As a student of history, I (like many others with the same bent) have learned that things happen in cycles. What has happened before will (eventually) happen again. Or as Commander Ace Hunter says in the movie Megaforce: "It's all on the wheel, old chap. It ALL comes around!"
Republics come and republics go. They tend to last about 200 years, then elected officials learn that they can buy votes with the public coffers (bread and circuses in Rome; phones and handouts in the modern world). An old story goes that Benjamin Franklin, upon leaving the Constitutional Convention, was supposedly asked what sort of government the delegates had created. His reply was said to be, "A republic, if you can keep it." Whether the story was true or apocryphal, there is truth in the answer given.
The United States of America is a constitutional federal republic...NOT a democracy as so many believe! A federation of states, with a republican form of government with the division of powers between the levels of government (federal, state, county, etc.) codified in a constitution. Many people also forget that the 13 States (Colonies) formed the federal government...NOT the other way around!
Having witnessed the last 45 years (plus) our country's history and weighing it against the history I've learned, I recognized a familiar pattern emerging. So, a few years back, the student of history in me sat down with the budding novelist in me and created the common theme at the core of six of my novels. Six novels grew out of this theme.
The Terra-Bravo Saga and the Arizona State Guard novels share a common event...a Second American Civil War! But, one significantly different than the previous one. First, it begins as a cold war between those separated by political beliefs. Second, it eventually escalates into a hot war. Third, an outside threat uses the fact that this civil war sidelines the U.S. on the world stage to increase its hold around the glove then invades America.
The Terra-Bravo Saga trilogy addresses this new civil war in a science fiction setting employing the concept of parallel worlds. The Arizona State Guard trilogy deals with the civil war in more action/adventure genre approach.
I've had readers ask me if I'm a fortune teller, reading the future in tea leaves or a crystal ball? My answer is, "No, I'm just a student of history. It's all on the wheel, old chap. It ALL comes around!" Is it what I wish for? HELL NO! I'm utterly distressed by what is happening in our country today. One day, they'll stop attacking statues and begin burning books. My stories go against their beliefs and will be prime examples of what might be burned someday.
The novelist in me is both horrified and expectant about this. Horrified that Americans will burn books and expectant that they'll have to purchase my books before they can burn them!
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My novels are (still) available in e-book and paperback formats through my Amazon Author page at: www.amazon.com/author/jeffreyfortney.
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My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Jeffrey
Jeffrey M. Fortney - 2017
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