Disclaimer: This does not echo the opinion or feelings of the author as suggested by comments which lead me to realise the need for this disclaimer. I thought that might have been clear judging I'm posting this on an erotic fiction and fantasy website but oh well.
I find the idea of the fall of humanity not directly from war or apocalypse but from national or international political friction interesting. After reading a couple of post-apocalyptic series and stories about fall of humanity here and on other sites, and historian and legal scholar lead me consider how it may happen. I felt it wouldn't be as fast or sudden occurrence but a slow process with lots of seemingly small and unrelated events that grow like snow before an avalanche. Actions with good intentions but poorly executed would result in a situation that is where to easily manipulable for the dishonourable.
I was planning to write stories based on this timeline but that will have to wait to be seen. This meant as a stating point or an overview rather than something you find arousing and meant to illustrate how good ideas can be corrupted and how what is good and righteous very much depends who's side your on.
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A hundred years of war changes a people. Commitment change. Niceties are done away with in pursuit of survival, allowing the darker sight of man to come out. The Second Cold War began in 2024.
War, intensive combat wearing down civility exposing and enlarging cracks in society and creating new ones. 2024-2074
2024-2033: International relations already rocky continue to deteriorate as each side.
The military rams up recruitment with attractive incentives and benefits. As the best are drawn towards the military the civil police forces must scrape the bottom of the barrel for recruits.
Internationally arms manufacturing is blustered by government money, but this is plagued from the beginning as too little preparation is made and far too few resources invested.
NATO and the UN are not slow to pick up on the growing threat, but the Nations are slow to accept the situation and even slower to do anything about it.
2034-2043 hope begins to die, and fear begins to take over. Russia and China begin to push and proxy wars brake out.
A civil war funded and supported by Russian mercenaries sees a limited deployment of US troops, outnumber with fewer bullets they cannot hold on. Lieutenant Kira Mercer surrenders her unit resulting in the death of her men and the enslavement of her female soldiers.
On the other side of the world in South America while supporting government forces Lieutenant Laura Thomas is shot down and is captured. Willingly becoming a drug lord concubine to survive.
These any other instances greatly discredit women on the front line and on the home front. For many this validates the far-right growing view that women should revert to their true role of housekeepers, mother and wives, bring it far closer to a mainstream view.
2044-2054. Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran sign the Moscow Agreement forming a counterweight to NATO.
Fear is rife with the population. Fear of spies, fear of foreigners, fear of war and perhaps most of all nuclear annihilation.
Civil liberties begin to be suppressed in the interests of national security and national survival.
A hard-won victory in Congress results in an amendment to the constitution restricting US citizenship to those born to a US citizen and those granted it via the naturalisation system.
Believing citizens would feel safer dispersed in small secure communities a property developer Edward Turner takes a massive gamble buying a huge plot of land from the US government on the cheap and build a gated town called Haven complete with bars, restaurants and stores capable of housing 20,000 people. It is a giant success and dozens more sprout up over the next 50 years. These towns are owned and operated by their own corporation with most inhabitants are employees of the corporation.
2054-2063 Mass unemployment, growing crime rate and increasing number of migrants entering the country had seen a hardline movement form and grow. Starting at the state level grabbing marginal governorships and quickly moving on Washington within ten years the United Party had gone from a defected Senator and a handful in the House of Representatives to a minority government to a majority leading party implementing hash but popular policy and behind the scenes implementing far more radical reforms such as regarding the position of women, the legal status of refugees. Although actively campaigning on hardline views like blaming unemployment on immigrants and extreme ones like the full legalisation and regulations of drugs they quietly spread the view that a woman's place is in the house and that they are the true ones taking men's jobs.
2064-2073: In an attempt to grow the economy and create the federal government relax restrictions and regulation of many industries harmonising many different state laws to a national standard, this includes relaxing the need ground testing, permits and licensing in the construction industry, lifting select bans on mining, relaxing the restrictions on human and animal testing in science and medical sectors, new funding and incentives for individuals entering the manufacturing industry or practical education, relaxing of regulations in the porn industry including extreme porn and the need for permits, permitting live sex and completely nude performance is strip clubs. Employee rights and protection are weakened as are discrimination laws.
Prostitution is also legalised although solicitation and premotion remains illegal.
The Private Prosecution Act allows private individuals to initiate criminal charge against another without going through the State.