Zero Two Three One | John Laurens X Reader [Hamilton]

LXV: Ninety-Seven Million Viewers

❝I avow myself the partisan of truth alone.❞
—William Harvey

They say history was made. And I believe it.

September 19, 2059.

The hearing was long. Very long. But unlike the first hearing I testified at, I was fully engaged the entire time. From the moment I walked into the Capitol Building to the moment I left. 

I spent the entirety of the past few days preparing for this day. Memorizing points. Writing down facts on the inside of my palm. Releasing my stress by counting the seconds. 

And when I walked into that building, my heart was steady. My breathing was easy. My steps were confident. I was ready, and nothing changed that. 

We did exactly what we planned with our political allies. We testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and endorsed President Eaton's nomination to the Supreme Court, William Cushing. We provided an entire timeline of Cushing's outstanding performance as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. We brought up his family's history of law and gave a heart-warming story of his own journey in the field. We commented on the major cases he ruled in, and the positive outcomes that followed.

During our testimony, we gave non-verbal cues to one another: looks, tapping, occasional smiles. We can speak to one another without words, and it made it much easier to move throughout the testimony. It went by without a hitch. 

And thank God, because this was televised all over the country. Live. On every news station you can imagine. The entire country was watching.

We said all of that because it was planned to be said by our mentors. Do you know what wasn't planned? 

The night before the hearing, Alexander paced around the room, mumbling to himself how much he hates this "partisan bullshit". 

"Do something about it," I challenged. I said it as a joke, but I was stupid to think Alexander would take it as it was intended. He went several hours into the night, writing up a monologue that he planned to deliver.

And deliver he did:

"There is a war, and while many politicians are shielded from this reality while sitting upon their lush chairs in the safety of this country's borders, it doesn't negate the fact that there is indeed a war being waged. But it seems to me that the concerns of the men and women who run this country aren't of the war, but rather, gaining ground on the battlefield of politics. I suppose I thought if this war could bring any good to the country, it would be to unite its people. It's saddening to see, however, that the war has only driven a larger wedge between the parties. There's no denying the ideological differences between the Democrats and the Republicans are immense and irreconcilable, but from the perspective of the war, all of this should be set aside. During such times, the people of this nation should be the top concern of all politicians, not gaining imaginary political points. We're fortunate enough to live in a country where factions are allowed; in other countries, notably Russia, there is no such thing as political parties. There is an alliance with the Communist Party of Russia or death. They have no time for intellectual differences. It seems as though this country is heading down the same path; a clash between factions. It is time Democrats and Republicans end childish back-and-forth — it's a poison injected into the bloodstream of factions upon their creation, so we must find the anecdote. There is no room for radicals in this country. Not anymore. If Congressmen and Senators love this country as much as I do, then I trust you will set aside your ideological differences to prioritize the needs of the people above all else. But if you do not love this country, as I am beginning to believe, then you have no purpose serving in office, and I will be the first to ask you to resign."