When the boot's on the other foot

By Mark Drolette

It is 2054, and America is in crisis. The three branches of government have been controlled by one party for around half a century now, thanks to unfettered redistricting abetted by stacked courts. Voters -- jaded, cynical, and possessing scant true political choice -- cast ballots in record low numbers every election day. The effects of decades of deregulation are everywhere: polluted skies, unsafe drinking water, historically high asthma and cancer rates, declining life expectancy. The richest one percent of the population owns over ninety-five percent of the country's wealth, while labor has suffered tremendously: wages have decreased for years, and benefits and decent pension plans are practically non-existent. The country's infrastructure is falling apart, but corporate corruption is so rampant that the meager funds allotted for repairing roads, bridges, and dams will likely be siphoned off. The Justice Department routinely suppresses dissent using various methods, and no one knows how many people now are in federal custody, being held on murky charges of "aiding terrorists." The vast majority of Americans roundly loathe the president, Congress, and the judiciary, but have not yet been roused enough to revolt.

America's foreign debt is enormous; most of it is held by China, the world's pre-
eminent economic leader these days. The powerful Asian giant has been voicing pointed
concern for months about America's instability and its addiction to foreign capital, a
worry shared by most other industrialized nations. Most experts agree that the U.S. is
teetering on the edge of economic collapse and needs to right itself soon, lest its financial
fall devastate global markets.

But China is not waiting. It snubs calls from other U.N. member countries for a
comprehensive, systematic plan of assistance for the U.S. and announces plans to invade
America "for the good of the American people and people everywhere." China says it
will seize America's assets, secure its huge cache of weapons of mass destruction, and
restructure its failing government.

A global outcry arises, but no matter: China is on the move. America tries to strike
first, but military commanders discover to their horror that years of loosely-monitored American arms manufacturers' dealings with the Chinese have enabled the attackers to electronically deactivate U.S. launch codes; not a single American missile lifts off. U.S. armed forces, comprised largely of low-paid, demoralized inductees, put up little resistance and are overrun quickly. Chinese troops are stationed in the White House within two weeks and America's leaders have scattered to parts unknown.

China assures other nations it has taken this drastic action to assure its security, as
well as the world's. "An unstable America, with huge stores of the deadliest weapons
ever devised," it declares, "endangers us all." The U.S. public initially is too stunned to
react. Two months later, an appointed interim government is in place, and China
promises to grant Americans self-rule again "as soon as they are able to govern
themselves."

Then, all hell breaks loose: Vicious battles erupt in the streets throughout the country. America has certainly never lacked for firearms and they are now being put to full use. Now the Chinese are stunned. Their calls for order to U.S. citizens "for the very survival of your society" go unheeded, and the fighting rages on.

The Chinese had failed to understand that no American, no matter how tyrannical the
U.S. government had become, would tolerate foreign intervention for any reason. Yet plenty of Americans today express surprise when Iraqis fiercely and violently resist U.S. interference in their country's affairs, regardless of the brutality of the previous regime.

What's the difference?