Political Repercussions by militaryhistory

Words: 12k+

Links: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/5747288/1/

( What were the consequences of the War on the politics of the United States, foreign and domestic? Rated T to be safe. Note: this will be updated as various ideas strike me, so don't be surprised if this gets a new chapter now and again. )

Chapter 1: Albert Jenkins

I am sitting in a lecture hall at the University of Alabama, along with around fifty undergraduate students. My purpose in being here is to listen to Professor Albert Jenkins, who is one of the few experts in the internal political ramifications of the war. He has invited me here because, as he put it, "I'll probably answer all your questions in the lecture." I sit up as he walks in and takes the stage.

"Good afternoon, y'all. Now, as I recall, last time we met we had just finished discussing most of the great shifts in political power in American history. Can anyone here give me all of them in chronological order?" (A student raises his hand. Jenkins points at him.) Harker.

(Harker speaks.) "1800, the Federalists begin their spiral and the Jeffersonians take control. 1824, the splintering of the Democrats. 1860, the Republican Party gains the ascendancy. 1932, the end of the Republican party's dominance and the Democratic Party's dominance. 1968, the Republicans retake control." (He stops. The professor gives him an inquiring look.) Is there another, Professor Jenkins?

(Jenkins looks around.) Can anyone give me another? (Another student raises her hand) Williams.

(Williams speaks) Would that be 2008, the Democrats shatter the Republicans due to mismanagement of government?

(There is laughter from the students, and a wry smile appears on Jenkins' face.) Now, Ms. Williams, there wouldn't happen to be some editorializing in that remark, would there? However, that particular episode shall be one of the what-ifs of history, due to the event known as World War Z, or, more commonly, The War. (His eyes sweep the class.) Y'all're one of the first classes I've had that contained folks too young to remember the Great Panic, or the time before. Y'all remember the war, but you don't remember much before. Let me give you a quick rundown.

It was 2010. The first black president in American history, Colin Powell, had been elected by a landslide. The Democrats had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and a large majority in the House. The United States had pulled out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, and we were moving troops into Afghanistan, hoping to win there.

Then things started happening. China began closing access to the outside world, claiming an epidemic. Reports began coming in of something called "African Rabies." Then the Israelis announced that they were building a wall around themselves, and were inviting all Jews and Palestinians to come in. Conspiracy websites in the United States were abuzz with rumors of American special ops teams moving under dead of night, killing several people—all with headshots, and taking the others, who were returned later, were noticeably closemouthed, and were buying guns, and lots of ammunition. Phalanx became all the rage—and then the outbreak got so bad that nothing could contain it. And y'all know the rest of what happened.

However, one thing y'all may not have noticed there was a noticeable shift in political dynamics after the war. Here's why. (The professor pulls down a map of the United States pre-war. It's an election map, divided by counties, with the colors indicating which party won each county.) Now, can anyone tell me any points of commonalty between the bluish areas? (Yet another student raises a hand) Jackson.

(Jackson speaks) Most of them are in urban areas?

(Jenkins nods) Precisely, Mr. Jackson. And as a corollary, most of the reddish areas are in rural or suburban areas. Generally, urban areas were hardest hit by the plague and its aftermath, as many urbanites were killed in the cities, or died on the way, or, especially those who left early on, froze to death or starved in Canada. While many suburban areas had these issues, rural areas were not hit nearly as hard as more urbanized locales.

Now, these circumstances came into play on both sides of the Rocky Mountain line. However, circumstances were slightly different, depending on which side of the line you were on. For instance, while Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles, and San Diego were all overrun early on, they were taken back swiftly and violently—often, interestingly enough, by US military forces assisted by street gang members and militia groups. Said militia groups also cooperated with the US military to clear out Boise, Las Vegas, Reno, and Phoenix. Several cities, such as Missoula, Helena, and Cheyenne, never needed military help. Of those areas west of the Line, few suffered truly drastic depopulation—with the exceptions of L.A., Seattle, Portland, and Las Vegas.

In rural areas, many of the more radical militia groups from the USA and Canada banded together in the "Secessionist" movement, which was shattered quickly, primarily by American and Canadian special ops soldiers and more moderate militias. The same state of affairs occurred with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints1. However, things west of the Line went relatively smoothly.

