None of that seems all that shocking. After all, it makes sense that everyone in the country should speak the same language and that there should be only one internet portal to make sure service is reliable and equitable. But the words I’m reading aren’t detailing the same history I’ve been taught. The book details how instead of a unifying language that brought the country together, the law denied citizens who spoke other languages driver’s licenses, jobs, and the right to vote. I flip the page and drop my spoon.

The best art delivers an emotional punch in one glance. The photographs I look at now stop me cold. They’re a series of images—pictures of two tan-skinned men being attacked on the street. One man has fallen to his knees and is covering his head with his hands to ward off the blows from an enraged crowd. The other is looking over his shoulder as he attempts to run. The camera has captured his bloody, bruised face and the despair and fear in his eyes with perfect clarity. Beneath the picture a caption reads: “Violence unleashed against non-English-speaking citizens after passage of Unification through Language Law.”

I push away my bowl and keep flipping the pages. I’m not sure how much time passes as I read about the National Guard being deployed to cities that had a history of violent crime. Environmental laws being passed to curtail paper usage. Foreign aid suspended, leading to a rise of new dictatorships around the world as well as suffering and death to many who no longer had access to doctors, clean water, or food. And the temporary suspension of travel to and from other countries due to a fear of terrorist threats. Which clearly wasn’t temporary because I can’t imagine people in our country choosing to visit anyplace outside of our borders. We have everything anyone would ever want. And it isn’t dangerous here.

Or is it? If people really are disappearing like Atlas says . . .

I want to shove the book away but force myself to keep reading.

While this new policy of shifting attention away from world issues has caused many to worry that other less dependable leaders will fill the void left by the United States’ withdrawal, others applaud the desire to dedicate all tax dollars to efforts inside America’s boundaries. Germany, the United Kingdom, and China have all pledged resources to those countries that no longer receive American financial and military assistance. American politicians have lauded other countries for stepping forward so the United States can finally dedicate its focus to the citizens they feel have been neglected at home.

The last paragraphs talk about widespread protests against the new doctrine. One large protest in Los Angeles got out of hand. Protesters and police officers were killed. Many leaders, including the president, were certain the instigators of the violence were spurred to action by journalists who wished to cause trouble. Which I can’t imagine, since the anchors on both news channels are almost always upbeat as they cover the weather, City Pride Projects, entertainment news, and sports. Nothing that I can imagine ever causing upset. A news report shouldn’t cause that kind of reaction, and if it did, people should never allow that kind of reporting to continue.