Is the first lady trying to overthrow the president? Award-winning writer Kathleen Antrim's fictional response to this shocking premise is at the heart of her chillingly convincing political thriller, CAPITAL OFFENSE.
Kathleen Antrim: Brit reminds Europe of ‘a world without America'
2007-02-28, The Examiner
WASHINGTON - Anti-Americanism is spreading around the globe. Using myths, disinformation and ignorance, America's enemies are doing a fair job at defaming our country from both within our borders and abroad.
As Americans we've never claimed to be perfect, and like everything else in this world we certainly do have our faults. Fortunately, there are still those who know the truth and aren't swayed by nasty rhetoric. Some of these friends from across the Atlantic have taken to the internet in America's defense.
18DoughtyStreet.com is Great Britain's first political Web television station. The brainchild of Internet entrepreneur Stephan Shakespeare and a group of Britain's most-popular bloggers, 18DoughtyStreet.com was created to combat the disinformation and biases perpetrated by the mainstream media.
Focused on the rising anti-Americanism, 18DoughtyStreet.com has launched a two-minute video at YouTube, which is being distributed across Britain and Europe via e-mail. The broadcast depicts a world without America.
"Through five fictional news reports from the 1950s onward sit portrays a world dominated by Soviet Russia and warns that much of the world's prosperity and medical advances would have been lost," explains Audrey Mullen of Advocacy Ink.
The opening caption of the video reads: "Imagine a world without America." Then the script runs through a series of five scenes beginning in 1959. Dressed in a dinner suit, a man reads:
"You are watching the News from London. General Secretary Stalin was in France today to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the liberation of Paris by the Red Army. Organized crowds of young people sang the Soviet anthem as troops marched down the Champs Elysees."
Then a caption appears: "A World Without America … Would Be A World With Less Freedom." Of course, had Hitler prevailed the French would be speaking German, and the Champs Elysees may have been renamed Adolph Straße.
Scene two focuses on America's contribution to medical science as the same presenter is featured in a flower-power suit. The caption reads 1969, and the presenter reports that, "Latest data from the British Department of Health show that deaths from polio rose again last year. The hunt for a vaccine continues."
The vignette ends with the words: A World Without America … Would Be A World Without Many Medical Advances.
The video rolls into 1979, and the same gentleman is dressed in a brown suit with large lapels.
"Tonight the Mediterranean Sea is full of boats of Jewish refugees fleeing for their lives. Earlier in the day the poorly equipped and underfunded Israeli army was finally defeated and Arab combined forces — with Soviet air cover — entered Tel Aviv …" he reads.
A chilling line appears: A World Without America … Would Be A World Without Israel.
The presenter appears in a power suit for the 1989 segment.
"Arriving at today's hunger summit in her ministerial," he reads. "Lady Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher vowed to work with Austrian President Arnold Schwarzenegger in fighting increasing hunger across Asia."
Although the reference to a "president" Schwarzenegger may garner a few chuckles, the ending verbiage hits the point: A World Without America … Would Be A Poorer World.
The final scene is set in 1999 with the same reporter. He's dressed casually in an open shirt and jeans.
"At a Downing Street press conference earlier today the British Prime Minister said that President Saddam Hussein was a man he could do business with," he casually states. "He was speaking after it was confirmed that the Revolutionary Republic of Iraq and Kuwait had acquired nuclear weapons."
While one digests this statement, these words appear: A World Without America … Would Be A World Held To Ransom By Tyrants.
A collage of America's many contributions to the world flash on the screen: A free Afghanistan; 40 percent of the world's R&D; Free Taiwan; nylon; Elvis Presley; air conditioning; Marshall Plan; South Korea; democratic Nicaragua; typewriter; a free Japan; Protection of world trading routes; jazz; 50 percent of the world food programme; the motorcar; the liberation of the Falklands; Berlin Airlift; the bra; frozen food; Dishwasher; denim jeans; $15 billion HIV/AIDS programme; FM radio; Coca Cola; Free Haiti; supercomputer; and 26 percent of global aid spending.
And the video ends with: "A world without America. A world with more disease, more poverty, more danger."
Tim Montgomerie, director of 18DoughtyStreet.com, said, "For much of the last 50 years, Europe has benefited from America's security umbrella and from the dynamism of American enterprise and science."
Yes, America does have its faults and we've never claimed to be perfect. But as this video points out, America is still the greatest force for good around the globe.
Examiner contributor Kathleen Antrim writes "Capital Offense" and is a correspondent for NewsMax Magazine.