East of the line, things were a bit different. Almost all cities suffered drastic depopulation, especially Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Washington, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Miami. Much of the Dakotas, all of Nebraska and Kansas, and most of Oklahoma and Texas were passed over by the megaswarms, ruining all areas they passed over.

Areas that survived the zombies largely unscathed included the Black Hills, the Ozarks, northern areas of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, and most of the Appalachians. The Shenandoah Valley, being in the way of the Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond swarms, got run over.

Most areas that survived the initial swarms and the first winter made it through the war with relatively minor difficulties. However, the counteroffensive brought some new problems—reintegration of the enclaves into the United States.

Y'all have all heard of the Black Hills, I presume? (The class nods) Let me explain a few things about that. First, the government did not fire the first shot. Second, the reason the locals fired was because the military commander acted like a total idiot and ordered the locals to hand over all of their weapons, and then acted in a hostile manner when the locals wouldn't give up their guns. The results were possibly the biggest P.R. black eye the United States government got in the war, and a stalling of Army Group North for two weeks. After that, more gun-friendly policies were ordered to keep the authoritarian types from causing something like that to happen again.

There were some groups that were cleared out for being stupid and no one minded—for instance, the Barony of Chicago, controlled by fanatical survivalists holed up in one of the skyscrapers, or the so-called Free City of Flint, which was free for the gangs only, or the area in South Carolina controlled by most of the Ku Klux Klan2—what was left of them after everyone ran them out, anyway. Those were each the most famous examples of their type, and all were very nasty.

The consequences of the war are still not fully understood yet. However, there are a few things we do know. For instance, eighty percent of Americans do not believe in gun control. Of those, around three-quarters of them were in favor of gun control before the war. Also, there is an amendment going through Congress to make anti-abortion laws constitutional, and it looks like it may go through—and may be ratified. While unemployment remains high, due to very low corporate tax rates, more and more businesses are moving back from Cuba to the USA. The Great Plains are again the world's breadbasket, and manufacturing is picking up, now that the sweatshop areas have essentially been wiped out or are nonfunctional. The unions are experiencing a resurgence, though whether they will be able to resist the temptation to institute policies that will bankrupt their companies like the United Autoworkers.

To make a long story short, it will be decades before the United States gets back even close to how it was before the War.

Any questions? (A student raises a hand) Maxwell.

(Maxwell speaks) What about other social issues, professor, like race relations and homosexuality?

(Jenkins responds) Race relations, at this point, are better than they ever have been before. Most of the KKK either died in shootouts with locals or government forces, or were killed by Zack. Most of the New Black Panthers3 died in the cities, as did most Reconquistists4. As to homosexuality, it's now about as recognized as adultery—stigmatized, and, in my opinion at any rate, rightfully so, but no more so than any other particular bedroom stupidity. The war kinda did for that, when everyone was needed on the front lines.

As to crime, a major social issue which I now realize I did not cover, there has been a turn towards financial restitution for nonviolent offenses and hard labor for violent ones. Drug laws are becoming less controversial, as many dealers died in the War, as did many of their buyers. Their networks were shattered, and the survivors were often picked up by the military in the War days. The war on drugs is now much more low-intensity than it was before the War. Crime rates of all kinds are down, actually; turns out not as many folks try to murder, rob, or rape people when nine-tenths of the population is armed. And as white-collar crime now involves returning the current value equivalent to the money stolen, plus interest, there is very little of that.

Any other questions? No? Then let me end with this. I said that it would be decades before the United States got to where it was before the War. Let me add that it possibly never will. And in some ways, that might be a good thing. Class dismissed.

1: Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: splinter group of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; notorious in pre-War days for continuing to practice polygamy. Now effectively defunct.

2: Ku Klux Klan: an organization dedicated to white supremacy, known for burning crosses and anti-Semitism. Now effectively defunct.

3: New Black Panthers: an organization dedicated to black supremacy, known for being thuggish and anti-Semitic. Now effectively defunct.

4: Reconquistists: Term for Hispanic supremacists who wanted the lands taken by the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo to be returned to Mexico—a reconquista, or reconquest.