law day
American citizens in the right direction…There will be no
more violence in the streets, and I assure you this problem
is currently being solved. All criminals and trouble-makers
are being contained, and they will be put to use in a way that
will benefit society rather than destroying it…America will
return to prosperity, but it will not return to its previous state.
The ways in which we functioned did not work before—there
was not enough control, and the people had a bit too much
power...Democracy has ceased to function in our nation,
thus its era has come to an end. What we will call this era,
is the Supremacy Era. The government, not the people, shall
now reign, but surely in the nation’s best interests. I have
great hope for the future, and I am sure that our nation will
reach greater heights of prosperity than ever before… In
the year two-thousand-and-twelve, this is my Declaration of
Supreme Reign.”
The speech ended, and Marcello understood why the soldiers
had shown no concern over his appearance: there was a New
Order, and in it, no individual mattered—the only voice of
importance was the Supreme. They could do whatever they
wanted to him, and he had nowhere to run. As he reached
this epiphany, four or five soldiers emerged from the back
room and talked in front of him as though he wasn’t even
a person. They were debating over what action should be
taken with the witness. One asked, “Should we dispose of
him as we have the others?” Another, seemingly the group’s
leader, stated, “No. This one is different. He doesn’t seem
as easy to control…He must be homeless—the Supreme
had no way of locating the homeless…Who knows what
thoughts are in his head now?...We can take him to jail, but
he must stay until he is executed…If we had him around
the workers he would certainly spread insurrection—he has
seen too much...the Supreme must have order…” In a time
so short that Marcello could not react to what had been
said, a white cloth was placed over his face, and everything
became a shadow of his subconscious. He woke up hours
later in prison, already in a coarse, gray jumpsuit with the
words “New Order” sewn across the front in red.
From then on, Marcello had been counting faces, waiting to
die as the others moved on to work in forced-labor camps.
The difference between their destiny and his was that
he was to die, while they were to live…at least until they
became useless. The bond that linked them in their chains
of oppression was that they, like him, would be waiting
and praying for the day that they would die, and ease their
suffering. There was no way out—for Marcello or the rest
of the captives. The moment the Supreme took power, the
judicial system was abolished. Supreme Wailer—that was
his totalitarian title—had ruled that the Supreme was entirely
capable of interpreting the law. Shortly after that, Congress
was dissolved as well. Wailer’s exact words were, “If the
Supreme may interpret the law, it is fully able to create it,
and then pass it.”
There was a monopoly on justice, so Marcello would never
get his share. He was perhaps guilty of theft…of survival, but
he was not deserving of death. As Marcello gazed at faces
and eyes, the door opened, and he was summoned to the
execution room. He sighed from relief, and stepped forward.
The chains binding him felt looser already. ■
Shown from left to right at the
signing of the 2012 Governor’s Law
Day Proclamation are Atlanta Bar
Association Law Day Committee
co-chair W. Clay Massey, Alston
& Bird LLP; Atlanta Bar Association
president Rita A. Sheffey, Hunton
& Williams LLP; Governor Nathan
Deal, and Atlanta Bar Association
Law Day co-chair Melody Z.
Richardson, Pachman Richardson.
LLC.
20
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
May 2012
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association