I turned on the radio. A man was speaking. His tone of voice was firm and deliberate. But he wasn't angry, only determined.

"Now is the time to take up arms. The moment of insurrection is here. We have tried the path of peaceful resistance through our God-given right of free speech and peaceful assembly. But we have been silenced at every turn. First, they barred us from social media. Then they censored our books, newspapers, and websites. We must act now. We cannot afford to wait any longer..."

I've heard the speech before, or something similar. It all sounded the same after a while. In fact, this may have been a rebroadcast of last week's program. The reality was that nothing was going to change. It was just words. I reached in the cupboard for a can of coffee grounds.

"...The government has held us in its clutches for far too long. The time has come to take a stand. Many of you have lost your businesses. Too many of us have lost our jobs. Oh, sure, the state will put you to work, pedaling their propaganda. And even if you choose to debase yourself and rid yourself of any pride you may have, you will never have the standard of living that our forefathers enjoyed..."

I put a scoop of dark roast into a generous sized coffee-stained mug.

"...Too many of us have suffered at the hands of Big Brother. Some of us have lost our property and much of our savings. Some have even paid the ultimate price for speaking the truth in the face of the establishment..."

The kettle on the stove began to boil.

"...As for the rest of you who think you will remain unaffected, untouched, undisturbed, and unviolated, I say, 'WAKE UP!'..."

A loud whistle of the kettle announced the water was ready. I poured the still boiling water into the cup and stirred vigorously.

"...You have been asleep for too long. You cannot hide from reality forever, hoping things will get better on their own. You must act NOW! We all need to work together. United we stand!..."

I took a big sip of black coffee and nearly burned my tongue. I searched the sparse cabinets for a snack to have with my drink. There was a package of cookies tucked away deep into the cupboard. I quickly grabbed one, stuffing it whole into my mouth. To my immediate disgust, a small swarm of ants had covered the otherwise sweet snack. I was so desperate to eat something that I even contemplated swallowing the entire cookie, ants and all.

"...Divided we perish!..."

Instead, I spit it out into the sink, which was full of dishes. I had enough water stored away for drinking, but the dirty dishes would have to wait until we were allowed to turn the water back on.

"...Thank you for listening to Radio Free America."

I could have never imagined that the year 2021 would be like this.

Story Copyright © 2021 by Michael DeFrancesco
Cover Illustration by Dominic DeFrancesco