The Grasshopper Lies Heavy

"The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" is the name of a novel within a novel from Philip K Dick's legendary Man in the High Castle. It's a very bizarre and disorienting story about a world where the Allies lost in World War II and the Nazis and Japanese occupy America and treat us like second-class citizens (many others are slaughtered mercilessly). But there is one brave man who writes a book from the Rocky Mountains, "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy", about how the Allies won and the world is so much different.

My mind gets spun up at times, and I wonder if there is an alternate world somewhere of things that were done differently after 9/11. The President makes an appeal for all young men and women to join the Armed Forces or diplomatic-type professions, and Afghanistan is shortly invaded by a coalition of nations and the Taliban/Al-Qaeda thugs are roundly defeated. Consumption of oil declines as the president urges Americans and European nations to starve Saudi Arabia of their monetary base, since they were ultimately responsible for this sick brand of Wahhabism that has plagued our society. Through strong diplomatic undertakings, corrupt regimes in the Middle East fall one-by-one as our moderate allies such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt become emboldened. Al-Qaeda is roundly rejected by nations such as Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria as they see what ill terrorism can bring after the 9/11 attacks. Saudi Arabia is coerced into installing some semblance of a modern democracy. Oh wait...it's April Fool's Day. Sorry folks!