"Good evening," Kitty said. "First of all, I'd like to assure you, Mr.
Henderson, that I took none of your statements personally, and that I
realize your concern for the people I'm here on behalf of tonight. I had
prepared a speech tonight, but frankly I don't see how I can really give it
based on what I've seen and heard over the last few days,"
In the audience, Paul looked at her, confused. "What is she doing?" he wondered.
"Mr. Henderson was right about thing. For the last several weeks, it seems like people in the news and our government have been saying the same things about war over and over again. They've presented this war to the public in such simple and absolute means because they don't want the public to have to worry about what's going on. Even the reports that we've seen of people being killed don't really tell us what things are really like over there. They just tell us meaningless numbers. What people need to realize is that war is about much more than people fighting each other for resources or because of differing philosophies. To me, war represents a fundamental failure in human relations and communications. When countries send their citizens to fight and kill each other, it means that they have lost the capacity to live with each other despite their differences. When countries use force to resolve their disputes instead of diplomacy, the outcome of events on the battlefield becomes irrelevant in the grand scheme, because both sides ultimately lose. It saddens me that our own government has lost the patience for resolving its disputes through peaceful measures, and that our President would rather settle for the easy and convenient way of handling this crisis than have the dedication to pursue a diplomatic solution that can be equitable for both sides. Frankly I don't know if I can continue to trust our government when it has been so willing to resort to violence and war to achieve its goals,"
There was much applause from the left side of the audience, and some boos from the right.
"We've been told all along how much of a threat this man is to our security. We've been told that this dictator has weapons of mass destruction and is planning to use them against us and against his neighbors. And yet what has happened in the three weeks since this war began? When our forces invaded his country, his own armies surrendered to us rather than fight. And how many chemical attacks have our troops suffered? None. All this is making me wonder just how dangerous this country was in the first place. Which leads me to ask, why have we been told to be so afraid of them in the first place?"
Xavier nodded at this, and Paul smiled. "Boy, she can sure think on her feet, can't she?" asked Paul.
"You'd better believe it," Scott told him.
"I remember seeing a press conference where our Secretary of Defense was asked what evidence he had that this dictator did have weapons of mass destruction," Kitty said. "You know what he said? He said that the inspectors hadn't found any evidence that they had any weapons, but then he said that this meant that they DID have weapons and were just hiding them! Now what sort of logic is that?" she asked rhetorically. The crowd gave her a mixed reaction of applause, boos, and laughter.
"Now I'll admit," she continued. "I can be a little gullible at times, but when somebody tells me that they can prove something exists on the basis that they haven't found any evidence that it doesn't exist, that's too much for me to believe!" She laughed a little herself at this point, and then continued.
"Mr. Henderson has said that there is little point in me being up here and speaking to you tonight, but I think he is wrong. I think that we still have much to discuss about this war and what it is doing to our own society," Kitty went on. "Take a look at the attitudes that have developed in our leaders over the last few months. Every time you hear them speak about other countries and fighting terrorism, they always seem to be taking an attitude of 'us versus them' and that the opinions of countries that don't agree with what we're doing don't matter. That's not just wrong. That's just plain arrogant! How can that kind of attitude be conducive to creating peace? How can we create peace if our President constantly tells other countries that their concerns are irrelevant compared to ours, or that 'if they're not with us, they're against us'? How can we make friends around the world if our government is alienating people through its policies? How can we convince potential terrorists that we're not their enemy when all of the rhetoric coming out of Washington is saying that we are? Mr. Henderson talked about all of these policies we have that are supposed to make the world a better place and get rid of threats, but it seems to me like they are just creating the very threats they're supposed to be getting rid of,"
The crowd hesitated, a little unsure how to react to this. Kitty was asking them to think about something they had not heard much of lately.
"And it's not just our leaders who are being arrogant with this kind of attitude. It's spreading throughout our entire society. Every time I hear people talk about foreign countries these days, they always talk about them like they're inferior. One of my best friends is from Germany, and for weeks, every day he's gone to school he's heard people say that his country is weak and his people are cowards and traitors for not siding with our government. Is it really such a good thing to be alienating these countries when we need their help to support us?"
