9/11/13
“Hi, Mom. I’m home.”
“Hello, Ester. How was school? What did you learn today?”
“We saw how America is the best country in the world. We have the happiest people, the lowest crime rate, and the most prosperous economy. And it’s all because God is blessing America. He’s blessing us so much because everyone is a Christian.”
“That’s right, dear. That’s the way it works. What else did you learn?”
“Well, it wasn’t from the teacher, but my friend said there are other Christian countries but they aren’t getting blessed like us. I think she said Mexico and Brazil, and some others.”
“Oh, that’s because they’re the wrong kind of Christian. Those people down there just use the name Christian but don’t really live it. Their practice is very lenient. You should see how much indecent exposure they allow. Actually, no you shouldn’t.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yes. It was people like that, and so-called Christians from other countries, who weren’t living right that caused America to finally close its borders. Immigrants kept bringing their weird ideas with them. Even the Christian ones had variants in their worship styles that just didn’t fit here. And they were often reluctant to change to our method. They should have known if they want to come here, they have to accept our ways. But no, they wouldn’t let go of their own thoughts. So there was no choice but to stop immigration completely; and to also strictly limit who can come in with a tourist visa.”
“Did it work?”
“Of course. After that our national beliefs became a lot more pure. The funny thing is, for a short period after the change and before the border was completely sealed, a lot of people chose to leave for other countries. It was ’emigration’ rather than ‘immigration’. Get it? E instead of I …?”
“Yeah, Mom, I get it.”
“That also helped a lot in making our country better. The troublemakers left. They thought they’d find more freedom for themselves somewhere else; but actually their leaving just caused God to give a big blessing to the rest of us.”
“Where’d they go?”
“A lot went to Canada and Europe; some went to South America. So, who was the friend who told you about this?”
“Ruth.”
“And where did Ruth hear about what other countries believe?”
“She saw it online. There are even countries that aren’t Christian at all. They believe something else.”
“I think you’d better stop talking to her. What she’s doing is dangerous.”
“Dangerous? How?”
“She’s searching about things that aren’t allowed. That’s illegal. But you don’t have to worry about it any longer. Just go do your homework. Dinner will be ready soon.”
* * * * *
“Hi, Mom. I’m home.”
“Hello, dear. How was school?”
“I saw how during the First U.S. Congress they considered letting America have freedom of religion.”
“The school taught you that?”
“Well, no; it wasn’t the teacher who talked about it.”
“Oh! Was it that Ruth again?”
“No; she wasn’t there. When I asked the teacher about her, he said she won’t be back for a while.”
“Good. I’m glad they’re taking care of that. So then how did you hear about freedom of religion?”
“I read about it on the Internet.”
“Really? I thought things like that would be blocked.”
“They are, mostly. But Ruth showed me a website from Canada you can connect to that bypasses the filters.”
“Didn’t you just say she was gone.”
“She is. She taught me how to do a search a long time ago.”
“What? How long have you been looking at those sites?”
“I dunno. A while, I guess.”
“I’ll have to call the school and tell them about this. They need to secure their computers better.”
“Mom; no.”
“I also think you need to be placed in E.R. as soon as possible. That’s Early Remediation. Now that you’ve been exposed to radical propaganda, your regular indoctrination class isn’t going to be enough. I just hope we’ve caught this in time.”
“But, Mom, all I did was look. What’s wrong with freedom of religion? It was almost a law here.”
“Yes, it’s true our Founding Fathers discussed a lot of different ideas for the new nation. Fortunately God helped them see that many things which sound good at first eventually lead to trouble. They were inspired to choose just the right Nine Articles to be the Bill of Rights. That’s what has made our country strong and dominant. By being obedient we’ve become the ‘chosen ones’. Also, since that time, our government has continued making right policies to keep us from the problems found in the rest of the world. So there’s no need to question whether or not they were right to discard that idea.”
“If we’re not supposed to hear of it, how do you know so much about it?”
“Before I married and started our family, I worked for the Educational Protection Agency as a Threat Assessor. Because of that I had specialized training and a security clearance giving me access to restricted information. That’s where I saw just how insidious these things can be.”
“What will happen in Early Remediation?”
