Page 25 of The Politician

“Lee…”

His lips were twitching, but he managed not to smile. “Do it. I’m your boss, you have to do what I say.”

Reluctantly, Eli humored him and did what Lee wanted. He placed his finger on a spot on the open page and then opened his eyes. “What does it say?”

“Oh, this is good.The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

“How is that good?”

Lee cleared his throat and sat up straight, looking over long enough to give Eli a wink. “God, guns, and country, dear. It’s obvious to so many that our country is the chosen one. In God we trust, it’s on our most beloved thing, our money. Anyway, the immigrants want to run here because this is God’s house. Now, being the Lord’s most beloved people, we must be righteous and careful that we only allow in the best people. Those who believe we are the shining light on the hill. The others? Well, they don’t get to come here.”

More anger, but that was nearly overshadowed by his curiosity. “You think that’s what that means?”

“Fuck no,” he laughed. “But a lot of the people who vote for me do. We let the people think that only our country is safe and good, and they defend it to the death.”

“How do you live with yourself?”

He thought for sure he’d be fired and ordered out of the house, but Lee only laughed. “It’s a game, Eli. It’s all a game. The rich win, the poor lose. It’s the way it’s always been.”

“If you want a revolution.”

“That’s a thing of the past, dear,” he explained as he smeared cream cheese on his toasted bagel half. “When people did that, they had little to lose. Barely homes, maybe some cattle or something, but mostly nothing. Now, even the lowest have phones and streaming movies, they have things they wouldn’t want to lose. Plus, the government has bigger toys. There’s a reason we all, both parties, allow so much to go for the military. Not one of those insane militias or bands of renegade groups could overcome an attack by our military.”

Eli felt sick as he listened. “It’s not the way it’s supposed to be.”

“But it is the way it is, Eli. For a couple centuries, both sides won enough and gave their people enough, that it never came up. I’m afraid that’s changing now. Pity, it made so many of us terribly wealthy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that both parties are becoming power hungry. And I plan on being on the winning team.”