The Martian Moral Conundrum

A man of privilege questions the validity of that privilege

         Gary Princeton lived at the pinnacle of society. His 50th floor penthouse condo looked out on the city below, offering a view that few people got to experience. Transit systems, other buildings, stadiums, academies and houses of worship were all sprawled before him. He could look up to see the stars at night more clearly than the people down below. He even lived in Earth-normal gravity, a true privilege allowed only those in the highest strata of Martian society. Only they were allowed the feeling of what it was like on the Earth their ancestors had left in the wake of the Third World War, to know the sound and sight of birds that flew in the parks and forests reserved for the elite of the survivors of what many still called The Great Burn, the nuclear fire that had been unleashed in 2169.

         To say that the survivors were pioneers was an understatement. They had first come to Mars in 2157, in massive colony ships that not only transported people but trees, plants, and even livestock in a quest to build a new home away from the pollution, decay, and worsening environment that was rampantly covering Earth. They compared themselves to the pioneers who crossed the American West in the 19th Century, having no idea if they would succeed. Some mused it would be easier, because there would be no native tribes to fight. Others countered that at least the American Pioneers didn’t have to contend with the prospect of alien soil to grow food in or raise livestock on. This would truly be the “New World,” they proclaimed, with far greater challenges than had ever been experienced by humankind. But there was one area they all agreed on – the “Old World,” Earth, was rapidly becoming uninhabitable as the decades-long effects of Climate Change began taking tolls that no one could deny. Hurricanes of the ferocity of 2005’s Katrina had become a yearly occurrence by 2050, and a year-round happening by 2083. Droughts had stricken most continents, reducing such bodies of water as The Great Salt Lake to half their size. Several attempts had been made to establish underwater colonies, only to have them destroyed by underwater currents far stronger than had ever been known.

         They also knew that the political climates of Earth dictated they find a new home, and soon. The start had been the “Brexit” vote of 2016, when the United Kingdom had voted to leave the European Union. Though it was a relatively small event on the world stage, it had been the first seeds sown in what would lead to years of political and economic upheaval. It was followed by the dissolution of the European Union in 2033 as various member nations grew more and more distrustful of each other. The major result, however, was wildly fluctuating trade policies and economic exchange rates with various trade partners, and not much else.

         The first big sea change was in 2055, when a series of events led to the dissolution of the United States of America, to be replaced by the North American Confederation. The spearhead of the movement was the sitting President of the United States, an ultra-nationalist who had risen to power at the head of his own political party, displacing both the Democrats and Republicans in the process. Elected in 2048, he had also enjoyed the political benefit of his followers electing fellow believers to Congress, capturing enough seats in both houses to give Robert Harwell an effective and obedient rubber stamp on his policies. Within three years, those members of Congress had pushed through a series of laws that greatly expanded the sitting president’s power, to the point that people outside the Patriot Freedom Party were calling the new powers unconstitutional and clamoring for the removal of Harwell and his Congressional supporters in the next election. Their efforts were hampered, however, by the fact that Harwell and his Patriot Freedom Party had also secured a number of state-level elected positions, especially governors and secretaries of state. The net effect was that cries of election fraud – when those cries could actually be voiced, which was uncommon – fell on deaf ears when Harwell and many of his supporters won reelection in 2052 by staggering numbers.

         What wasn’t known to anyone outside Harwell’s most inner circle, however, was that the Patriot Freedom Party had effectively created its own army, in spirit if not in name. The proof of that came in 2055, when a number of rank and file followers responded to calls from Harwell and leading PFP elected officials to “Rise up and protect our Republic from those who would destroy it!” Within hours, various dissenters found themselves rousted out of bed and home and taken to jail as part of various “citizens arrests” by PFP members. Followers of Harwell’s movement in the military rose up and deposed commanders, and battled fellow soldiers who opposed them, taking their weapons and other military equipment in support of the PFP’s actions. There were mutinies on military ships at sea, some of them quelled, some not. (In some cases, the ship’s commanding officer or another high-ranking officer led the mutiny, more properly making the situation a barratry.) Some of the scariest situations happened at air force base where nuclear weapons were stored; while none of the weapons was ever compromised, there were pitched and deadly battles trying to get access to them. The final act of that play, however, left the world stunned.

