Continued dialog on Saturday morning seemed to rachet upward as more O.U.T.R.A.G.E. members participated in the television processes. More and more public participation was also forthcoming as citizens offered their input, called in their comments, and prepared their own remarks to be broadcast across the nation. As in any melting pot, there were various ingredients, concocting a stew of ideas and alternative thoughts. From the serious to the ridiculous, from the sublime to the sensational, ideas were brought forward, and out of this cornucopia of conversation, a new national philosophy was beginning to take shape. There was surprisingly little argument or dispute as everyone cordially listened to everyone else's comments without judgment or prejudice. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. moderators served as referees whenever anything got out of hand, or whenever the possibility of an uprising reared.
The O.U.T.R.A.G.E. revolutionaries had destroyed the country, and - with the unwelcomed assistance of a major hurricane and a record-breaking earthquake - were now working diligently to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. The process was tedious, sometimes tiring, and often thought by some to be an impossible task. Still, as the hours drawled on, people crawled in to offer their input and help formulate a new government. Especially attentive to these proceedings were Colin Powell and John McCain, who had less than eight months in which to prepare a nation for a new election, replacing a government administration and an entire United States Congress. These two men also shouldered the final responsibility for renewing urban areas destroyed by bombs, hurricanes and eathquakes. They were charged with trying to unite a divided populace, and implementing a new form of government that would truly be of the people, for the people and by the people.
At the same time, Powell and McCain were busily engaged in attempts at restoring the U.S.A. international status as a world leader and global peacekeeper while humbly accepting humanitarian aid from countless other nations, something the U.S. wasn't used to doing. They were juggling a lot of balls in the air, and even the most subtle slip could result in throwing things out of balance. Still, the two seemed to working in absolute harmony as things proceeded almost flawlessly across the country and around the world.
In one segment, McCain was talking about terrorism in very frank terms. "We can't stop terrorism," he claimed, "by using terrorists tactics. Today's terrorist has operative cells all over the world. If we destroy one, another emerges. Instead of fighting fire with fire, I believe it's time to begin using a little honey to catch flies." While many disagreed, it was evident that the Bush administration's tactics had failed miserably, killing tens of thousands of innocent women and children, as well as 10,000 U.S. soldiers. George W. Bush had decided to become the world's big bully, and all the other kids in the world's playgrounds had decided they weren't going to be pushed around anymore. There had been half-a-dozen 'terrorist' events around the world in the past two years since a plot at Heathrow Airport had been foiled, including one at an airport in Philadelphia in July, 2007 that resulted in thirteen people dead and dozens injured from an explosion that was meant to go off as a plane taxied to its gate. Something malfunctioned, and the bomb went off before the plane reached the gate; those killed and injured were airport personnel and those inside the terminal.
"George W. Bush was wrong," McCains stated emphatically. "He only fueled the flames, and helped make this world more of agiant incendiary device. We must learn to live with each other in unison and peace; otherwise, we will not survive as a species." Some were astonished by the remarks of a former Republican senator and former prisoner-of-war. His emphasis, however, could not be denied; even the most staunch war-mongers realized that war was no longer an answer. War was not a deterent. War was becoming a way of life in the world. We had fought "wars" on poverty, "wars" on drugs, and "wars' for freedom. Now it was time to fight a "war" on war. Only by persuading all government leaders of all nations on Earth to stop fighting would the world survive. The United States of America would have to play a leading role in this new venture.