The left side of the crowd again gave her a good ovation, and Kitty heard several hearty cries of "No!" mixed in with the applause.
"I know what I'm saying may sound a little unusual," Kitty said, picking up on the audience's earlier hesitation. "But I think it's important to talk about these things so we don't get swamped by this wave of one-sided thinking that people like Mr. Henderson want us to follow. I think that it is at times like this that dissent is even more important than ever. If we don't like what our government is doing, we owe it to ourselves to stand up and say, 'No, we don't want you doing these things in our name!'"
"Mr. Henderson talked about how the people protesting this war have been an embarrassment. I don't know who started that riot at the protest last week, and I can't condone the violence that resulted, but I do understand why things got out of control the way they did. These people are angry and they feel like they're being ignored. And when people get angry and want to be heard, they sometimes get violent. So don't act all surprised and confused, Mr. Henderson, and tell us you can't understand why people are getting so angry. They're angry that you're not paying any attention to them!" She turned backwards at this point so she could look at Henderson while she was addressing him. Henderson sat in silence, not displaying a trace of emotion.
Kitty felt a little flustered at the man's lack of a reaction. Everybody else she knew would have tried to say something in their defense. She decided to try a different tactic and turned back to the audience.
"I know Mr. Henderson would like us to all support our troops and our President for the sake of presenting a unified society, but how can we pretend that we all approve of what we're doing when some of us clearly don't?"
There was more applause from the left, while some of the people on the right grew restless. Suddenly, a man on the right stood up and shouted, "How can you say you don't support our troops?"
The people on the right applauded the man as he sat down. "Sir, please sit down," said Tina, chiding the man for his outburst. "You'll have time to express your concerns later," "I'm sorry Kitty," she said. "Please, continue,"
"Sir, I do support our troops. I have a great deal of respect for anybody who would risk their life to defend our country. In this case, I just don't see what they're being asked to defend. Now make no mistake, I support our troops, but I don't support this war! And I see it as my duty to speak out for the soldiers who have no voice, because they don't have the same liberties I do of questioning the nature of their orders or the motives of the people that are giving them!"
This was met with applause from the left. Kitty also noticed a few older people in military uniforms on the right side were also clapping, acknowledging the respect she had shown them.
"I know I'm almost out of time, so I'll try and make my conclusion brief. I've heard a lot of different views on the events of this war over the last several days, and I've heard some things that have been painful to hear. But nothing I have heard has hurt me so much as hearing Mr. Henderson say that in his eyes, the people that are protesting this war are on the same level with the terrorists that attacked our country two years ago! To me, that is the most deliberate misuse of reasoning I have ever heard in my life!" She again turned to Henderson and saw his lip curl a little in disgust as the audience erupted in more cheering.
"Listen at her go!" said Kurt excitedly as Kitty build momentum.
Xavier looked at Paul and smiled knowingly as Paul watched in admiration while Kitty delivered her speech.
Kitty continued. "Mr. Henderson seems to be forgetting how unique our country is, and how it was founded, essentially, by protesters. Don't forget that the American Revolution sprung from people protesting actions of their government that they didn't like. If it weren't for men like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, we might all still be ruled by an king and queen right now! So if Mr. Henderson wants to claim that men that built our country are no better than people who strap bombs to themselves and blow themselves to pieces in restaurants, or hijack airplanes and crash them into buildings, then he's just crazy!"
As soon as she finished, applause began to fill the building from both sides of the audience. Kitty turned to see Henderson's face turn beet red, his lips spread in a fierce scowl.
"How dare you!" he hissed, and stood up and began to walk towards her intently.
As he approached Kitty, Henderson felt somebody seize his arm in an iron grip. He turned around to see Logan holding onto his arm tightly.
"Don't even think about it, bub," Logan said.
Henderson looked down at Logan, and then caught sight of the police officers that were making their way up to the stage to escort him away. He scowled again, and then jerked his arm away from Logan. "Don't bother," he said to the officers. "I can find the exit by myself," With that, he took one last look at Kitty, shook his head in disgust, and left the stage and walked towards the exit.
