Chapter Seven

“The National Defense Authorization Act is just as necessary as the Patriot Act Mr. President,” said the speaker of the House. “The Patriot Act could only go so far. We need an upgrade.” The President continued reading.

“This sounds like George Orwell, John. ‘(1) Detention under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force?’ I’m gonna get slammed by the ACLU.”

“I believe that too is negotiable Mr. President,” said the speaker. “I appreciate how you are ‘working with’ the GOP even if many of my associates think otherwise. I just want America safe for my children, and nowadays the opposition is getting quicker at maneuvering itself than ever before. This anonymous character is going from rumor to folk hero overnight. Are we sure the Kremlin isn’t behind this guy?”

“Anonymous isn’t a he or she, it’s a they,” chimed the President, “and they’ve learned from history that you can’t deify any person if you want things changed. ‘Someone’ will just assassinate them.”

“Right,” the speaker rolled his eyes. “ ‘Hackers for good,’ ‘hackers for peace,’ ‘hackers for Haight-Ashbury’…it’s too easy to point the finger from behind a computer screen. They think they’re activists, online protesters hemming and hawing over propaganda they read on their monitors. They’re not in the shit and they never have been. Virtual reality doesn’t hold a candle to the truth. They aren’t inter-changeable.”

“Maybe not, but the Occupy Movement is surprising. They aren’t losing any steam. You guys’ theory on ‘once the high wears off and they come down’ hasn’t panned out. It appears controversy is their rush. Reminds me of the sixties.”

“Come on Mr. President,” said the speaker. “You know and I know the sixties were justified. The old school wasn’t keeping in touch with the public and the kids learned ‘em the hard way. Today? They got it good…too good. These kids are just spoiled, and frankly, they’re letting terrorists influence their thinking. That’s why we need this new NDAA. There’s a fine line between activism and terrorism, and this will keep them on the right side of that line.”

“Maybe, but don’t forget,” the President raised his left eyebrow, “we’re the old school now.”