Disaster Among the Heavens, Don E Peavy Sr [reading rainbow books txt] 📗

to hell.”
“Yes, Mr. President. I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
“General, there may not be a morning. I want you out there now!”
“Yes, sir, Mr. President. I’m on the way.”
“Thank you, General. I knew I could count on you. We can do this. We must do this.”
“Okay, gentlemen, listen up,” said The President after he hung up the telephone.
“Oh, pardon me, gentlemen, as you were,” corrected The President when he noticed the presence of the secretary with notepad. He had forgotten about her in the constant shifting activities.
“Howdy, Ma'am, hope we don’t disturb too much of your beauty sleep," joked The President, realizing that the day had evaporated into night.
“No problem, Mr. President,” the secretary responded.
“Good. I want you to prepare a letter for my signature which I want distributed to all of our embassies by the most expeditious means. Dear Ambassadors -- -- excuse me.”
The President stood up and said, “Gentlemen, please clear out this room. I will be addressing the Press in a few minutes. If you want to be present, I suggest you meet me in the East Room.”
Those in the room started exiting. Two Marines entered to say that a detachment was on the scene and order had been restored. The President stopped the Secretary of Defence and the General of the Army.
“Gentlemen, I want you to go to all of our bases in the Philippines, Okinawa, Japan, and Vietnam. I want you to plan your trip so that it takes at least a week. I want you to tell our people and particularly our troops, that all is well at home. America is alive and well. I want you to impress upon our troops in Vietnam to keep fighting. Tell them their President is very proud of them. You will get dispatches from me from time to time. You are to take orders from me only. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes sir, Mr. President,” The two said in unison.
“You can prepare a memo for my signature to the Pentagon and the Secretary of the Army.”
“Will do, Mr. President,” responded the Secretary of Defence.
Soon, the room was empty except for The President and the secretary.
“Okay, let’s continue,” said The President as he reclaimed his seat and turned to face the secretary.
“Attention, Ambassadors, no doubt you have concerns about the state of affairs at home. I assure you that all is well here. America is alive and well. There have been sporadic outbreaks of civil violence but those have been brought under control. You need not be alarmed about the recent decision by the Soviets to place their military forces at the highest state of alert.
“The Vice President is on his way to Moscow to help resolve matters there. I am counting on you to keep the American flag flying high in your respective territory. I want you to make the presence of America felt by the local government and people. For the next week, throw parties and have dinners like you’ve never done before. Have these not just for heads of state, have some for the common people as well. We can do this. We must do this. God bless each and every one of you and God bless America.”
“That’s great, Mr. President. It made my heart pound.”
“Thank you,” smiled The President. “That’s it for now. Again, sorry for keeping you so late. You should call your family so they don’t worry. We can do this.
“That’s okay,” remarked the secretary who was moved at being spoken to directly by The President. She had worked at the White House for over three years and this is the first time anyone above the rank of low level supervisor had spoken directly to her.
“May I ask a question, Sir?”
“Sure, just keep it short; I have a press conference to attend.”
“Mr. President, I noticed how you managed those Generals and other men here tonight. They must have a lot of respect for you. How do you manage that?” asked the secretary as she gathered her things.
The President stood up. A smile broadened his face. “Don’t fool yourself, sweetheart. Those men don’t give a shit about me. No, it’s the Office of President that they respect and obey. That is why whoever occupies this office must have the utmost personal integrity. When The President speaks, people ought to listen and they ought to obey without question. They can do so only if they respect the man who wears that title.”
“People should be able to believe their President. When The President asks someone to do something, the power and prestige of the office should compel that person to say yes. You see, madam, this office is the highest symbol of a free people.”
The President started toward the door. He paused before opening it to gather his strength so that he would not appear slumped by the matters that now weighted him down.
“Thank you, Sir. It is truly an honour to work for you,” called out the secretary, who also stood and followed The President out of the Oval Office.
“I hope you feel that way in 48 hours,” said The President as he exited the room.
