Civil War
A dystopian scenario that doesn't seem far-fetched.
Alien invasion. Nuclear war. Outbreaks. When discussing scenarios like this with people and the concept of a militia overtaking California came up, I always joked that I wouldn’t worry until I saw that they had rounded up all of East Palo Alto and Shoreview and succeeded.
All A24 films need to be seen and on the big screen if you have the time. I saw the trailer for this film and went to see it the same day. Others interpret what happened in the film differently and Alex Garland does a great job of making it ambiguous for the audience. What I took away from just the trailer - the president has done some shady stuff to the point that the U.S. military no longer follows him and they break away with militia groups popping up across the country with the intent of overthrowing D.C. The ambiguity comes in because we follow the journalists and they’re following the overthrowers like they’re not the bad guys.
They run into a few militia groups along the path to D.C. and they weren’t good people, but there really wasn’t a clear way of distinguishing the good guys from the bad guys because they were all wearing camo and holding automatic rifles. The only time the journalists felt safe were when they were surrounded by a large group with lots of supplies.
As I watched Kirsten Dunst trudge from Texas to D.C. while contemplating the death and destruction she’d witnessed across the globe on American soil, it tied in with the kids at school learning the Bill of Rights. This exercise is more for me relearning everything in short form so that I can have it ready when I talk about this film the remainder of the year.
Amendment 1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Freedom of speech. I take this seriously. That’s why I can’t get upset with Ann Coulter or be angry with J.K. Rowling. I don’t even think Joe Rogan thinking out loud on his podcast is a bad thing. As long as you’re not standing behind the President’s podium on a mic while you’re chatting, I don’t think it’s wrong. As long as what you’re saying isn’t being funded by a special interest group or organization, it’s fine.
Religious institutions? I think we should all have the freedom to follow Black Phillip into the woods and live deliciously. I wish I wasn’t an atheist and the devil was real. My patio floor would be caked in goat’s blood and I would say all the right words to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. I’d even be a bitch about it like Jennifer Egan where I would throw shade at lesser writers while sporting my pentagram.
Amendment 2: A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.
We all have the right to pack heat. Not assault rifles, but, I guess, normal level heat? In the film, they drove from Texas to D.C. with no weapons and a press vest. The country had been overthrown (or close to it), but a journalist wearing a press vest was enough for them to get across the country without being shot. A lot of viewers didn’t believe this part, but I’m going to accept it and believe this could have been the case.
Amendment 3: No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Stay out of my place. Simple enough. We’re not at war and if we were, there’d still have to be a dictum from the state. Anything outside of those bounds is just a felony.
Amendment 4: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
You can’t be searched without a warrant. Warrants are issued because there is evidence of a crime. Other than a bit of white-collar ambiguity and the inability to take accountability for traffic toll violations, my record is clean. My only enemy on this earth is JP Morgan Chase, but that’s just a misunderstanding between old friends that will sort itself out in about two more tax seasons.
I’m an apex predator so I don’t fear anything, but when I do create a boogey man in my head it’s Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. He kidnapped spoiled fat girls and kept them captive in a well so that he could later wear their skin accompanied with bad Dolly Parton-knock off wigs and pleather hooker heels. Coming for me is like wrestling a polar bear. It won’t be a cute headline of a helpless victim found in the woods. It’ll be a brutal scratchy video of me bludgeoned on the floor with someone in double-wide stilettos singing “Jolene” off key while I’m bleeding out on the linoleum. I’m so petty that with my dying breath I would snap the strap around their ankle so they would topple over right before it was lights out for me.
Amendment 5: No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
The only time I’d made it into a courtroom I was reprimanded by the judge because I corrected him on how he pronounced my last name. To show his power he made me pay for the speeding ticket. Was justice served that day? I’m biased, but laws were followed. I did, however, hop right back into the carpool lane on the way home.
Would I ever plead the fifth? If my counsel told me, but even then I’m always an open book. My problem is I crack sarcastic remarks about things that other people take seriously and the next thing you know, boundaries are crossed. I’m used to it, I wish I wasn’t, but it seems to happen from time-to-time.
Amendment 6: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
I’ve never been prosecuted publicly. I’ve been both legally and illegally investigated. Legally, I didn’t know that telling ER staff to go fuck themselves and walking past them to retrieve my parent meant you could be investigated by the State of California, but it happened, and everything went smoothly. I’d do it again.
Illegally, I have no clue why I was put on trial by strangers. What I hate is that kind of heat meant I had to be near something special. I thought maybe it had to do with shady real estate deals. This is the state of California, it happens all the time. Did I inadvertently learn something I shouldn’t have? Maybe not. Was it about the import/export business? It wasn’t that either. Was it trafficking? The thing with me is I always assume the worst-case scenario. I start with CIA-operatives wanting me dead due to something I learned and I work my way down to nosey people wanting to ensure I’m nice. I’m not, I never have been, but I’m an American and I deserve due process.
7th Amendment: In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Double jeopardy isn’t allowed. Any issue over $20 is valid for a case. See above for amendment 6.
Amendment 8: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Unusual inflicted punishment. That would probably be like spyware on your phone. People entering your home without permission. All of your interactions being monitored. The thin explanation given is that I said or did something that was never explained and so my life had to be gutted to ensure someone else was comfortable that I in no way affected their peace. All of which was illegal to begin with.
Amendment 9: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Disparaging others is the huge part for me. There are less than a million of people like me and even less if you’re only counting Americans. I haven’t been scared, just disappointed that it happened at all. I haven’t laid off the gas because I can’t write about it or don’t know how to write about it, but more because I’m not someone that wants to fiscally impact someone else’s life.
Amendment 10: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
It goes to the state of California to decide on something if it isn’t a federal issue. What happened to me in California falls under PC 647(j)(3).
The few that have sat with me through all this have fallen into two camps - what or that was completely illegal. It was a learning experience.
I actually know what it’s like to have my civil rights violated and it does feel like shit, but it is definitely a learning curve. What it taught me is just baselines of how to deal with any similar issues in the future.
Civil War came at a perfect time. The political climate leading to the election in November will add layers to this film on future viewings.
I may never receive an explanation as to why what happened to me took place. I didn’t file charges, to the chagrin of my boss, because if there was ever a time where it wasn’t bad for me to be watched against my consent, it was last year when I was sick. I take solace in believing that had I gone into a cardiac episode, someone would have been kind enough to call paramedics. I’m better now, so the guardianship is not needed or warranted.