Predicting the future?

Shannon Bohrer

(7/2023) With the belief that the future can be predicted, if a book were written several years ago and accurately predicted our current political circumstances, would anyone reading the book believe the content was possible? Just the questioning of facts and science and the simultaneous belief in conspiracy theories was unexpected, at least for many of us. Beliefs that question science and facts along with predicting the future can appear unreasoned and unfounded, yet they have some foundations in history.

Nostradamus, a well know French astrologer from the 16th century, authored a book, Les Prophies, which many believe accurately predicted future major events, including wars. Academics have often dismissed his predictions as misinterpretations, frequently related to mistranslations. However, that has not deterred believers of Nostradamus and other soothsayers and mystics. So, while academics have debunked the interpretations of Nostradamus’s work and similar works of others, many still believe that some people have prophetic powers and can see the future.

Many people like to think that there are unexplainable forces in our world, and simultaneously, there is an explanation for the same events. That in itself seems unnatural or at least not understandable. There are books on unexplainable topics for the purpose of explaining something that is supposed to be beyond our comprehension. As an example, there are several books on Edgar Cayce, who was a reported clairvoyant and made future predictions while in a dream-like state. He was sometimes called the "sleeping prophet."

So, back to the original question about my hypothetical book written several years ago that accurately predicted our current political circumstances. I am unaware of any written or even spoken predictions for our current situation. For the purpose of a discussion, let us adopt the idea that a book was written, and the writer was a well-respected soothsayer. Of course, this is with the assumption that there are well-respected soothsayers. The "book," as it was called, accurately predicted a future in which we exist. The protagonist, "IKE" had never held a public office and was a businessperson with a history of success and failures.

The book begins prior to the 2016 presidential election and runs up to the 2024 election, ending just before the election. The protagonist, IKE, was running for president, but it was believed he would lose. The belief that he would lose was compounded by the occurrence of several incidents. One is that IKE dissed a Vietnam War hero, who was also a prisoner of war. The second incident occurred when IKE disparaged a gold star family. The third incident involved IKE saying he could molest women because he was famous. The behavior he described, if acted upon, would be a crime. The common thought was how could anyone, appearing like an unpatriotic molester of women, win the presidency?

Although it was expected that IKE would lose, he won. After taking office, his behavior was often described as unprecedented. It was also reported that he often violated the norms of previous presidents. The press used the term unprecedented frequently, yet when describing the behavior, it could also be described as criminal and unpresidential.

The book describes IKE visiting France to celebrate the anniversary of World War I. While there, he was scheduled to visit a cemetery where thousands of U.S. Marines were interred. He never visited the cemetery bur referred to the interned Marines as "suckers" and "losers." After the reporting of this he denied using those words and said he called his wife in America, telling her he wanted to visit the graves. However, his wife was traveling with him and was also in France.

The book continued with another incident when IKE was visiting Arlington National Cemetery. On this visit, while looking at a grave, he asks a member of his administration, "why do they do that, what’s in it for them." They were visiting the administration member’s son’s grave. IKE also denied this, but he often lied. The lies were so frequent that segments of the press and his supporters just accepted this behavior as being unconventional. Remember, this is a non-fiction book written in 2016. Before the book and IKE existed.

During his first term in office, IKE was so obsessed that he would lose the next election that he often told his supporters that if he did lose, it would be a rigged election. He did lose. IKE and his supporters then created plans to change the outcome, so it would look like he won. They question everything, taking over sixty cases of potential voter fraud to court and losing all of them. IKE and a few supporters then contacted elected representatives from several states, requesting the elected official find more votes (phantom voters) for him. Just as the court cases failed, the idea of creating more votes also failed.

IKE’s supporters, with his approval, then made plans to disrupt the congressional procedure to certify the election. The disruption was a planned event and became an insurrection. The idea was to not accept the electoral college delegates from a few key states and to then appoint alternative delegates that would vote for IKE. This, of course, would not be accepting the votes of the citizens. However, when the insurrection failed the alternative delegates never had the opportunity to cast their ballots.

The insurrection resulted in the impeachment of IKE. This was his second impeachment; both were related to the election. Think of yourself reading this book in 2016. If the book were written describing a poor third-world country, would you believe this possible?

After IKE’s failed attempt to overturn a valid election, he began making plans to run again for the next presidential election. His supporters stayed with him, even after the impeachments and failed insurrection. During one speech, IKE suggested that the country suspend part of the constitution for the purpose of installing him back to the presidency.

While IKE was planning to run again, there were investigations of IKE’s behavior and actions that occurred while he was in office and after he left. The investigations resulted in him, and several family members, being arrested for financial crimes. IKE was also arrested for hiding top secret documents, which were not secured and were made available, probably for profit, to other countries. Additionally, he was charged with the planning of the insurrection and attempting to overthrow the elected government.

Even with the investigations and arrests, IKE, according to the book, planned to run again. You might not think he could win, but he could. The unsettling issues in this book are numerous, but the one that may be the most disturbing is that over half the members of one party are ardent supporters of IKE. According to the book, IKE secures his party’s nomination and does run again. The book ends before the next election.

If this book did exist in 2016 and you read it, would you think the content possible or even probable? The events and actions taken by IKE and supported by much of his party are inconceivable to the majority of Americans. However, it does not take a majority of Americans to win an election. Thank goodness that this is just a fictional book.