"You alright, half-pint?" Logan asked Kitty.
"Yeah," she said. "What were you doing backstage?"
"I didn't think it would be too good to leave ol' Redwood there unattended," he responded.
Tina stepped up to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, since Mr. Henderson has left us, I declare Kitty Pryde to be the winner of this debate!"
The audience jumped to their feet in exuberance. While some people on the right side had followed Henderson out of the building, many had remained and were applauding just as vehemently. The X-Men and Paul ran up to the stage to celebrate with Kitty.
"You were fantastic!" said Kurt.
"Great job, Kitty!" said Jean.
"Thanks, you guys!" Kitty replied, and then saw Rogue walk up to her. Surprisingly, the mutant extended her gloved hand.
"Thanks," Rogue said. "I thought I knew what all was goin' on with this war, but you made me stop and think some things over. I guess that's somethin' me and a lot of these people haven't been doing much of lately,"
"Sure thing," said Kitty, and shook her hand.
Paul was the next to congratulate Kitty. "Kitty, thank you so much! I can't tell you what this means to me!" he said.
Kitty shook Paul's hand, and then gave him a hug. "Thank you for helping me see a different side to this war than everybody has been showing me. And for teaching me how to speak normally," she said with a laugh. "So what are you gonna do after this?"
"I was thinking about taking some people up to the state capital next week and addressing the legislature. Think you'd wanna come along?"
"Sure!" said Kitty.
"Great!" he said, then pointed over her shoulder and grinned. "Hey, don't look now, but I think somebody wants to interview you again,"
"Kitty, can we get a word from you?" How do you feel about winning this debate?" came a mass of voices from behind her.
Kitty turned around at the commotion to see a mob of news reporters and cameras rushing towards her, including Tina. She smiled and walked off to meet the press.
X
Kitty didn't realize it, but her speech had been seen and heard in many more homes across the country than anybody thought it would. In his study, Principal Kelly had been listening to the debate, and made a note to call Kitty down to his office the next day to congratulate her for speaking so well. People in San Fransisco, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston, Atlanta, Boston, and countless other towns and cities had seen Kitty's speech and were preparing to discuss it at work the next day. Back in Bayville, even the Brotherhood had tuned in to watch, and Lance was now the target for his fellow mutants' catcalls about how his girlfriend was going to run for president someday and how he would have to be the first lady. And in a certain white house in Washington DC, a man turned off his television and sat in thoughtful contemplation of what he had just seen.
His thoughts were interrupted as an aide walked into his office. "Mr. President, it's almost time for the Defense briefing," the man said.
"Reschedule it. I've got something on my mind right now," said the President.
"Sir, this is very important," the aide replied. "They're meeting to discuss the next phase of the war,"
"I've found something more important at the moment," the President replied curtly.
"Yes sir," the aide said, and walked out of the office, leaving the President by himself. A moment later, he picked up the phone. "Beth," he said, "contact the networks. I have something I want to say,"
"Yes Mr. President," came the voice on the other end. The President put down the phone and picked up a pen to begin working on the speech he would soon deliver.
X
A while later, the X-Men arrived back at the Institute, where Kitty was greeted by Hank, Storm, and the younger mutants who had stayed at home and watched the speech on TV. Kitty accepted their congratulations and then began to make her way towards the staircase so she could go to bed when something came on the TV that caught her attention.
"Hey, check it out. The President's going to be on!" she said, and all of the X-Men quickly gathered around the TV to hear his speech.
X
At the White House, the President skimmed over his speech one last time before the cameras turned on. An aide walked up to him. "Sir, are you sure you want to be making this speech? It could really hurt your approval ratings,"
"I'm aware of that," said the President. "But I've heard something tonight that's made me wonder just how much I deserve those ratings in the first place,"
"Whatever you say, sir," said the aide, and stepped back so the President would be alone on camera.
