Chapter 8

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3:33 am

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I had been able to catch about nine hours of sleep, before Teri's crying woke me up. I had some vague memory of Michelle going to her this night, so I went this time. I changed her diapers and held her for awhile. I knew it was unlikely I'd be able to get back to sleep, so I watched some of president Duric's address from the previous night.

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Duric: My fellow Americans. Today, police officers in the city of Los Angeles arrested Earl Turner. Turner was believed to be the last known terrorist still at large. He allegedly raped a number of Maldivian immigrants to terrorize them and others into leaving this country. The LAPD also arrested Pierce, an alleged accomplice in the rapes, and a man who spread terrorist propoganda that dehumanized Maldivians, Sangalans, and Roma peoples. They were arrested in a smokeasie, a place where the youth of Los Angeles with tobacco, and gambling. Where the brutal sport of boxing was forced on unsuspecting refugees. I am happy to say that this place has been shut down. It is my sincere hope that today will be remembered as the symbolic end to the war on terror. As tempting as it would be to take credit, I know that if I have seen far, it is only because I have stood on the shoulders of giants. It has been almost two hundred years since the scourge of terrorism first hit this country. The civil war had ended, the end of slavery was in sight, and president Abraham Lincoln became the first president to say that african americans should have the right to vote. The pro-slavery forces had lost the war, they had lost at the ballot box, and they had lost in the courts. But one confederate sympathizer took it upon herself to murder president Abraham Lincoln. This was the first act of terrorism against America, but not the last.

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I knew my history well enough to know that there had been acts of terrorism in America before president Lincoln's assasination. But since when do politicians let facts get in the way of a good speech?

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Duric: Shortly after this the first terrorist group in America, the Ku Kluz Klan, was formed to keep african americans as close to slavery as possible. For over a century they seemed to be winning, they enacted literacy tests, sundown towns, even lynchings with the approval of corrupt law enforcement. Good police officers, civil rights lawyers, and everyday citizens resisted this evil as best they could. Victory did not come overnight, but progress did come. Terrorists murdered three more of our presidents, yet it always seemed to be a problem for law enforcement, not a global problem. During world war 2 the administration of president Franklin Roosevelt knew that the KKK believed in many of the same racist ideas as nazi Germany, and that there was at least some cooperation between the two groups. And so Roosevelt used the full authority of his office to arrest and prosecute these racist terrorist traitors.

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I wondered if the KKK really was working with nazi Germany. They did largely agree on race relations, but then Roosevelt wasn't above incarcerating americans of japanese heritage in our own concentration camps.

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Duric: For over 130 years american law enforcement did what it could to stop these terrorists, and the ideas that they represented. In fact, I am told that two of the officers responsible for Earl Turner's arrest are Joe Friday and Bill Gannon. 100 years ago their ancestors and namesakes also served in the LAPD. They arrested a number of neo-nazies and militia members in their efforts to keep the people of Los Angeles.

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I was surprised to hear the president mention my name directly. From what I understand one of my ancestors was a teenager when she was arrested by the original Joe Friday for her part in the family's grifts. She found herself with child while in juvenile hall, and wanted her child to have a better life in this country. So she turned her life around and changed her name, to Friday. I have no blood relation to the original Joe Friday. Bill's mother came from Africa already pregnant with him. She married a man named Gannon. Gannon's great grandfather was indeed a cop who worked alongside Joe Friday. Maybe president Duric was at least partially correct about it being fate.

