the time being at least, from five bills to four. Of course, the new standard might have explained the peculiar loss of jobs and economy that seemed like it would never recover.
“No money to spend, no money to buy. No money to buy, and the job market dies.”
This was the unscrupulous course of rhyme and reason insisted upon by the Fuel Merchants and Upper One Percent. Goods would shrink, while prices went up. Jobs were never the real concern. The real concern was cutting wages, benefits and pensions among the Labor Ranks--Organized or Independent--who lacked any real unity with one another. This included Educators and other municipal workers such as Fire & Rescue and the Local Coppers. The thinking was the Free Citizens could most certainly be convinced the prospect of working for less and eating crumbs was far more sensible than the prospect of having no work and nothing to eat at all.
Also, the upside to paying more for less was Conservation. At least, this was what the Utility Merchants tried to utilize with their proficient price proliferation.
Moreover, the issue was never about spending. The issue was always only to chart an underhanded course motivated by greed to entitle more towards wealth and less towards labor and necessity.
And for navigating this unscrupulous course of rhyme and reason, their critics called the Great White Kings imbeciles. An occasional shoe would be tossed their way. But nothing a little bob and weave could not remedy. Make no mistake. The Great White Kings were not imbeciles. They were geniuses. Evil geniuses. But geniuses, nonetheless.
However, with genius comes a price. The Great White Kings and the Upper One Percent, for whom they lobbied for, had their backs up against their Great White Wall, so to speak. The Mongrels were willing to make the sacrifice and forgo the Tax Break that went to their Upper One Percent for the good of the economy, and most importantly, the people. Yet, the Great White Kings and the Upper One Percent, for whom they lobbied, still were not willing to make that unselfish sacrifice, choosing rather with this Conservatism to once more welch on their nation, and most unconscionably, their people.
Even the new breed, spawned from the Patron prejudice, the Teetotalers, a delusional and frightening offspring of the old breed lead by Black Widows, advanced their opinion and asked the Free Citizens before they would ask their own elite. Everyone else before the Upper One Percent. They would even ask a soldier to give up life and limb for country. Yet, to ask the Upper One Percent to give up their Tax Break, was asking too much. Under the umbrella of the Great White Kings, this was what the Teetotalers and their leaders, the Black Widows, called patriotic and constitutional. A soldier’s life was spare change, while a fat cat’s wallet was priceless.
Though they were Black Widows, like their fellow Teetotalers, they were still as white as the driven snow, at least in their way of thinking. They and their fellow Teetotalers would hold rallies to attract Free Citizens to join their Movement.
They would preach, “The Mongrels question our Conservatism. They also question magic beans and fowl that lay golden eggs. But the story tells us, the beans were magic and that the fowl did lay golden eggs. Our Conservatism is right! And it is the Mongrel Liberalism that is foul and lays an egg that is not golden!”
Although, the Mongrels disagreed with the politics of the Black Widows and their fellow Teetotalers, they had to respect their religion.
In defense of the Black Widows and their fellow Teetotalers, they spoke in plain English. Yet, it was still unclear if the Free Citizens actually understood plain English. Even the poor, the tired, the huddled masses--Neighbors from South of the Border--much like every Free Citizen from the Old World, here by invitation of Miss Liberty, yet branded illegal in occupations above an agricultural serfdom, who spoke their Alien language, and who were remarkably adept at finding the suddenly scarce employment in this English speaking Great White Kingdom, while the English speaking Free Citizens still could not--understood, while it is the Merchants, who feed the people, it is also the people, who feed the Merchants. One can not survive without the other. When the Merchants feed only the Upper One Percent, and the Upper One Percent feed only the Merchants, that is when any kingdom or nation crumbles, then collapses, and finds itself at the mercy of it’s enemies. That is why it is also not wise for any kingdom or nation to allow pride to swell into arrogance or unsettling ambition, and surround itself with enemies, or owe a sizable debt to any party considered hostile, whether it be through revenue or vassal (slave--in plain English) labor. The greed of this Conservatism is what kills nations. And this was the understanding the Mongrels so desperately tried to convey to the Free Citizens in the plainest English possible. How much longer would they continue to allow the Great White Kings to lobby for the rich and ruling Upper One Percent, and throw everyone else to the wolves?!
This was the question the Mongrels put to the Free Citizens.