"My fellow Americans," he began. "As you know, our war has nearly reached a successful conclusion. The enemy dictator has been removed from power and we can begin to build a new society for his people. Now that we have liberated this society, we must reflect on the actions we have taken. I know many people, myself included, have been content to derive a moral justification for this war from victory. We thought that our success on the battlefield would prove the validity of our policies. But after seeing the debate in Bayville tonight, I've realized that victory in itself will not be enough to prove that we were right. Ultimately, history will judge our success or our failure. We may have too quick to assume that it would judge in our favor. We still must earn this victory, and we will only do that by helping these people build a stable society for themselves.
Now the question remains, where do we go from here? Our policies so far have dictated pre-emptive campaigns against people, groups, or nations that we believe to be threats to us. We need to reexamine these policies, and determine exactly how and why we are being threatened before we act so quickly in the future. Also, America needs to restore its image in the eyes of the world. We have been so eager to remove this dictator from power and liberate this society that we turned a deaf ear to most of the world. As a result, countries that were once our good friends have lost some of the trust and understanding they had for us. As our nation's President and primary spokesman, I must accept the blame. We thought we could win this war by ourselves. So far we have been right. But next time we may not be so lucky. We must be sure in the future that we have the strong support of all of our friends and allies before we embark on future campaigns so that we can present a united front against those who would stand against peace and free society.
Finally, we as Americans must do our part to show the people of the world that our society truly is the land of the free. This war has focused too much on differences and has made people become less willing to accept, and less willing to forgive. It has demanded unity when it instead should have encouraged dissent. Peaceful protests and demonstrations can be a powerful tool for change. We as a society must not be so quick to judge people who would say 'no' to be unpatriotic. It is more unpatriotic for people and organizations to try to silence the voice of protest. Throughout history, the greatest changes have come when brave individuals have had the courage to stand up and say 'no'.
And to those of you who may doubt how effective and how powerful one voice can be, I would ask you to consider the words of Kitty Pryde earlier tonight. She is the reason I am speaking to you now. She gave me another way of thinking, and her words helped me to realize a better way of looking at the world. Thank you, Kitty. Hopefully, in time, more people will realize what you have said tonight and will follow your example to make our society and the world a better place.
Thank you for your time, and God bless the United States of America,"
X
In the audience, Paul looked at her, confused. "What is she doing?" he wondered.
"Mr. Henderson was right about thing. For the last several weeks, it seems like people in the news and our government have been saying the same things about war over and over again. They've presented this war to the public in such simple and absolute means because they don't want the public to have to worry about what's going on. Even the reports that we've seen of people being killed don't really tell us what things are really like over there. They just tell us meaningless numbers. What people need to realize is that war is about much more than people fighting each other for resources or because of differing philosophies. To me, war represents a fundamental failure in human relations and communications. When countries send their citizens to fight and kill each other, it means that they have lost the capacity to live with each other despite their differences. When countries use force to resolve their disputes instead of diplomacy, the outcome of events on the battlefield becomes irrelevant in the grand scheme, because both sides ultimately lose. It saddens me that our own government has lost the patience for resolving its disputes through peaceful measures, and that our President would rather settle for the easy and convenient way of handling this crisis than have the dedication to pursue a diplomatic solution that can be equitable for both sides. Frankly I don't know if I can continue to trust our government when it has been so willing to resort to violence and war to achieve its goals,"
There was much applause from the left side of the audience, and some boos from the right.
"We've been told all along how much of a threat this man is to our security. We've been told that this dictator has weapons of mass destruction and is planning to use them against us and against his neighbors. And yet what has happened in the three weeks since this war began? When our forces invaded his country, his own armies surrendered to us rather than fight. And how many chemical attacks have our troops suffered? None. All this is making me wonder just how dangerous this country was in the first place. Which leads me to ask, why have we been told to be so afraid of them in the first place?"
Xavier nodded at this, and Paul smiled. "Boy, she can sure think on her feet, can't she?" asked Paul.
"You'd better believe it," Scott told him.
