America 1982-Chapter 475 - 87: Jeff’s Speech_5
"He was among the first batch of soldiers to serve in the Vietnam War; that was actually his second attempt to enlist. When he was eighteen and first tried to join the military, he got rejected in the tests—his IQ wasn’t high enough. The army said we don’t need idiots, go home. So, he obediently went home, got married, and had children. Then the Vietnam War broke out, and the recruiters came knocking again. This time, they told the man who had become an excellent carpenter that now the country needed this ’idiot’ to serve." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"My father didn’t refuse. I was just a child then, but I will always remember my mother, crying, asking him why—when those bastards had so cruelly shamed him during his first attempt to join the military by calling him an idiot, unfit to serve—why he was still willing to serve now! Why?"
"My dad told her that perhaps he really was an idiot. He wasn’t serving for the sake of those recruiting bastards. He was doing it for the country, because the country needed fools to step forward."
"Unfortunately, he didn’t make it to the end of the war. He died in Vietnam... I..." Jeff choked up, pausing for a moment.
Among the veterans below, a black veteran in a wheelchair with a urine bag hanging beside him shouted aloud, "Kid, those who die in battle are the heroes! Look at us, the living are just trash! You should be glad! You should be glad! Your father is a hero; he doesn’t have to see the damn mess we’re in now!"
"Thank you, thank you. Let me... let me finish this speech... My father... missed many important moments in my life. My first adult magazine, my first masturbation, the first letter I wrote to a girl I loved, the first hair on my bird, my first love, my marriage, the birth of my first son, the birth of my first daughter..." Jeff paused for a while before he continued.
"He also missed the first big decision of my life. That year, I came of age, and for the first time in my life, there was a fork in the road ahead of me. One path was to join the military, and the other was to continue my studies. I didn’t know which was the right path in life, because I’m an idiot."
"In the end, I made the same choice as my father had. I know that when he chose to serve in the military, the outcome was dying on the battlefield, but I don’t regret continuing along the path he chose. Like him, I deeply love this beautiful country."
"Now, he will miss the second major decision of my life. There’s another fork in my path: one road leads to running in elections, going to Washington to take down those politicians, to fight for the rights veterans deserve, better health care, better welfare, more positive attention."
"The other path is to drop out of the race and go home, to continue being a silent idiot, spending my days in filthy pipes with rats for company, turning a blind eye to the injustice faced by those veterans, mute and unnoticed, living out the rest of my life in silence."
Without needing Jeff to say another word, the veterans at the event, led by a few of their number, chanted in unison, "Run for office! Jeff! Let us live! Run for office! Jeff! Let us live! Run for office! Jeff! Let us live!"
Martin turned his head to look at Tommy, who was leaning on the doorframe, dozing off with a cigarette in his mouth. Then, glancing over at the photographer, who seemed utterly staggered as if his jaw had dropped, Martin asked in disbelief, "A speech full of swear words can win voter support? If this is the case, why don’t the candidates for the Presidential election hire us niggers to write their speeches?"
"Language really has the power to move people. If I didn’t know that Jeff doesn’t understand a damn thing, I’d be ready to dig into my pockets to support him." The photographer regained his composure, speaking to Martin.
After the veterans had finally been calmed down once again, Jeff looked at the crowd and said,
"When I made my first choice, I used to fantasize about how great it would be if my father were still here. Then, he could give his son the right advice on life’s choices. Unfortunately, he’s not here, and I had to make the decision myself."
"But this time, I don’t want to make the decision on my own."
"I want to ask those of you sitting before me, who once fought for the country just like my father, to give me advice in place of my father, who died on the battlefield, to let me taste what it’s like to miss a father’s love in life."
"I hope you tell me which path to take. Whatever answer you give me, I will accept it gladly because..."
"You are the fathers to me, the ones who love this country more than I do... Patriots."
"Lastly, as per speech tradition, I’m supposed to say, ’God bless America’... fuck that! I don’t want to say it because I believe if America has really been protected, it has nothing to do with God but all to do with you! You, the true Patriots, safeguarding this great nation!"
After his words, Jeff forcefully threw away the stack of speech papers, which scattered and drifted in the air. With tears in his eyes, he stepped down from the podium and embraced those veterans.
The scene was truly touching. The emotional outbursts during the speech could not possibly have been faked. Martin thought to himself, "Boss, I..."
"Get up there and collect the speech papers. Hurry up, we’ve still got to deliver this speech five more times at five different nursing homes today." Tommy, lazily opening his eyes, said to Martin, "Jeff can afford to be delusional, thinking that he’s really going to treat those old timers like his dad, but as a campaign manager, you need to remember what we’re here for; it’s about making money."
