the burden we have borne // maya fel {speech}
Jun 8, 2017 15:18:40 GMT -5
Post by lance on Jun 8, 2017 15:18:40 GMT -5
"My friends, family, and fellow citizens of District Eleven, I thank you all for joining me and my competitors on this fine afternoon."
She stood, the last of five yet utterly determined not to be the least. She had not come this far, not given up her quiet family life for a world of political maneuvering to be the footnote of someone else's success story.
"Today, we stand on the tail end of one of our greatest success stories of our history," she began. "Katelyn Persimmon was a woman that you see once or twice in a generation, a woman whose unbending will for survival and raw tactical genius turned us from an often overlooked backwater into the first district in recent history to bring home the Victor's crown not once, not twice, but three times in a row."
It was risky business, bringing her up now, and riskier still to her status as a non-threatening figure to Capitol society to mention their improbable string of victories that were still so fresh in so many people's minds.
But what was to come next was even riskier.
"I never knew her myself, but I respected her. She was a young woman who I saw a lot of myself in at her age - one full of passion and fire, one who would stop at nothing to do what she thought needed to be done. She was a gift to the entire district, for she almost singlehandedly treated us to three years of plenty that we had never before experienced."
Pause.
"But in the end, I believe that what had once been the greatest gift to grace our homes in the last decade ultimately transformed into the greatest threat to our safety, as well."
She ignored the shocked murmuring that emerged from the mob - even Katelyn hadn't been infallible, and the public had to realize that.
"Think about it for a moment," she urged. "By no means were we well off before her victory and subsequent mentoring successes. But after our honeymoon period expired, after the reapings of two boys related to our Victors in back-to-back years, after targets were placed on our boys and girls in the Games year after year, we find ourselves in another dilemma.
Another pause.
"Katelyn made us great for a short period of time, there's no denying that. No one district had ever won three times in a row before us - not One, not Two, not Four, not even Twelve during Arbor Halt's prime. But doing so resulted in a terrible price." She resisted the urge to glance over to the two youngest members of her competition. "How many of our sons and daughters are now condemned to an irreversible fate because of three years of greatness? How many more times will we let delusions of grandeur blind us from the bigger picture before we learn our lesson?"
Pause, and a breath.
"Being great in this world is a misnomer. We can aim for the stars with all our might, pour all our efforts into reclaiming the greatness that was won and lost with Katelyn Persimmon."
Pause.
"Or, we can survive."
A call for peace, a rational counter to the radical views of at least a couple of her counterparts.
"What point is there to being great if what comes after is just as bad as what came first? What point is there to ensuring the grandeur of a few is upheld at the cost of the many?"
For the first time, a hint of a smile crept across her face.
"I had the same start as so many of you did back in the day - a child working in the fields and climbing around the orchards from a young age to ensure the survival of the many."
The smile reached her eyes. "I got lucky after that. I met the woman of my dreams and received the blessing of motherhood five times over. Without them, I would never have been able to do any of this - to give to the community that I consider extensions of my own family.
"I got very lucky," she repeated. "And I want to share it with each and every one of you. We all deserve a home where we can live happily, with no fear of not having enough to eat and no fear of the Hunger Games being a certain death sentence for our children. And if I win this election, then I swear that I will do everything in my power to make that a reality."
She stood, the last of five yet utterly determined not to be the least. She had not come this far, not given up her quiet family life for a world of political maneuvering to be the footnote of someone else's success story.
"Today, we stand on the tail end of one of our greatest success stories of our history," she began. "Katelyn Persimmon was a woman that you see once or twice in a generation, a woman whose unbending will for survival and raw tactical genius turned us from an often overlooked backwater into the first district in recent history to bring home the Victor's crown not once, not twice, but three times in a row."
It was risky business, bringing her up now, and riskier still to her status as a non-threatening figure to Capitol society to mention their improbable string of victories that were still so fresh in so many people's minds.
But what was to come next was even riskier.
"I never knew her myself, but I respected her. She was a young woman who I saw a lot of myself in at her age - one full of passion and fire, one who would stop at nothing to do what she thought needed to be done. She was a gift to the entire district, for she almost singlehandedly treated us to three years of plenty that we had never before experienced."
Pause.
"But in the end, I believe that what had once been the greatest gift to grace our homes in the last decade ultimately transformed into the greatest threat to our safety, as well."
She ignored the shocked murmuring that emerged from the mob - even Katelyn hadn't been infallible, and the public had to realize that.
"Think about it for a moment," she urged. "By no means were we well off before her victory and subsequent mentoring successes. But after our honeymoon period expired, after the reapings of two boys related to our Victors in back-to-back years, after targets were placed on our boys and girls in the Games year after year, we find ourselves in another dilemma.
Another pause.
"Katelyn made us great for a short period of time, there's no denying that. No one district had ever won three times in a row before us - not One, not Two, not Four, not even Twelve during Arbor Halt's prime. But doing so resulted in a terrible price." She resisted the urge to glance over to the two youngest members of her competition. "How many of our sons and daughters are now condemned to an irreversible fate because of three years of greatness? How many more times will we let delusions of grandeur blind us from the bigger picture before we learn our lesson?"
Pause, and a breath.
"Being great in this world is a misnomer. We can aim for the stars with all our might, pour all our efforts into reclaiming the greatness that was won and lost with Katelyn Persimmon."
Pause.
"Or, we can survive."
A call for peace, a rational counter to the radical views of at least a couple of her counterparts.
"What point is there to being great if what comes after is just as bad as what came first? What point is there to ensuring the grandeur of a few is upheld at the cost of the many?"
For the first time, a hint of a smile crept across her face.
"I had the same start as so many of you did back in the day - a child working in the fields and climbing around the orchards from a young age to ensure the survival of the many."
The smile reached her eyes. "I got lucky after that. I met the woman of my dreams and received the blessing of motherhood five times over. Without them, I would never have been able to do any of this - to give to the community that I consider extensions of my own family.
"I got very lucky," she repeated. "And I want to share it with each and every one of you. We all deserve a home where we can live happily, with no fear of not having enough to eat and no fear of the Hunger Games being a certain death sentence for our children. And if I win this election, then I swear that I will do everything in my power to make that a reality."
m a y a f e l