"I remember seeing a press conference where our Secretary of Defense was asked what evidence he had that this dictator did have weapons of mass destruction," Kitty said. "You know what he said? He said that the inspectors hadn't found any evidence that they had any weapons, but then he said that this meant that they DID have weapons and were just hiding them! Now what sort of logic is that?" she asked rhetorically. The crowd gave her a mixed reaction of applause, boos, and laughter.
"Now I'll admit," she continued. "I can be a little gullible at times, but when somebody tells me that they can prove something exists on the basis that they haven't found any evidence that it doesn't exist, that's too much for me to believe!" She laughed a little herself at this point, and then continued.
"Mr. Henderson has said that there is little point in me being up here and speaking to you tonight, but I think he is wrong. I think that we still have much to discuss about this war and what it is doing to our own society," Kitty went on. "Take a look at the attitudes that have developed in our leaders over the last few months. Every time you hear them speak about other countries and fighting terrorism, they always seem to be taking an attitude of 'us versus them' and that the opinions of countries that don't agree with what we're doing don't matter. That's not just wrong. That's just plain arrogant! How can that kind of attitude be conducive to creating peace? How can we create peace if our President constantly tells other countries that their concerns are irrelevant compared to ours, or that 'if they're not with us, they're against us'? How can we make friends around the world if our government is alienating people through its policies? How can we convince potential terrorists that we're not their enemy when all of the rhetoric coming out of Washington is saying that we are? Mr. Henderson talked about all of these policies we have that are supposed to make the world a better place and get rid of threats, but it seems to me like they are just creating the very threats they're supposed to be getting rid of,"
The crowd hesitated, a little unsure how to react to this. Kitty was asking them to think about something they had not heard much of lately.
"And it's not just our leaders who are being arrogant with this kind of attitude. It's spreading throughout our entire society. Every time I hear people talk about foreign countries these days, they always talk about them like they're inferior. One of my best friends is from Germany, and for weeks, every day he's gone to school he's heard people say that his country is weak and his people are cowards and traitors for not siding with our government. Is it really such a good thing to be alienating these countries when we need their help to support us?"
The left side of the crowd again gave her a good ovation, and Kitty heard several hearty cries of "No!" mixed in with the applause.
"I know what I'm saying may sound a little unusual," Kitty said, picking up on the audience's earlier hesitation. "But I think it's important to talk about these things so we don't get swamped by this wave of one-sided thinking that people like Mr. Henderson want us to follow. I think that it is at times like this that dissent is even more important than ever. If we don't like what our government is doing, we owe it to ourselves to stand up and say, 'No, we don't want you doing these things in our name!'"
"Mr. Henderson talked about how the people protesting this war have been an embarrassment. I don't know who started that riot at the protest last week, and I can't condone the violence that resulted, but I do understand why things got out of control the way they did. These people are angry and they feel like they're being ignored. And when people get angry and want to be heard, they sometimes get violent. So don't act all surprised and confused, Mr. Henderson, and tell us you can't understand why people are getting so angry. They're angry that you're not paying any attention to them!" She turned backwards at this point so she could look at Henderson while she was addressing him. Henderson sat in silence, not displaying a trace of emotion.
Kitty felt a little flustered at the man's lack of a reaction. Everybody else she knew would have tried to say something in their defense. She decided to try a different tactic and turned back to the audience.
"I know Mr. Henderson would like us to all support our troops and our President for the sake of presenting a unified society, but how can we pretend that we all approve of what we're doing when some of us clearly don't?"
There was more applause from the left, while some of the people on the right grew restless. Suddenly, a man on the right stood up and shouted, "How can you say you don't support our troops?"
The people on the right applauded the man as he sat down. "Sir, please sit down," said Tina, chiding the man for his outburst. "You'll have time to express your concerns later," "I'm sorry Kitty," she said. "Please, continue,"
"Sir, I do support our troops. I have a great deal of respect for anybody who would risk their life to defend our country. In this case, I just don't see what they're being asked to defend. Now make no mistake, I support our troops, but I don't support this war! And I see it as my duty to speak out for the soldiers who have no voice, because they don't have the same liberties I do of questioning the nature of their orders or the motives of the people that are giving them!"