However, while the Mongrels languished in their hot and cold appeal and were relegated to the position of hostage negotiators, the Great White Kings could always count on delighting in the fruitful bigotry of the Free Citizens, who with this ignorance would continue to be willing hostages of this Conservatism. The Great White Kings could also count on the Black Widows, who with their pixieland politics and religion, spun a popular web. Though the Great White Kings feared--should the Black Widows ever rise to their level of power, their venom would surely bring instant death to the nation--for the time being, they reveled in their support and the support of the other frightening and delusional Teetotaling Offspring. So to bolster the comfort level and confidence in this Conservatism, the Great White Kings convened in a private court to formulate the Patron logic for a solution and made it final.
Capitalizing on the Mongrel Question, as any good capitalist would, the Great White Kings announced to the Free Citizens, they would hold a great event in an outdoor arena. A thousand amongst them would be chosen randomly and placed in a pit whereupon a hundred wolves would be released to feast on them. And they assured the Free Citizens that although this seemed quite cruel and sadistic, those who made an honest effort would survive, thus defining freedom and the successful path of this Conservatism. Immediately, the Mongrels countered, passionately responding that throwing people to the wolves is the most perverted definition of freedom and warned once again such action only leads to ruin. However, the Free Citizens were open to the Patron logic of their Great White Kings and had more of a passion for The Great Event than any over blown response by the Mongrels. As long as one was not amongst the Chosen Ones, as holocausts go, this one looked to be as amusing, entertaining, and as promising a venture as other holocausts were. Although, the cost would be exorbitant--dollars, not human. The Mongrels even tried to petition this as a means to halt The Great Event, appealing more to the common intellect of the Free Citizens for practicality and necessity, rather than their goodwill and conscience. However, intellect was scarce, as scarce as goodwill and conscience.
As a last resort, the Mongrels made a plea to the Pundits, otherwise known as the free press, imploring them to take up the noble premise and put a halt to this barbaric monstrosity. However, the Pundits, or free press, had long retired from being the watchdog eye designed to challenge tyranny. Their intellect was more whirling than that of the Free Citizens. Following the lead of their conservative colleagues, they had instead lent themselves out more as a stage for scandal and lunatics, so The Great Event, advertised as a murder and mayhem spectacle, was just the kind of booster they and their Networks were looking for. Entertainment was no longer just violent. Entertainment had to be psychotic. Though it was clearly a mutiny against the watchdog design, the Pundits respectfully abstained from the noble premise.
It was decided The Great Event would be held on the twentieth day in the month of April in honor of the greatest white king of them all. And anyone could attend. Although, the price for admission was so high that really only the Upper One Percent could afford the steep outlay and luxury of attending. Yet, this wasn’t exactly the idea behind The Great Event. The Great Event was designed to win the hearts and minds of the Free Citizens below the Upper One Percent. So from a credit line with an open end, or ceiling, the Great White Kings, once more absurdly, borrowed from a powerful Hostile Party, then issued a rebate. And much to the delight of the Free Citizens below the Upper One Percent, this rebate stretched their finances just enough to allow them to attend The Great Event, even though it was of a greater cost and debt to the nation, and principally they, themselves, the Free Citizens below the Upper One Percent. A poll showed the Great White Kings to be at their highest approval rating ever.
As choices go, the choice of who would be thrown to the wolves was hardly random--random amongst the poor, or anyone of a dark skin complexion, or of a disdained race or religion, or engaged in a same-sex relationship. Among the men, women and children chosen to be ripped apart by the wolves, this was as random as the choice would get. And for the intolerable offence of being poor, or of a dark skin complexion, or of a disdained race or religion, or of a same-sex relationship, one thousand were arrested by Police, or as it was put, “...detained indefinitely without due process or right to counsel...”--and stripped of everything they had, including their identities. And if that wasn’t enough of a disgrace, they would also be forced to wear armbands with a cross to clarify who was chosen to be segregated and marked for death. Actually, death is too polite of a term. Extermination may have been more apt. And so it was done.
Finally, the great day for The Great Event arrived. The skies were clear. The sun shined bright. A perfect day for The Great Event and slaughter. The stadium was packed, standing room only. Ironically, there was plenty of color to go along with the pageantry--red roses, white daffodils, and blue violets. The Pundits took their place. Of course, none of them really had anything to say that was worth listening to, or really expressed an honest opinion. They only promoted the usual conflict, rather than any resolve with any real solution to any real problem. With conflict, the saga continues. With resolve, the saga ends. And so on, and so on, and so on. What they did debate vigorously amongst themselves was that the Chosen Ones did outnumber the wolves ten to one. And that this might play to their advantage. In any event, particularly this great one, most of the money was riding on the wolves, and that’s who the Oddsmakers were still favoring heavily, hedging their funds, betting on a bloodbath.
