Paranoia ✓

XIII: Conner - Party Debate (Part 2)

"You can attack me all you want Mr. Sayder," Conner turned towards Harry with a wicked smirk on his face. "But why won't you elaborate on how you intend to stop these attacks." Harry could make fun of Conner all he wanted, but Conner knew Harry had no coherent plan to stop terrorist from attacking us our soul.

Or maybe he did.

"It's simple," he shrugged his shoulders like a giant garage door opening and closing. "We're already restricting the Yemeni from coming into this country; next thing we have to do is make it so that no Muslims get in either."

Dundly tried taking back control. "Are you suggesting the U.S. ban Muslims from entering into the country?" Old age must be costing him his hearing too because Harry just answered that question no more than ten seconds ago.

"Yes," Harry affirmed. "These people are causing us a whole lotta trouble. Best if we keep the trouble away from us while we still can."

Conner stepped in. "Then what do you propose we do about the millions of good-standing Muslims who already live in the country? You plan to kick them out?"

"If it comes to it. For now they are not a problem, but if they were a problem, I'd take care of it."

"How?" Conner asked.

Caroline stepped in. "By sending them back to their home country of course. I have to say Mr. Sayder is correct. We can't have these Muslims coming into and destroying our country from within. Our Congress has made a right decision in barring the Yemeni from entering the country. It'll keep us much safer."

There it goes again—safer. The atrocities we commit for safety is so ironic. Bar a group of religious people from entering the country, people who are fleeing an unsafe place for a safer place, and we reject them because we want to keep our place safe. Conner fumed, I swear if I hear that word one more time...

Caroline added, "Mr. Knox, in a previous interview you talked about which one would we choose, safety or freedom? I have to say the answer is simple. Safety takes first priority over freedom, for how can a person be free if they are not secure in their own home?"

The crowd applauded. Conner wondered if it was the applause sign telling them to clap or if it was from their own doing. He'd be surprised if the zombies were actually doing something on their own for a change.

Conner sighed, preventing himself from imploding because of all the stupidity that was choking him. "Are you scared Caroline? Are you scared that this country, the world's most powerful nation who boasts a navy that could take on the globe, an air force that could fight aliens if they came to attack us, and an nuclear arsenal that could wipe out the world a thousand times over, is getting their asses handed to them by a couple raggedy terrorists who live in holes carved into mountains? Are you embarrassed that such a powerful nation cannot handle such a small force of radicals? Yet what is it that you do to combat this fear? You keep repeating the same mistakes: raise the defense budget, send troops overseas, occupy another Middle Eastern country, and then promise to leave in a couple of years but in all actuality we know the United States, once they have troops on the ground, never leave the place. Our presence will remain there indefinitely or until our empire collapses. Yet the more places we occupy, the more countries we attempt to liberate from theocracies and instill a democracy, the more enemies we make. I think that's what you guys want to do."

"Such wild accusations," Ferguson tagged in. "Are you a conspiracy theorist or something?" The crowd chuckled. "Come on, aliens, empire? Come back down to Earth Conner where we can reach you, not even Harry would say something like that."

The crowd laughed, including Harry. "Now that our little 'defender of conservatism' has said his piece. I should finish, before I was rudely interrupted, that Muslims have no place in this country. They are nothing but trouble. Let's send them back home where they belong."