2025, a scholarly take on some current issues

Mock debates

     "Knock it off you two," the red-headed woman warned my mother and her father.  But they didn't.  One would move the salt and pepper shaker and place it, then the other would re-place it.  "It goes where I put it," Sherry told the youngests, a girl and a boy, trying to keep up with loyalties and just do what I says in a roomful of "all different kinds of people". 

     "They're the competitive type." 

     "I'm not.  I'm bored." 

     "Sorry the world's not entertaining enough for you smart types." A quiet sigh.  "Sorry I just said that." 

     "There's all kinds of smarts.  Really everybody's 'smart'." 

     "Of the alpha males in your age category..." A watch to see where eyes went.  "Yeah?" An unbroken eye contact.  "Who would you 'vote' for?"

     "Why'd you put vote in air quotes?" 

     "I seen y'all do that on," she did it again, "'buzzwords'," she said buzzwords like one might say missiles or drones.  

     "Busswords are not talking points.  That's all I know," a blondish lady sat at the table. 

     "That guy J.D. had some good points in the pre-mock debate.  But he's shy." 

     A girl looked up from a book she was reading.  At all of us.  "I hate that people are already talking about people like they're racehorses." 

     A dad made a horseface.  My mother told a bit of a story about how people used to get my Dad to talk like that horse Mr. Ed.  "Do it Dad," a youngest demanded. 

     "Anybody here running for anything?" A woman with a clipboard jokingly asked as the table seemed to stop her body from pace of schedule.  "Sit." A media Republican told her.  She did.  "What are you drinking?"  No answer.  A mom poked her arm.  Said, "She needs Orange juice and water."  

     "How'd you know?" 

     "She's getting lazy skin." 

     "Lazy skin?" 

     "Did you tan when you were younger?" Someone asked while someone else went to request Orange juice.

     "Excuse me, I need you all to submit to another drug test." 

     Some groans and sleeves rolled up to show bruises from being poked and sampled and genetically identified.  Whole room so lots of time to chit chat.

     "One of the observations our doctors," a woman was still speaking as our table's conversation ebbed and flowed, "And medical technicians found led to some discoveries." 

     "Oh I bet," a man said while still cutting up his meat.

     "It's about drugs.  You might want to cover your child's ears Karen." 

     "Did somebody call me?" A woman glanced around the room. 

     "Ow," an elderly lady griped loudly. 

  Chairs were pushed back from tables and many people went to her.  

  It seemed like hours and hours later when someone declared the war's on everything.  And someone else loading guns explained, that's because everything is weaponized.  

     "So.  That's what that drug does to peoples" brains?" 

     "Makes 'em like lemmings.  That's why the State's enemies are so eager to get it into the Country." 

     "And why it's especially prevalent in those...what did that guy call those?" 

     "What?" People were reading stacks of reports. 

     "The cities.  What did they call them?" 

     "Sanctuary cities." 

     "Thank you."