This was met with applause from the left. Kitty also noticed a few older people in military uniforms on the right side were also clapping, acknowledging the respect she had shown them.
"I know I'm almost out of time, so I'll try and make my conclusion brief. I've heard a lot of different views on the events of this war over the last several days, and I've heard some things that have been painful to hear. But nothing I have heard has hurt me so much as hearing Mr. Henderson say that in his eyes, the people that are protesting this war are on the same level with the terrorists that attacked our country two years ago! To me, that is the most deliberate misuse of reasoning I have ever heard in my life!" She again turned to Henderson and saw his lip curl a little in disgust as the audience erupted in more cheering.
"Listen at her go!" said Kurt excitedly as Kitty build momentum.
Xavier looked at Paul and smiled knowingly as Paul watched in admiration while Kitty delivered her speech.
Kitty continued. "Mr. Henderson seems to be forgetting how unique our country is, and how it was founded, essentially, by protesters. Don't forget that the American Revolution sprung from people protesting actions of their government that they didn't like. If it weren't for men like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, we might all still be ruled by an king and queen right now! So if Mr. Henderson wants to claim that men that built our country are no better than people who strap bombs to themselves and blow themselves to pieces in restaurants, or hijack airplanes and crash them into buildings, then he's just crazy!"
As soon as she finished, applause began to fill the building from both sides of the audience. Kitty turned to see Henderson's face turn beet red, his lips spread in a fierce scowl.
"How dare you!" he hissed, and stood up and began to walk towards her intently.
As he approached Kitty, Henderson felt somebody seize his arm in an iron grip. He turned around to see Logan holding onto his arm tightly.
"Don't even think about it, bub," Logan said.
Henderson looked down at Logan, and then caught sight of the police officers that were making their way up to the stage to escort him away. He scowled again, and then jerked his arm away from Logan. "Don't bother," he said to the officers. "I can find the exit by myself," With that, he took one last look at Kitty, shook his head in disgust, and left the stage and walked towards the exit.
"You alright, half-pint?" Logan asked Kitty.
"Yeah," she said. "What were you doing backstage?"
"I didn't think it would be too good to leave ol' Redwood there unattended," he responded.
Tina stepped up to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, since Mr. Henderson has left us, I declare Kitty Pryde to be the winner of this debate!"
The audience jumped to their feet in exuberance. While some people on the right side had followed Henderson out of the building, many had remained and were applauding just as vehemently. The X-Men and Paul ran up to the stage to celebrate with Kitty.
"You were fantastic!" said Kurt.
"Great job, Kitty!" said Jean.
"Thanks, you guys!" Kitty replied, and then saw Rogue walk up to her. Surprisingly, the mutant extended her gloved hand.
"Thanks," Rogue said. "I thought I knew what all was goin' on with this war, but you made me stop and think some things over. I guess that's somethin' me and a lot of these people haven't been doing much of lately,"
"Sure thing," said Kitty, and shook her hand.
Paul was the next to congratulate Kitty. "Kitty, thank you so much! I can't tell you what this means to me!" he said.
Kitty shook Paul's hand, and then gave him a hug. "Thank you for helping me see a different side to this war than everybody has been showing me. And for teaching me how to speak normally," she said with a laugh. "So what are you gonna do after this?"
"I was thinking about taking some people up to the state capital next week and addressing the legislature. Think you'd wanna come along?"
"Sure!" said Kitty.
"Great!" he said, then pointed over her shoulder and grinned. "Hey, don't look now, but I think somebody wants to interview you again,"
"Kitty, can we get a word from you?" How do you feel about winning this debate?" came a mass of voices from behind her.
Kitty turned around at the commotion to see a mob of news reporters and cameras rushing towards her, including Tina. She smiled and walked off to meet the press.
