'Better that than worrying about them blowing us off the map,' David said. 'And they would, too. We've fought them four times in the past eighty years. You think they don't want to try to get even because we won the last two?'
'No, I don't think so, not for a minute.' Flora knew some Socialists had thought such things after the Great War. It was unfortunate, but it was true. Nobody thought that way any more, though. Once bitten, twice shy. Twice bitten…'Still, if we can't turn them into people who belong in the United States, what are we going to do with them?'
'Do we want people like that in our country? People who murdered eight or ten million Negroes? Even when the Tsar turns loose a pogrom, it's not as bad as that.'
'A choleriyeh on the Tsar.' Flora hated the idea of Russia with a superbomb, too. Germany would have to deal with Russia, though; the USA just didn't have the reach. She got back to the business at hand: 'They didn't kill all the Negroes.'
'No, but they didn't try to stop the Freedom Party goons, either. They cheered them on, for crying out loud,' David said. 'And you know what scares me?'
'Nu?' Flora asked.
'If it happened down there, it could happen here. It could happen to Negroes here, or, God forbid, it could happen to Jews. If you get enough people hot and bothered, anything can happen. Anything at all.'
'God forbid is right,' Flora said. 'I like to think we wouldn't do anything like that…'
'Yeah. Me, too. And how many shvartzers thought their white neighbors wouldn't do anything like that? How many of them are left to think anything now?' Her brother answered his own question: 'Not many.'
'Maybe seeing what the Confederates did will vaccinate us against it,' Flora said. 'We can hope so, anyway.'
'Alevai,' David said.
'Alevai omayn.' Flora nodded. 'But can you imagine a politician saying, 'I want to do the same thing Jake Featherston did. Look how well it worked down there'?'
'Mm, maybe not-not for a while, anyway.' David smiled crookedly. 'Let's hear it for bad examples. I always aimed to be one for my children, but massacring people goes a little too far.'
'A little. Sure.' Flora reached out and set her hand on his. He looked astonished. She realized she hadn't done that in-oh, much too long. 'And some bad example you are.'
'Hey, I'm a Democrat. How can I be anything but a bad example?'
'You'll have to work harder than that.' Flora hoped he wouldn't get angry. He had worked hard, all his life.
He didn't. 'Here. I'll give it my best shot.' He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. 'How am I doing?'
'I think you need to try something else.' Flora fought not to laugh.
'Don't know what. I already drink. Don't want to chase women-I'm happy with the one I caught. And you're the family politician.'
'Well! I like that!'
David's smile got crookeder yet. 'You know what? Me, too.'
Flora pointed to the pack. 'Give me one of those.'
'You don't smoke.'
'So what? Right now I do.'
He handed her a cigarette, then leaned close to light it from his. She thought it tasted terrible, but she didn't care, not just then. They blew out smoke together.