The secretary did not understand this last comment. For a moment, her smile faded into a frown. She felt both good and troubled as she left the Oval Office and entered the corridor leading to the typing pool. She got a glimpse of The President as he entered the East Room. Seeing this leader of the free world walk so uprightly and powerful, gave her comfort in accepting the things she did not understand. She went to her task smiling in gratitude for her opportunity to work for so great a man.
As for The President, he felt neither great nor powerful as he entered the East Room and waited for the Press Secretary to present him. He had no idea what he was going to say; though it was clear to him that he could not lie to the Press Corps, nor could he tell them the truth. How could he tell his fellow citizens that the most powerful nation on earth is being held hostage by a Negro former employee of the CIA?
He struggled within himself for a way to say to the American people, for he considered the Press to be his connection to the American people, that the future of America, their country, and possibly even the world, lay at the threshold of America’s ability to deal with its race problem. The same degree of agony which overcame him the night he had to face the Director’s wife and tell her that her husband had died of a heart attack, now compressed him as he searched for a way to stand before an already weary people and tell them that a once thought invisible people had somehow become very visible in the person of one man who now sought to either rewrite their destiny or blow them all to hell.
What could he say? What would he say? “Do not worry what to say. I will speak for you,” God had told a prophet. Now, as he looked at this horde of word hungry reporters, The President hoped that God would do for him what God had done for the prophets. As a member of the Disciples of Christ, he now prayed in his heart for divine guidance.
“Ladies and gentlemen, The President of the United States,” announced the Press Secretary in an authoritative tone of voice.
Silence descended on the room of confusion, as everyone stood silent, while The President entered the room and ascended the podium. Those who had seats took them the moment The President cleared his throat.
“Members of the Press, it’s been a long day and I shall not keep you long. I will make a few comments; after which, I will not be able to answer any questions. I will be speaking to the nation in a televised address within the next 48 hours and hope to then clear up any confusion and answer most of your questions.
“For now, let me say this. Over the past three months our country has been beset by sporadic outbreaks of violence. For the first time since the Civil War and desegregation, American troops have been deployed here at home. Some have referred to these hot spots as part of a revolution. I don’t understand how this word can be so carelessly used.
“Whatever you might call what we’ve been through and what we are yet in the midst of, a revolution is a misnomer. The American system of democracy is not in danger of being overthrown. Government as we know it is not in danger of being replaced. One class of people does not seek to displace and replace another. Are these not the benchmarks of revolution?
“What then do we have here? First, let me say what we do not have. We are not faced with a communist plot. We are a democracy which by its very nature means that we are an experiment. We often refer to ourselves as a democratic society. More accurately, we are a democratic society in the making. We are in a state of flux – a state of becoming. Many of you might recall from elementary science that experiments always have the potential for accidents, explosions if you will.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what we are witnessing is an explosion in the laboratory of democracy. All around our wonderful country, members of our society are saying they feel left out, left behind and unappreciated. These citizens are not saying they don’t want democracy or capitalism – they are saying that they are victims and not proponents of these noble ideals. Dr. King expressed this very eloquently in his visit to our nation’s capitol when he said that ‘America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.’
“But notice, Dr. King did not say to burn down the bank or to go back to a gold standard. He merely called upon America to make good the promises of democracy and capitalism. This is not a call for a revolution. Quite the contrary, it is a simple but eloquent call for America to live up to her greatness.
“Those who have been bombing and burning and killing are asking for the same thing. They want the vaults of opportunity opened to them so they can cash in on the promises of this great nation. While I cannot and will not tolerate or overlook the methods they have chosen, I understand their plight and the need for adjustments in our national undertaking. That is why ever since Dr. King shared with us his dream I have been contemplating a way to move America from being just a good nation to being a Great Society. I have been envisioning a way to open the vaults of opportunity to all America’s peoples.
“We can no longer accept this national unrest. For it is undermining our position in the world as international leader and bearer of the flag of hope and democracy. This unrest almost caused a dangerous confrontation with the Soviet Union today due to a perceived instability in America’s defence. That matter has been resolved and