X
Kitty didn't realize it, but her speech had been seen and heard in many more homes across the country than anybody thought it would. In his study, Principal Kelly had been listening to the debate, and made a note to call Kitty down to his office the next day to congratulate her for speaking so well. People in San Fransisco, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston, Atlanta, Boston, and countless other towns and cities had seen Kitty's speech and were preparing to discuss it at work the next day. Back in Bayville, even the Brotherhood had tuned in to watch, and Lance was now the target for his fellow mutants' catcalls about how his girlfriend was going to run for president someday and how he would have to be the first lady. And in a certain white house in Washington DC, a man turned off his television and sat in thoughtful contemplation of what he had just seen.
His thoughts were interrupted as an aide walked into his office. "Mr. President, it's almost time for the Defense briefing," the man said.
"Reschedule it. I've got something on my mind right now," said the President.
"Sir, this is very important," the aide replied. "They're meeting to discuss the next phase of the war,"
"I've found something more important at the moment," the President replied curtly.
"Yes sir," the aide said, and walked out of the office, leaving the President by himself. A moment later, he picked up the phone. "Beth," he said, "contact the networks. I have something I want to say,"
"Yes Mr. President," came the voice on the other end. The President put down the phone and picked up a pen to begin working on the speech he would soon deliver.
X
A while later, the X-Men arrived back at the Institute, where Kitty was greeted by Hank, Storm, and the younger mutants who had stayed at home and watched the speech on TV. Kitty accepted their congratulations and then began to make her way towards the staircase so she could go to bed when something came on the TV that caught her attention.
"Hey, check it out. The President's going to be on!" she said, and all of the X-Men quickly gathered around the TV to hear his speech.
X
At the White House, the President skimmed over his speech one last time before the cameras turned on. An aide walked up to him. "Sir, are you sure you want to be making this speech? It could really hurt your approval ratings,"
"I'm aware of that," said the President. "But I've heard something tonight that's made me wonder just how much I deserve those ratings in the first place,"
"Whatever you say, sir," said the aide, and stepped back so the President would be alone on camera.
"My fellow Americans," he began. "As you know, our war has nearly reached a successful conclusion. The enemy dictator has been removed from power and we can begin to build a new society for his people. Now that we have liberated this society, we must reflect on the actions we have taken. I know many people, myself included, have been content to derive a moral justification for this war from victory. We thought that our success on the battlefield would prove the validity of our policies. But after seeing the debate in Bayville tonight, I've realized that victory in itself will not be enough to prove that we were right. Ultimately, history will judge our success or our failure. We may have too quick to assume that it would judge in our favor. We still must earn this victory, and we will only do that by helping these people build a stable society for themselves.
Now the question remains, where do we go from here? Our policies so far have dictated pre-emptive campaigns against people, groups, or nations that we believe to be threats to us. We need to reexamine these policies, and determine exactly how and why we are being threatened before we act so quickly in the future. Also, America needs to restore its image in the eyes of the world. We have been so eager to remove this dictator from power and liberate this society that we turned a deaf ear to most of the world. As a result, countries that were once our good friends have lost some of the trust and understanding they had for us. As our nation's President and primary spokesman, I must accept the blame. We thought we could win this war by ourselves. So far we have been right. But next time we may not be so lucky. We must be sure in the future that we have the strong support of all of our friends and allies before we embark on future campaigns so that we can present a united front against those who would stand against peace and free society.
Finally, we as Americans must do our part to show the people of the world that our society truly is the land of the free. This war has focused too much on differences and has made people become less willing to accept, and less willing to forgive. It has demanded unity when it instead should have encouraged dissent. Peaceful protests and demonstrations can be a powerful tool for change. We as a society must not be so quick to judge people who would say 'no' to be unpatriotic. It is more unpatriotic for people and organizations to try to silence the voice of protest. Throughout history, the greatest changes have come when brave individuals have had the courage to stand up and say 'no'.
And to those of you who may doubt how effective and how powerful one voice can be, I would ask you to consider the words of Kitty Pryde earlier tonight. She is the reason I am speaking to you now. She gave me another way of thinking, and her words helped me to realize a better way of looking at the world. Thank you, Kitty. Hopefully, in time, more people will realize what you have said tonight and will follow your example to make our society and the world a better place.
Thank you for your time, and God bless the United States of America,"
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