“They’ll help you. They’ll diagnose how much you’ve been affected by the exposure, then they’ll plan a course of treatment and corrective education. Of course, you’ll get to continue with your core classes, like math, English and American History; but since E.R. takes three or four hours every day you won’t have any more time for electives and extra-curricular activities.”
“No! Mom. That’ll take me off the teams and take away band.”
“I’m sorry. You’re also not allowed to use computers any more without supervision.”
“This can’t be
happening. No; please, no.”
“It’s your own fault. You shouldn’t have continued going to those sites even after knowing they were bad. You can also blame your little friend for poisoning your mind with this in the first place. Now go to your room while I make a few phone calls.”
* * * * *
“Hello, Mother. I’m home.”
“Good. I’ve been waiting for you. We need to start packing a few personal things for you to take.”
“Take?”
“I had a call from your remediation instructor. She recommends transferring your case to the I.C.U.”
“What’s that?”
“Intensive Correction Unit. Your infection is resisting treatment. It seems you’ve been challenging her with questions like, ‘How do we know our country is right about everything?’ What a ridiculous thing to ask. How could we be blessed so much more than other countries if we didn’t have it right?”
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just asking, is all.”
“Well she feels it indicates your affliction has progressed beyond her ability to address it.”
“So why do I need to pack personal things?”
“Oh, the treatment takes place at a residential facility.”
“What?!”
“Yes. When a problem becomes this pronounced they have to consider the safety of the other students and take steps to contain it.”
“But I don’t want to leave home. And my friends. And my school.”
“Hopefully you’ll finally respond to treatment once it can be applied full time. Now you be sure to cooperate with everything they tell you. I’ll come visit you on weekends.”
“No. I want to stay here at home.”
“Don’t think badly of it. If you try you can even make it fun. Just think of it like that time you went away to summer camp. You’ll be out in the wilderness, doing special activities, and learning a lot from new instructors. You know, it sounds so good I almost want to go too.”
“Really? Then how ’bout you come with me if you think it’s so great.”
“I would if I could. But you need to be kept isolated from others. You’ll only have contact with experts until you’re cured.”
“None of this would have happened if you hadn’t told on me. Why did you have to turn me in?”
“Honey, it’s our duty as Christians to be good citizens. It’s everyone’s responsibility to protect our national community from the infiltration of heresy. Our country has such a low crime rate because of catching and preventing criminal thoughts before they begin.”
“I’m not a criminal.”
“You started thinking wrong, and doing wrong things with the computer. On top of that you’ve been resisting the therapy. So you need a more intense form of treatment. You probably inherited this character flaw from your father. He yielded to strange behavior too. He stopped paying his tithes to the government and gave the excuse he didn’t like how the funds were being spent. Then no matter how much the counselors labored with him, they couldn’t bring him to see the light. In the end he had to be sent ahead to the Promised Land so he could present his argument directly to the Great Judge.”
“He was sent ahead? You mean killed? Is that what’s going to happen to me?”
“No; of course not. But you’re sick, baby. We need to get you help. Now let’s go pack.”
* * * * *
“Mom! I’ve missed you so much. I thought the weekend would never get here.”
“Oh, Ester. Give me a hug. Honey, honey.”
“What? Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”
“I’ve just spoken with your case manager. Baby, why you?”
“What? You’re scaring me. What is it?”
“You’re right; I must be strong for you. It’s … the doctors aren’t able to help you. Your disease has resisted every effort. I’m sorry, honey. It’s terminal.”
“What?!”
“Every time they think they’re making progress it pops up in a new form. It manifests by making you use phrases like ‘religious tolerance’, ‘alternate lifestyles’ and even ‘freedom of choice’. They said once it gets this bad there’s no hope of recovery.”
“Mom! I’m scared. I wanna go home. Please?”
“No; this will be best for you in the long run. Since we can’t save you in this world, we can at least save your soul for the next one. They’ve assured me it won’t hurt. You’ll just receive a ‘final inoculation’ then go to sleep.”
“Mom?”
“It’s ok, we’ll be together soon in Heaven. Come here, give me one last hug.”
* * * * *
.
The title alludes to a
provision of Article #1 of the U.S. Bill of Rights and if it weren’t
there.
Apologies to Canada, Mexico and Brazil. This is only a
fantasy presenting a hypothetical situation. It’s not real.
([Homer Simpson voice]: “Or is it?”)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED
