The Sandwich Doctrine (A story of America)

The Sandwich Doctrine is a darkly comic, fiercely intelligent novella that dissects the absurd machinery of American justice through the smallest possible weapon — a sandwich.

When Simon Durne, a weary former Justice Department paralegal, hurls his lunch at a federal agent during a tense summer protest in Washington, D.C., he becomes an overnight symbol of resistance. His impulsive act of defiance — caught on camera and endlessly replayed online — transforms him from anonymous bureaucrat to viral folk hero. But as the government seizes on his notoriety to make an example of him, Simon discovers that his real trial isn’t in court; it’s in the nation’s collective hunger for meaning, spectacle, and punishment.

Set in a near-present America where satire feels indistinguishable from news, The Sandwich Doctrine explores how symbols replace truth, how outrage becomes entertainment, and how even a simple act of protest can be consumed, repackaged, and sold back to the public.

Written in Shannon Meade’s signature Velvet Scalpel style — blending legal realism, lyrical prose, and psychological heat — the story cuts deep into the intersection of justice, media, and myth. Meade portrays a system that confuses order with virtue and punishment with purpose, revealing a courtroom as both confessional and stage.

By turns tragic, humorous, and hauntingly prophetic, The Sandwich Doctrine captures a modern nation’s descent into self-parody and asks one unforgettable question:

When the system eats you alive, do you fight back with a weapon — or a sandwich?

A parable for the digital age and a satire for the ages, this novella belongs beside the works of George Saunders, Don DeLillo, and Margaret Atwood — a sharp, brief, and unforgettable feast of ideas.