The United States of America had suffered through more misery and chaos - on its own shores - in the past ten months than it had in perhaps any other time since the first American Revolution or the great Civil War. The shocking bombs that had leveled countless buildings, destroyed most of America's large corporations, killed most of the nation's politicians, and decimated thousands of wealthy elitists and celebrities, were now history. The enormous earthquake that struck Los Angeles and ruined what remained of the entertainment industry had come and gone. The horrendous hurricanes that had slammed into many of America's east coast metroplitans had long ago blown out to sea and quietly died, after killing thousands and wreaking havoc with property damages unable to even be tallied. What still remained of the New York Stock Exchange and the major giant banks and financial institutions had only recently been dealt a final blow as banks failed and the 'Great Depression II' strangled the country's economy.
People were suffering.
The nation was in severe pain.
Yet, from some magical 'inner strength', the American spirit seemed to rise to the occasion and make the best of things. All over the country there we stories about people helping other people. Residents who lived in large homes opened those homes - and their hearts - to those who no longer had a home, and had lost all heart. Local communities were 'making do' and functioning better than ever, without the help of the federal government. State government were taking up the slack and doing things that used to be left to 'the feds' - and the states were doing it much more competently, efficiently, cost-effectively, and quickly. The mammoth tangle of paperwork and red tape was gone, and people were getting along quite well without "help" from a federal government that had become obsessively obese and bloated.
Barter was more visible than ever, as people traded for what they needed without placing a monetary value on such trades. If one person needed a car and another needed a refrigerator, it was a 'even' trade, accepted by both parties as a fair and 'legal' transaction. Lawyers, of course, had almost all been annihilated since it was their heavy-handedness over the decades that had encouraged only one speed when it came to getting things done: slow.
People were coming together. Neighbors who never knew each other now depended on one another. Bosses who had been money-hungry ogres now treated employees with more respect and compassion. Relatives were moving back in with each other instead of distancing themselves because "the job" required a transfer to a distant city or state. Many doctors were now making house calls because their fancy offices and lavish hospitals had all been blown up. Movie stars and media celebs had no reason to flee the paparazzi because there was no demand for glamous shots of some sexy starlet showing off her new boob job. The blowhard who always felt it necessary to impress people with his wad of hundred-dollar bills in a five-star restaurant now knew it was just worthless paper that couldn't buy him a boiled potato. From chaos came simplicity. "Big" no longer mattered; "rich" no longer meant anything. Humanity was returning to the United States as a new Presidential triumpvirate prepared to begin leading a devastated nation out of ruins and into a new reality.
Presidents Colin Powell, John McCain and Barack Obama addressed the nation on Saturday, November 8, 2008 in what was a pleasant blend of light-heartedness with somber overtones. "We need to heal," said McCain, "and we will do just that."