Meanwhile, down on the playing field, the wolves snarled in their cages, starved for days. However, not so starved that they were weak. Just starved enough so that they worked up a hearty appetite for the Chosen Ones. And if hunger was not sufficient enough to devour the Chosen Ones, the Wolfkeepers added to the incentive by cracking their whips to keep the wolves on the defense and in the foulest mood.
Adding to the festivities, were one hundred Marksmen, one for each wolf, standing in towers positioned around the stadium. And Soldiers were on the ground to orchestrate and monitor the movements of the Chosen Ones. And the Chosen Ones, confined to their concentrated camps, were frail and exposed, denied food, and clothed minimal--narrowly sufficient to meet the moral code of decency. After all, as the Merchants, sponsoring The Great Event and Network Broadcasts, so reverently pointed out, this murder and mayhem spectacle was a family show, and must remain within those values.
And at long last, the horns sounded, signaling the beginning of The Great Event. The tone was uplifting. There was a flyby. A flock of geese flew over the stadium in formation. Most likely frightened from the sound of the horns and fleeing the venue. Nevertheless, the Free Citizens saw this as a miracle in the making, a sign from God. Poor God, the superstition he is so often mistakenly associated with.
The Free Citizens began to clap their hands and stomp their feet, while crying out, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
The Great White Kings glanced towards each other and smiled pleased. They sensed once more they had the Mongrels on the run.
Next, the Chosen Ones, one thousand in all--men, women and children--were herded into the pit at gunpoint by the Soldiers. The Chosen Ones huddled together, clinging to each other, horrified, weeping and begging for mercy.
However, the more they wept and the more they begged, the more the Free Citizens clapped and stomped, crying out, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
The wolves snarled with their prey in sight. The Wolfkeepers cracked their whips to make the mood of the wolves even more foul. A few of the Chosen Ones made an attempt to escape, but the Marksmen in the towers fired shots near their feet and the Soldiers trained their rifles on them and they were forced back into the herd.
The Free Citizens were even more delighted, shouting and applauding with greater enthusiasm, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
And with this momentum, the Great White Kings, together, extended an arm and made a fist, then put a thumb up.
The Free Citizens could taste the blood, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
And with the drama and fervor reaching a fever pitch, the Great White Kings, together, turned their thumbs down. The horns sounded, holding one long alarming note. The Chosen Ones clutched each other engulfed with terror. The Wolfkeepers released the wolves. The wolves sprang from their cages the moment the cage doors opened. They sprinted and charged, clawing and gnawing, sinking their teeth into the flesh of anyone who was in their path and ripping them apart. The Chosen Ones tried to run, but there was nowhere to run. The men tried to fight the wolves, but they were ripped apart. The women tried to shield their children, but they were ripped apart. Children screamed for their parents, but they were ripped apart. Blood was strewn everywhere. The smell was ghastly. It was grossly and grisly entertaining. The Free Citizens watched the massacre intensely, smiling, laughing, tracking with excitement what man, woman or child would be ripped apart next by the ravenous wolves. The Great White Kings also seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the Free Citizens, while nibbling food and sipping drink from the concessions.
Soon, though, the action came to a complete halt. The terrified screams of the Chosen Ones were silenced with death. The Oddsmakers picked it right. It was a bloodbath. The Chosen Ones were no match for the wolves. The extermination was complete. The wolves had made quick work of them. The pit was like a lake of blood and carnage. Not one of the Chosen Ones stirred. What remained was just the wolves gnawing and mashing their teeth cleaning whatever flesh was left off the bone. The only fight that carried on was amongst themselves, roaming about, engaging in quick skirmishes, the stronger of the clash winning out. There again was the irony. With so much flesh to go around, even the wolves were greedy, trying to hoard as much carnage as they could to themselves.
