Free My Country Is Called Earth by Lawrence John Brown Page A

cut the allotment. If you do, I’ll come back and haunt this place.
     
    A voice in the crowd asked, “Where are you going, X-Man?”

    “My body is returning to the earth, and my spirit is returning to the other world.”
    A different voice proclaimed, “In that case, we’re going to make firewood out of your orchard.”
    “You just watch out, Ollie. You and Jerry and Pat are first on my haunt list.”
    Ollie responded by shouting, “Ronald Reagan!”
    Edward had warned me never to mention Reagan’s name in Exellon’s presence. Upon hearing that name, Exellon’s face turned red, and he said, “That hypocrite! That murdering, lying, thieving incompetent!”
    The commune members laughed.
    A third voice: “Get on with it, then.”
    Exellon quickly regained his composure, and he continued:
     
    That’s what’s wrong with all you young people. You’re always in such a hurry. The New Earth wasn’t built in a day, you know.
     
    There was a pause, as if he were rewinding a tape in his head.
     
    We have come a long way. Three hundred years ago the ancestors of our black brothers and sisters were in chains, and women were not much better off. The Indian nations were about to be crushed under the wheels of Manifest Destiny.
     
    In the second half of the twentieth century, America was the sole great power to survive the Second World War with her industrial base intact. America often used her wealth in those days to support brutal dictatorships in Third World nations. One President, Jimmy Carter, saw the horror of this, and he made human rights a cornerstone of his foreign policy. The Iran hostage crisis that ended his presidency was, I believe, the result of his failure to apply his human rights policy to Iran.
     
    There is no war now. All international disputes are settled in courts, not on battlefields. Until mankind learned to stop making war, the world you live in would not have been possible.
     
    With peace on earth, America could realize her mission: To give the world a model for a new age. A land where the rights of men and women of all cultures, lifestyles, and races are respected, where nature is loved and protected, and where a fulfilling life is available to all.
     
    We have demonstrated that individual freedom and responsibility are the keys to creating a happy, healthy society. I can say that almost without exception, every government on earth is honest, just, and concerned with the well-being of its citizens. The principles of the Declaration of Independence are now the universal creed.
     
    Exellon raised his left hand, and then he spread his middle and index fingers to form a peace sign. That must have been the signal, for fireworks began soaring into the night air from behind the center field fence. It was a spectacle I’ll never forget, and the last time I saw Exellon.
     
     
    Sunday, July 5, 2076
     
    At breakfast a commune member announced that Exellon had died during the night. A minute of silence was observed. He also said a ceremony would be held that evening at sunset in the orchards below Exellon’s house, where he would be buried. The commune member added with a smile, “Don’t forget to bring your axes.”
    This was the day I was scheduled to see Mary, the woman I had talked with when I arrived. Mary was the leader of First Gandhi.
    We met after breakfast. She explained to me how society had been transformed so that everyone could live with dignity. I have summarized her statements here:
     
    1. Vacant buildings were opened to the homeless and the poor. The first village communes were formed.
     
    2. A new tax structure was created to redistribute wealth. A 100% tax, called an accumulation tax, was imposed on individual net worth over $2,000,000. Income taxes were eliminated for all but the wealthy; a simple flat tax was imposed on them.
     
    3. Natural resources were transferred to the public domain and were allocated with a concern for the rights of nature and future