         “These last few weeks,” Robert Harwell said from the Oval Office, “have been grievous for our republic. We have literally seen combat on our streets, in our neighborhoods, even on our military bases, between forces of good and evil. Between those who would seek to destroy our gains as a country, and those who will strive with every breath to protect them. Between those who would sell out our people for political expediency and world gain, and those who want to make our Republic the greatest the world has ever seen. It has been a battle between Chaos and Order, between Political Correctness and Moral Right. We have hit a lull in those battles, a resting period. As such, it is time to seek the peace that can make our Republic even greater than it has been, the peace that will ensure our place as a World Leader, a beacon of the future.

         “What do I mean by all this? It is time to unify our people as one. It is time to restore Law and Order to our land. Therefore, I am declaring a state of martial law for our nation. All houses of worship are ordered closed for the duration of our emergency. All theaters and other places of public assembly are closed. Hospitals will remain open for emergencies only; all elective medical procedures are hereby canceled by presidential order.

         “In such situations, we would in the past deploy the National Guard and various Army units to help protect the peace. Sadly, various incidents at military bases across the country have proven that our current military is no longer a dependable instrument. Therefore, I am ordering all military units quarantined in their base encampments until the disruptive elements in those units can be rooted out and properly dispensed with. Yet our law enforcement agencies, along with fire and EMS around the nation, need assistance and bolstering against those elements that would seek to destroy our country from within. To give them that needed help… I am hereby authorizing the inclusion of volunteers from the Patriot Freedom Party into local and state police forces, fire departments and emergency medical agencies. I am instructing all federal policing agencies to not interfere with these volunteers, but to assist them in rooting out the disruptive and potentially traitorous elements in our society who would seek to foment chaos when we need the Rule of Law. I call upon all loyal, faithful members of the Patriot Freedom Party to step up and do their sacred duty and report to their local Party office, prepared to do the necessary work of protecting our Republic…”

         The initial reaction around the country divided into two camps. One group was the members of the PFP, who basically said, “okay, we’re taking back our country… it’s about damn time.” The other group was those outside the Patriot Freedom Party, people who, while using different words and even different languages, held the same thought – “This can’t be happening.”

         But happening it was, and on an ever-increasing scale. Within three months of the martial law order, the United States of America had ceased to exist, replaced by the North American Confederation. Those outside of the PFP made valiant yet futile attempts to derail this, including one member of Congress who spoke up loudly on the House floor.

         “I rise in opposition to this legislation,” Congressman Marc Schultz said the morning of August 12th, 2055. “I oppose this legislation because it is not only against the founding principles of our beloved United States of America, but because this document would give our president the unilateral power to dissolve our country! The language in paragraph three of H.R. 765, the so-called ‘Freedom Preservation Act,’ is clear – ‘The sitting president, should he or she deem it necessary, may dissolve the Union and the Constitution of the United States and replace either or both as he or she deems necessary in order to restore the Republic to its natural sense of law and order.’ My fellow House members, this bill is a carte blanche for President Harwell to initiate a coup d'état and install himself as dictator! One of the most un-American things I can imagine being done in our fair country! Yes, we have been through violent, chaotic times, both before and since the president’s declaration of martial law. But this? THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER! This will not restore our republic – it will destroy it! This bill MUST be defeated! I don’t know how it got this –”

         “THE GENTLEMAN – NO, THE KIKE FROM RHODE ISLAND IS OUT OF ORDER!” boomed the voice of the house majority leader from the Speaker’s Chair. “He is speaking in traitorous ways on the house floor, which is not allowed! Sergeant at arms! Remove this traitorous kike from the Well of the House to a place where he can learn and realize the errors of his traitorous ways!”

         “Get your hands off me!” Marc Schultz yelled as two cobalt blue-uniformed men with PFP armbands started dragging him out of the House Chamber. “Vote down this bill, my fellow Americans! Vote your consciences, and vote for true freedom! Vote this down, or this may happen to you!” Then he was dragged through a doorway, his yelling muffled by the rapidly closed doors.

