Once upon a time...

there existed a great nation that believed in justice for all men and women. Its leaders labored long and hard to see that every child received a decent education, had enough to eat, and learned how to be a productive member of society.

This nation spread its ideals throughout the globe, and had citizens in some of the most oppressed parts of the world speaking its messages to one another, and clamoring to be given the freedoms this nation represented.

This nation was at the forefront of medicine, and engineering, and showed the world what a balance between innovation and conservation might produce.

Sure, sometimes the ideals of this nation and their application didn't quite mesh, but many of its leaders tried to do the right thing.

But one day a usurper stepped into the highest office of the land, and stood by as a great evil was perpetrated against its people. Using that as an excuse, this usurper turned the might of the great nation against not only those who had aided in this great evil, but even innocent bystanders who just happened to look a lot like those who'd commited the crime.

He sent young men and women overseas, to occupy another country because he didn't like its leader, and thus brought about the death of tens of thousands of innocent people.  Men, women, and children.  At his command, thousands were thrown in prison, and many were tortured.

But the usurper wasn't happy with just doing these things. He decided that, since he had been given such a golden opportunity, he'd dismantle many of the things that made the nation respected throughout most of the world. He ordered his agents spy on his own people, and forced dissenters to hide from his eyes, and had his minions call them cowards and traitors for daring to disagree with him.

He gave tax breaks to those who stole jobs from the citizens of this nation, and made sure the richest among them would be able to grow richer, while those who had the least were made to go without. He fed his friends and allies the rarest delicacies, and declared that those who could not afford them were simply "too lazy."

He helped his minions steal the future from the children, and called it progress. He allowed his followers to rape the land and called it conservation. He allowed his allies to spew filth into the air, and called it 'fresh air.'

He took control of the press, not by force, but by deception and the application of wealth, and the press told the stories in such a slanted way that he appeared to be a hero rather than a villain. His minions, the wealthiest among this nation's people, bought up the press, and forced those who reported the news to lie and dissemble and spin the news to propogate myths and stereotypes.

He took the mantle of a "godly man," all the while spurning the teachings of the deity he claimed to represent.

And, under his leadership, the nation that had once been held in such high regard grew to be hated and feared, and the whole world trembled when he beheld them. He believed that because HE wanted it, or believed it, it was truth. He surrounded himself with yes men, and destroyed those who dared to point out his shortcomings.

But the people of this nation were not stupid. Despite all of the things he and his minions had done to prevent it, the people began to whisper among themselves, and slowly came to agree that this usuper was a fool, and his minions little more than icons of greed and hunger. The whisper became a rumble, and the rumble became a shout.

"No more!" the people cried, and they took up their pens and fought against the usurper. But while they were many, the usuper's minions, and those who were deceived by his cloak of righteousness, were also many.

And the battle was joined...

(to be continued)...