MILITARISM

PAGE ONE

Panel 1

Sami, a Black teen wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and a backpack, stares at the reader, looking uneasy. He is standing in a school hallway lined with lockers, and he is surrounded by a sea of other students of various races and genders who are glaring at him.

SAMI: Hey, I’m Sami, an average kid in Project 2025’s mandate for America. Good news, this is just a possible future. You can help me out by making sure this never happens.

Panel 2

An extreme close up of Samy’s face. He looks even more worried; sweat drips from his forehead.  Four faces of other students surround him, still glaring.

SAMI: What worries me most is they want to beef up the military and radically ramp up global aggressions, which has major consequences…

Panel 3

A line of army shoulders in helmets and tactical vests, all standing at attention, stretching out into infinity at the bottom right of the panel.

CAPTION (SAMI): Expanding the army by 50,000 people for huge offensives, and my generation will be the ones conscripted into all this…

Panel 4

Sami is mid-pushup, breathing hard, next to a figure in silhouette who is breathing equally hard.  In the background, other teens run in formation, and beyond them we see the bleachers and stadium lights that indicate the location is a high school football field.  Off-panel, an implicit drill sergeant yells “Sixteen! Seventeen!”

CAPTION (SAMI): But if Project 2025 expands junior ROTC programs in schools like they plan to, maybe I’ll be too indoctrinated to care by then…

Panel 5

Sami stands at his locker, holding his right forearm with his left hand. He looks depressed. Behind him we see the sketchy silhouettes of other students.

SAMI: That’s bad for me, but much worse for the world. It’ll lead to mass migration, while simultaneously neglecting all those refugees we create.

PAGE TWO

Panel 1

In a shadowy government chamber, men in suits surround a laughing leader at a podium.  Some men are clapping; others are saluting.  In the foreground we see Sami, hand to his forehead as he peers through the crowd, looking frightened.

SAMI: They want to create the largest federal law enforcement agency ever with global jurisdiction and no oversight.

Panel 2

An airport. On the wall, we see the number 3 and the word “Arrivals.” Men in uniform have surrounded a family, including a woman wearing a niqab, and are shouting and pointing at them. Suitcases are scattered about, and several agents are pinning a man to the ground, their hands on his neck.  In the foreground, next to an airport waiting area chair, we see Sami, in silhouette, watching the scene.

SAMI: They’ll gut asylum policies, target refugees, and bring back the Muslim Ban. Remember what a disaster that was?

Panel 3

Sami stands at the edge of a cliff in an arid mountain landscape, one foot propped up on the ledge so he can peer down at an expansive tent city.

SAMI: And for anyone that gets through this xenophobic gauntlet, they’ll create massive tent  cities to detain you for the foreseeable future.

Panel 4

Sami stands alone in front of his school, arm out as if he’s physically saying “halt!” to the images we’ve just scene. We see a bike rack and the corner of a sign that implicitly bears the school’s name, but we can only read “-KLYN CITY SCHOOL.”

SAMI: But this hasn’t happened yet. We can vote them down and push for policies prioritizing diplomacy, and global well-being! But we all have to organize to counter the radical Right’s power.

Panel 5

Sami is back in his school hallway, and this time he is greeted by a handful of excited classmates.  One girl gives him a high-five while a boy grabs his hand in solidarity. Another boy takes a selfie. Sami finally looks happy.

SAMI: We can’t let the danger of this fascist agenda intimidate us into leaving each other behind. We’re in this together!

CAPTION: Based on analysis in “Defending Our Future” by Muslims for Just Futures. Read in full at muslimsforjustfutures.org