Enlightenwhat? Episode 4:

Enlightenwhat? Part IV: One Nation, Indivisible

“The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference.” - Bess Myerson

“Wherever you see a man who gives someone else's corruption, someone else's prejudice as a reason for not taking action himself, you see a cog in The Machine that governs us.” - John Jay Chapman

Four Friends sat in a corner at a quiet tavern. Two were in Love, two hardly knew each other. They laughed and sipped their drinks and watched a Television suspended above the bar. Under the television sat a Bartender, studying. Across from her sat another Girl, leaning against the bar, head nodding. Outside a new pickup pulled into the lot. A police car was parked in an adjacent alley. The Officer watched. Two Teenagers jumped from the pickup and entered the bar. The Girl slid out of her stool and stumbled toward the bathroom. The Bartender looked up and took two IDs and a fifty dollar bill. On the Television a disgraced CEO shuffled by the camera and refused to comment. In the corner, two Lovers watched awkwardly as two Strangers embraced. All four Friends tried not to think about the boy and girl, states away, who’d be heart-broken if they knew. Details of a scandal, millions stolen, a company shut down, hundreds out of work, rolled across the Screen. The Bartender poured two beers. The Girl stumbled through the bar and out the door. The Teenagers drank. The Officer watched. When he was sure, he stepped out of his car and approached. The Teenagers nudged each other in the ribs as they peered out a window. The Girl tried to stuff her keys into the door of a car that wasn’t hers. The Bartender slipped into the back room for a shot. Cries of outrage and despair echoed from the Television. Two friends, the Lovers, sat in the corner. Two Strangers, arms around each other, walked quickly toward the women’s bathroom. A man on the Television swore he’d kill the CEO before the mic could be turned away. The Bartender poured two more beers. The Girl leaned against the Officer as he escorted her to his car. The Teenagers watched. The Officer let his hand rest on the Girls hip as she leaned against him. He fucked her in the back of his car. The Teenagers drove home drunk. The Girl didn’t remember. The Bartender didn’t care. The Television turned off. Four Friends pretended it didn’t happen.