         “I assure you,” House Majority Leader Evan Campbell said from the Speaker’s Chair, “that any more of you House members who feel traitorous can be effectively dealt with. Passage of this bill will help further restore Law and Order to our Republic. To vote against it is to vote for chaos – and to be a traitor to your country. I urge all members of the House to think long and hard on this, and to vote appropriately when the time comes.” Three days later, with another 23 House members dragged off of the floor for speaking in opposition, the bill passed the House by an overwhelming margin. The Democrats and Republicans remaining in the chamber did not vote yes. But they did not vote no, either, electing instead to abstain – and pray the steamroller looming on the horizon wouldn’t crush them.

         The debate in the Senate had been pro forma, with those supporting the bill including footage of the House protestors as part of their arguments. While the debate in the Senate was quieter (partly due to the still-used Roberts Rules of Order) and no one was hauled away by security, the result was the same – the 17 Republican and 11 Democratic Senators abstained instead of casting a ‘Yay’ or ‘Nay’ vote, many of them praying that the nightmare they were living would soon end. And it would, but not in ways that made them comfortable.

         “My Fellow Americans,” Robert Harwell said from the Oval Office on August 29th, 2055, “we have come to a crossroads in the history and future of our Republic. The once proud nation known as the United States of America has become besotted with chaos and indecision. It has become a thin shell of itself, all but destroyed from within by the rot of decades of Political Correctness, and the overindulgence to various minority groups under the guise ‘Racial Equality’ and other corrosive, divisive terms. We have left the stage as a world leader, destroyed from within by misguided desires to please everyone at once. Some might say that the great United States of America no longer exists, and has not for several years of not decades. The time has come to change that, to end the mockery of what our Republic once was.

         “Fortunately, we now have the means to do just that. Several weeks ago, I signed into law the Freedom Preservation Act. This law gives the sitting President the power to do whatever is necessary to restore Law and Order to our republic, up to and including the unilateral dissolution of the Union and its Constitution. Sadly, as our Republic is no longer functioning properly under our Constitution, I must do exactly that.

         “Trust me, I do not make this decision lightly. To dissolve one form of government and replace it with another is a monumental undertaking. Yet in order to Preserve and Defend our Republic from those who would rather continue the chaos that has threatened our land the last several weeks instead of embracing the Rule of Law and Order, this step must be taken. Therefore, with the signing of this document before me, the grand political experiment known as the United States of America will cease to exist.” As people around the country looked on, some in shock, some in joyful awe, Robert Harwell signed two different pieces of paper – and ended almost 300 years of political history. As this was happening, two men in cobalt blue PFP uniforms pointedly removed the American and Presidential flags standing behind Harwell. Two more then unfurled a new flag, with a base field of cobalt blue. In the center were the letters “NAC” in white, surrounded by a circle of red stars.

         “As you have probably seen, I have signed two documents. One, as I said, dissolves the United States of America. The second creates its replacement… the North American Confederation, represented by the new flag you see behind me. The Confederation will be a land of Order, governed by the Absolute Rule of Law. This second document puts the Constitution of the Confederation into effect. In the days and weeks to come, you, the people, will receive in-depth education of what is contained in this in the new Confederation Constitution. But the key things to know for now – in order to ensure Law and Order in our land, the forces of Patriotic Freedom Party are hereby mobilized to supplant and replace existing law enforcement and the military. Our current state of Martial Law will remain in effect until there is no longer a threat to the Confederation. Acts of insurrection against the Confederation will be dealt with swiftly and lethally. Law and Order will be restored to our fair land, and bring with it a new era of prosperity for those who follow the law. For those who don’t or who dissent… your traitorous actions will be dealt with, quickly and efficiently.” As he said this, four men in cobalt blue military uniforms took up positions behind Harwell, equipped with military rifles and wearing Sam Brown belts. “The people you see behind me and those like them are the new forces of Law and Order. They are our police, our military, our guarantors of the Freedom of the Republic. Respect them, follow them… and our new Republic will prosper.



         Seeing all of this, a group of intellectuals (including Princeton’s ancestors) decided to put their resources together