Not surprising, the Free Citizens were quickly bored. They thought the violence would be more disturbing and the appeal last a much longer span than just the opening. The Pundits commented, it was very disappointing and sure to receive a lukewarm review. The Free Citizens began murmuring with one another, questioning the whole point of The Great Event. The cries for freedom had died with the Chosen Ones. What correlation was there really between freedom and throwing people to the wolves? This was the question that kept running through the minds of the Free Citizens faster than the Chosen Ones could make an honest run from the wolves.
The Great White Kings looked troubled. They ordered the Marksmen to put an end to the wolves. Not so much for any moral purpose, but to entertain the Free Citizens, keep them distracted, providing time, while they quickly thought up a resolution. The Marksmen did as ordered, cutting down the one hundred wolves, each with a single shot. The wolves yelped and moaned and soon laid dead with the Chosen Ones in the lake of blood and carnage. The Free Citizens groaned. It seems they had more empathy for the wolves than the Chosen Ones. The Great White Kings looked very, very bad, and had to come up with something very, very good, quickly. And then it happened. The answer to their prayers--a great white miracle.
Amongst the carnage of men, women and children, a faint cry of agony was heard. The Free Citizens hushed. The Great White Kings hushed. All eyes transfixed on the pit. All hopes clung to there being a survivor. Then amongst the carnage, one man began to stir. The Free Citizens heard his agony as he pushed bodies off of him and moved bones away. The dead had shielded him from the wolves. He slowly began to rise. And when he made it to his feet, his legs could barely support the weight of his body, even as lean as it was. They quivered uncontrollably and looked like they would collapse any moment. The quivering, however, was more from the trauma of enduring the slaughter, rather than from any wound he had suffered. Though unstable, the man, or Survivor, stood there firm without injury. The Free Citizens were fascinated and marveled. So, too, were the Great White Kings. The Pundits commented, the Survivor may issue a statement any moment. Moments passed as the Survivor stood there with a horrified glaze in his eyes, shivering from the terror, smearing blood around, trying to wipe it away from his body. His mind was just trying to shut out the gruesome memory of the slaughter. Eventually, he did make a statement. It was this mad sort of gibberish. He now was completely insane. However, everyone smiled and laughed softly, engaged by his charm. Everyone, except for the Mongrels. They just sadly shook their heads with shame and disbelief. What followed was more shame, more disbelief.
Caught up in a moment of inspiration, one Free Citizen cried out, “Freedom!”
This awakened the Free Citizens.
Feeling no remorse, no empathy for the slaughter, only a greater inspiration, the Free Citizens once more began clapping their hands and stomping their feet, while crying out, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
Naturally, this brought upon the Survivor, standing in the pit, a greater apprehension. From his position, the cry freedom translated into a festive feeding frenzy for the wolves. He responded angry and fearful with more mad gibberish at a heightened tone.
Yet, his tone was drowned out by the inspiration of the Free Citizens and the heightened cry of, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
The Great White Kings were again pleased. With the Survivor, the Free Citizens had recognized and embraced freedom as this Conservatism had defined. A person could survive and make it all on their own against the wolves. And if one could do it, so could others, even though it was only one in one thousand. For the Free Citizens, one in one thousand was good enough.
With this overwhelming mandate, the Great White Kings gestured and the horns sounded. They were ready to address the Free Citizens. And while the Survivor in the pit turned with alarm and despair bracing for another attack, the Free Citizens quieted and waited for the Great White Kings to speak. The first king to speak was the Great White King from the West and Midwest.
To the Free Citizens, he proclaimed, “This Survivor is a great man! I promise him a king’s wealth!”
The Free Citizens cheered, clapped their hands, stomped their feet, and cried out, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
The second king to speak was the Great White King from the North and Northeast.
To the Free Citizens, he also proclaimed, “This Survivor is indeed a great man! I promise him a king’s castle!”
The Free Citizens cheered, clapped their hands, stomped their feet, and cried out, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
The third king to speak was the Great White King from the South and Southeast. He was a bit more savvy than the other two. He approached the Free Citizens, then raised his hands towards the Survivor as if he were about to praise God.
And then he shouted, “Behold our Savior!”
And a roar, said to be heard around the world, went up from the Free Citizens. They clapped their hands and stomped their feet, and shook the stadium with such enthusiasm and tremendous force, it felt like the ground was going to open up and the walls were sure to come tumbling down.
“Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
Everyone was caught up in the moment--the Pundits, the Wolfkeepers, the Soldiers, the Marksmen, the Merchants, the Oddsmakers, the Teetotalers, the Black Widows, and the Great White Kings, all cried out with the Free Citizens, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
Even the Survivor, now the proclaimed Savior, still mad, still speaking in his gibberish tongue, attempted to cry out, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
Though, his effort was more of a vain attempt to join in and not be fed to the wolves.
Of course, the only ones who were silent were the Mongrels. This was not their definition of freedom, nor would it ever be any freedom they would believe in. Yet, the kingdom was united, rejoicing together in one great white moment. And then the Great White King from the South and Southeast turned to a Marksman and with a simple nod ordered the Savior to be shot.
The Marksman aimed. A shot fired from his rifle. A round exploded into the head of the Savior, blowing out a chunk of skull and brain tissue. The Savior fell to the ground instantly, lying dead in the lake of blood and carnage with a permanent glaze in his eyes, a foreboding vision of the future when freedom is defined as throwing people to the wolves.
The Free Citizens were shocked and sobered by this assassination. The Pundits were speechless. The Mongrels saw it coming. Everyone was quiet. Even the Great White King of the West and Midwest, and the Great White King of the North and Northeast turned to the Great White Ruler of the South and Southeast for an explanation. And he had one. He stepped forward, not just to address all those present at this great event, but to address the entire Great White Kingdom.
He said, “This great man, our Savior, is a son of God. He is the king of kings, sent to us to be tortured and put to his death by commandment of God, so that we may be cleansed of all our sins--sins against God, sins against ourselves--granting us passage into the great white kingdom in the Heavens, and granting us what we cherish most here in this great white kingdom on Earth. This blood sacrifice was for...”
He paused for a moment to make his point more compelling.
Then cried out...“Freedom...!”
And it was said that the voice of the Great White King from the South and Southeast carried to every ear in the Great White Kingdom. And once more the crowd sent up a roar to be heard around the world.
They clapped their hands and stomped their feet and cried, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”
And the Free Citizens felt a great euphoria come over them, touched and filled with a spirit, they swore was holy. They wept from the euphoria. Father hugged son. Mother hugged daughter. Husband hugged wife. This was the great white dream come true. Their cup runneth over with blood. The Great White King from the West and Midwest, and the Great White King from the North and Northeast bowed to their Great White Colleague from the South and Southeast for his great white wisdom--it was more cost efficient to bury and immortalize the Savior than to make good on a king’s promise of a king’s wealth and a king’s castle.
The Great Event proved to be an overwhelming victory for the Great White Kings. Even the Pundits were impressed, commenting, never before had they witnessed such an extreme display of inspiration. They also commented, the kingdom was now united...the dastardly Liberalism of the Mongrels that threatened freedom everywhere was crushed and silenced.
The only consolation for the Mongrels was a wink from their Mistresses. And that turned out to be tragic and damaging, supplying the Hackers with enough goat for the character carving.
The Hackers were these unofficial spies for the Great White Kings, who monitored the movements and conversations of the Free Citizens, whom they deemed a menace to the Great White Kingdom. This translated into the political opposition--anyone associated with the Mongrel Liberalism. And though there was plenty of goat on supply even for the Great White Kings, who also indulged in their intimate miscalculations and misfortunes, the blade was always less sharp for their character carving.
However, when their nation needed them most to rebound with strength and unity, the Mongrels were weak and fractured. And they were the last hope.
Because while one in one thousand was perfectly acceptable to the Free Citizens, in the short time afterward with this Conservatism of the Great White Kings firmly in place, unchecked with complete power, formed from complete deregulation, and the Teetotalers and Black Widows having their way with the nation, injecting their venom, fostering a food shortage and hosting an array of other catastrophic calamities, one in one thousand quickly escalated to two in two thousand. Two in two thousand quickly escalated to four in four thousand. Four in four thousand quickly escalated to eight in eight thousand. Eight in eight thousand quickly escalated to sixteen in sixteen thousand. Sixteen in sixteen thousand quickly escalated to thirty-two in thirty-two thousand. Thirty-two in thirty-two thousand quickly escalated to sixty-four in sixty-four thousand. Sixty-four in sixty-four thousand quickly escalated to one hundred twenty-eight in one hundred twenty-eight thousand. One hundred twenty-eight in one hundred twenty-eight thousand quickly escalated to two hundred fifty-six in two hundred fifty-six thousand. Two hundred fifty-six in two hundred fifty-six thousand quickly escalated to five hundred twelve in five hundred twelve thousand. Five hundred twelve in five hundred twelve thousand quickly escalated to one thousand twenty-four in one million twenty-four thousand.