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Duric: On September 11th 2001 19 terrorists hijacked four planes, and crashed them into both buildings of the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon. And it was only through the corageous sacrifice of the passengers on Flight 93, that these terrorists were not able to destroy the White House. Their sacrifice is why I am able to speak to you in this office. 3,000 american men, women, and children were murdered that day. That includes 421 firefighters, police officers, and paramedics. Despite the danger they ran into the buildings, because they knew that strangers were in need of help. The streets of Heaven were crowded with angels that night. On that day, and in the days to come, president George W. Bush made a vow to himself, and to the american people. That we would do all we could to stop this from happening again. That we would stop, not merely Osama Bin Laden and his Alqueda network, we would destroy the very idea of terrorism itself. Such a victory would not happen overnight, but Bush had faith that it would happen. This was the beginning of the war on terror. Some victories in this was were well known, such as the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011. Other victories were on a much smaller scale, and less well known, although they were no less important. Work to end poverty, thus depriving terrorist groups of their most valuable recruitment tool. Journalists who reported the truth, and thus exposed the crimes of terrorists and war criminals. Dipomats who pressured our allies to renounce police states and all human rights abuses and to make peace with their enemies, thus taking away terrorist arguments. Teachers who tried to teach children good ideal such as freedom of speech, of religion, equality, thus turning children off of the ideas of extremism. These things took time, their success could not be measured for generations, but they have been a major factor in today's victory. I cannot deny that mistakes were made. Men and women who were dedicated to ending terrorism sometimes disagreed on the best method for doing this. Those debates became loud, so much so that many found it easy to accuse their opposition of supporting terrorism. During this time America used extra legal detention against suspected terrorists. Human rights attorneys fought against this, believing that even the worst of the worst deserves counsel. In this way, they sought to uphold our american ideals. It was also in the early days of the war on terror that America invaded Iraq to depose Suddam Hussein, a brutal tyrant, but not a threat to America. People protested against this war, and in doing so preserved the idea that America promotes freedom of expression. It has taken almost 60 years, but terrorism has it seems been defeated. Alqueda, neo-nazies, and the KKK no longer exist. Other terrorist groups emerged. The John Galts, who fanatically opposed programs to end poverty. The Daughters of Liberty, who opposed any rights for the unborn. And the Knights of Labor, who oppose assylum for Maldivian refugees. Four months ago, as these groups were defeated, and the few remaining members became fugitives, president Burkle offered a form of amnesty to those willing to turn themselves in. Most accepted, only a few of the most hardcore, unrepentant terrorists remained at large. Today, we have in custody the last of these alleged terrorists. I truley hope that today will be remembered as the day when we put the final symbolic nail in the coffin of terrorism. That terrorism will be where it belongs, in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies, alongside slavery, genocide, and totalitarianism. But much work remains ahead. We must continue our programs of fighting poverty, so that extremism will not seem appealing. Teachers must continue to teach our children good ideals, so that the bad ideas will not make a comeback. And police officers must remain alert, against all forms of crime. And I implore Congress, once again, to officially give assylum to Maldivian refugees. We must uphold our ideals, and ensure that the terrorist ideals do not succeed.

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Leave it to a politician to press their agenda at all times. Still, Duric wasn't wrong. I didn't want to abandon all those refugees to certain death, and I suppose I did want Earl Turner and his ilk to know that they had failed.

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Duric: We have come a long way since the days of slavery, but we should not rest on our laurels. There was a time when people said that slavery had always been around, and it always would be. Dedicated abolitionists decided they would not accept slavery merely because it always been around. In a different time, people said that terrorism had been around since the first time a cave man clubbed his neighbor, that it would never go away completely. Today, we have proven them wrong. It was not easy, but many fought against slavery and terrorism, far too many to name them all right now. To all of them, I say Thank You. And I believe we can do even better in the future. I believe that we can end abortion and boxing. Not just with laws outlawing them, but with compassion and a dedication to ending poverty. I believe that if we all work together, we can end these things before the tri-centannial. I believe we can end murder and rape before the 22nd century. And one day, hopefully within the next 100 years, I believe we can end crime in America.

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This was a surprise, did the president really just say we can end crime? Quite an ambitious goal. I wondered if he was perhaps too elated by his victory in winning the war on terror.

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Duric: I know there will be those who say I am too naive, too idealistic. I welcome this criticism. It will inspire me and my administration to work that much harder to prove our detractors wrong. I know it will happen overnight, or even in my administration. But I believe it will happen, and I will work towards this to the best of my ability. To all of those who will work towards this, in whatever small role you play, let me just say "Thank You" in advance. If we all work together, we will achieve a world without crime. Thank you, and God bless the United States of America.

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I was too much of a cynic to think that I would live to see a world completely free of crime. Still, it was a nice thought.