Feb 10, 2019 3 min read

After the terrorist attack everyone was afraid. Any Muslim might be a terrorist. The news media branded Islam a religion of hate and violence. Muslims were a potential threat. And they could be anyone, even your neighbor. Something had to be done. It was obvious the old laws were obsolete in the new world order. But the media never said why Muslims were angry and radicalized, and had turned to terrorism. The news talked about religion, economic injustice, and political ideology caused by bad foreign policy. But that was in the past, and thus past fixing. A quick solution was desired, and quickly passed. Safety was guaranteed.

Then something happened. There was a shooting. And after the shooting, everyone was afraid. The news media branded guns a tool of hate and violence. Gun owners were a potential threat. And they could be anyone, even your neighbor. Something had to be done. The media made it obvious the old laws were obsolete in the new world order. But the media never said why so many Americans were angry and radicalized, and why there were so many shootings. Some said it was mental illness caused by economic and social frustration, and bad domestic policy. But that was in the past, and thus past fixing. A quick solution was desired, and quickly passed. Safety was once again ensured.

But the media made people aware of ever greater fears, and threats of violence, by enemies from within and without. Muslims might be mad bombers. Gun nuts might be spree shooters. Poor racist rednecks were watched with worry, and poor ghetto goons were arrested and imprisoned. There were so many poor people swelling the prisons with each passing year. More prisons had to be built, more wars fought, more police needed for protests and riots. It was obvious drastic steps had to be taken to save the people from everything – and everyone – including themselves.

In order to preserve their way of life it was necessary to ban civil liberties – to save civil liberty. They passed a Patriot Act to give the government the powers it needed to police the foreigners, but there were always new threats, so they passed the National Defense Authorization Act to police the citizens. Then there was the Great Gun Ban to protect those citizens from themselves. Eventually they had to place bans on speech to prevent ugly and hateful things from being said, and after that they had to put bans in place to silence the old religious radicals and their prayers.

There was security. There was safety. There was order; the New World Order. And so it went, year after year, until there was nothing left to preserve – except the power of the State. And in little shops, in every town, you could buy a magnet sign to express your patriotism and support of the New Order that had replaced the radicals with their religions and political philosophies. Over the smiling image of a great and fearless President who promised eventual victory, it read:

“Liberty for No One

Without Order for Everyone”

Joseph M. Mazgaj is a substitute teacher from Waynesburg.