The dizzying despair and disparity continued to multiply. The Fuel Merchants and the Upper One Percent cracked the economy of the Great White Kingdom. The blow was so severe, it was beyond repair. It was a simple problem. Simple as one plus one equals two. However, no one was ever brave enough to do the math. The politics always compromised the nation. And this was the single greatest sin of the Mongrels, compromising at a time when there should be no compromise.
And despite the military prowess, this Great White Kingdom ruled by these Great White Kings, was swarmed over and occupied by Surrounding Enemies and Hostile Parties. And they collected the debt owed, unmercifully.
The Free Citizens were fed to the wolves. The Fuel Merchants and Upper One Percent were fed to the wolves. All Merchants--including the Health Merchants, Mortgage and Loan Merchants, Money Merchants, Money Insurers, Utility Merchants, the Merchants who sponsored the Network Broadcasts, and the Networks, themselves, were fed to the wolves. The Oddsmakers were fed to the wolves. The Pundits of any sort, conservative or otherwise, were fed to the wolves. Their Lawyers and Agents were fed to the wolves. The Provincial Governors were fed to the wolves. The Labor Ranks--Organized or Independent--were fed to the wolves. Educators were fed to the wolves. Fire & Rescue were fed to the wolves. The Local Coppers were fed to the wolves. The Studious Band of Strikers were fed to the wolves. Neighbors from South of the Border were fed to the wolves. Physicians were fed to the wolves. The Fabulous Violinist and other members of the String Quartet were fed to the wolves. The Hackers were fed to the wolves. The Wolfkeepers, Marksmen, Police and Soldiers were fed to the wolves. The Hound Dogs were fed to the wolves. The Patrons were fed to the wolves. The Teetotalers and Black Widows were fed to the wolves. The Mongrels and their Mistresses were fed to the wolves. And last, but not at all at least, the Great White Kings were fed to the wolves, slow and savory, cleaned to the bone.
Once again, ironically, every man, woman and child in the entire Great White Kingdom was chosen for the feast. Turns out, holocausts are not so amusing, not so entertaining. Turns out, they are quite an unpleasant spectacle--the cost, exorbitant--a human and economic genocide. Turns out all malice spawns from ignorance. And all ignorance spawns from hatred. And all hatred spawns from fear, or hunger, or a particularly higher opinion one has of oneself. Turns out throughout the ages all these things are always very, very bad. For all things are remedied with sanity, not insanity. The bigotry and murder only spreads. The same as it spread throughout this Great White Kingdom. No one was spared. No one was of sound enough mind to correctly comprehend, a Savior challenges the greed of the merchants, not throws in with the disreputable lot.
For fear of a brave new world, no one was ever brave enough to take the social steps to insure the health and care of the Free Citizens, whose business had exceeded the importance of their well-being, placing both in a poor state and failing condition. Every Free Citizen was condemned by the madness brought upon them by their Great White Kings.
However, to describe the Great White Kings as mad would neither be a fair nor accurate description. A fair and more accurate description of the Great White Kings is that they were sane men, who embraced madness for the strength and security of a nation. Madness always has it’s reasons, and it’s symptoms. Unfortunately, both are often ignored until it’s too late.
And in fairness to the Free Citizens, who fell prey to the madness of their Great White Kings, their affliction was common throughout the world. When given the choice of the robber and the Savior, most people choose the robber, then pray to the Savior for forgiveness.
Even so, let us not dwell on the negative, or the past. Let us take a positive step forward. In the spirit of saviors, who make good on their own promise and immortality whenever they willingly march to the cross for the health and well-being of the people, let us forgive and make a blind person see.
Let us forgive the Free Citizens for choosing the robbers. For they were too ignorant to understand their own plain English. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Wolfkeepers, Marksmen, Police and Soldiers for their atrocities against the Chosen Ones. For their excuse is always that they were only following orders and upholding the law. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Chosen Ones for their intolerable offences. For their only crime was that they were human. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive Neighbors from South of the Border for being alien and illegal. For by invitation of Miss Liberty, our home is their home. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Pundits for mutinying against any noble premise and lending the freedom of the press out more as a stage for scandal and lunatics. For a fair observation is that they have become unbalanced. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive Provincial Governors for stripping away Collective-Bargaining. For theirs was a dishonest mistake. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Conservative Pundits for collectively bargaining against the Free Citizens, while conveniently collectively bargaining for themselves. For what is good for them, is also good for us. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Lawyers and Agents, who would negotiate a Collective-Bargain even in a time when not convenient. For we are free citizens, not subjects. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Labor Ranks--Organized or Independent--for their lack of unity. For they shortchange themselves with nothing to show for their work. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Studious Band of Strikers for a vision that was a bit hazy. For while their vision was a bit hazy, the heart of their occupational grievance was in the right place. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Local Coppers for their blurred vision, serving up evictions and arrests with bashing batons. For their duty is always to protect and preserve order, before they protect and preserve what they merit. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive Educators and Fire & Rescue for their lost earnings. For nothing in life is ever learned until after everything has gone up in smoke. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Hound Dogs for their blue-blood act and retreating under fire. For they thought they would live to fight another day. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Patrons and their prejudicial opinion not to drink from the well of wellness and prosperity. For they are entitled. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Teetotalers and Black Widows for desecrating what is patriotic and constitutional. For as the proverb goes--all good things must come to an end. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Hackers for monitoring movements and conversations of Free Citizens. For what good is any free nation without it’s secret police? Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Mistresses for their compromising contribution. For they are always unfaithfully yours and a fatal attraction. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Mongrels for having more passion for their Mistresses, and less to combat a primary villain. For they, too, were capitalists and the wrong kind of sinners. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the primary villains--the Fuel Merchants and Upper One Percent--for their unscrupulous course of rhyme and reason. For they were early to bed, early to rise, greedy and seedy, before their demise. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive other Merchants and their Money Insurers--all the Variable Schemers--those who were bailed out. For while crime does pay, there still is no honor among thieves. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Utility Merchants for utilizing Conservation for their proficient price proliferation. For no one could possibly question their good intentions. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Networks and those Merchants, who would sponsor the corruption of family values and decency with a spectacle of murder and mayhem. For as it is with any family, blood is thicker than water. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Oddsmakers for betting on a bloodbath. For they run a respectable business and made an accurate appraisal. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Health Merchants for their part in the high cost of living. For they gamble on our good health, while we gamble against it. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive Physicians for the order of their priorities. For nothing in life is free, including a primary care for life, itself. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive Foreign Merchants for our dependency. For our wish is still their command. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive Hostile Parties for collecting the debt owed. For with their lending generosity, also comes payback. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive Surrounding Enemies for settling the debt owed them. For it is written, what goes around, most certainly will come around. Let us forgive.
Let us forgive the Fabulous Violinist and the entire String Quartet for their mournful melody. For they lay us all to rest with such sweet sorrow. Let us forgive.
And last, but once more not at all at least, let us forgive the Great White Kings. For they taught the world it’s greatest lesson... When freedom is defined as throwing people to the wolves, it is a fortune squandered. Let us forgive.
This Great White Kingdom ruled by these Great White Kings had a great fortune and squandered it all. It was a colossal waste, laid to rest, a reign of only two and one-half centuries, without so much as even measuring a footnote in the world’s history. Yet, although it did not measure, it would be attributed one footnote that characterized freedom as a failed experiment. And this was the greatest sin of the Great White Kings.
In reflection, any swindler can manufacture a sales pitch with a nationalistic furor and cry freedom, especially one who would rather mold a great white kingdom, rather than forge a great republic and democracy--a great nation, “...of the people, by the people, for the people.” As with anything, even the cry freedom, the source has to be considered and the proposition must be legitimate, as in, “We hold these truths to be self-evident...” And any human being of moral and decent character knows, whether it is spoken in the plainest English or any other Alien language, that freedom should never be and has no place being defined as throwing people to the wolves. Freedom in any language should only be defined as, “One nation under God, indivisible--meaning impossible to divide (once more in plain English)--with liberty and justice for all.” For a pledge to this allegiance is divine. And consider this before the foundation of our faith is completely lost--the more one speaks of God, the less they probably really know of him. God prefers less chatter, more listening. Perhaps, the time is now upon us to listen. Let us forgive. Let us forgive. Let us forgive. As we have pledged in our allegiance to God and our Country with our faith and compassion formed from a foundation of conscience and goodwill as it was intended, let us then stand together and cry, “Freedom, freedom, freedom...!”