5-09-3306: Yet Another Definition of Historical Insanity?
08 May 2020Ingrid Elfridr
Here we go: another one of my rants where I use history and a little humor to re-iterate the small things about us that makes humanity so quirky and interesting, and sometimes leaves me scratching my head while my brow almost audibly furrows.The recent takeover of New Republic by myself and my security team led me to think back on how much things around Draguan Nu have changed in the year and a half since I decided to call this backwater home. Not as much of a backwater as Wohler Horizons where I came from, and therein lies the interest and the moral of the overall story.
When bad things occur, no matter the scale or predicament, many people believe that they must turn to those in power and demand that they "do something" about it, without a plan of their own. Folks, I will tell you outright that this in and of itself is an incredible mistake. Yes, it is the job of government officials, no matter the form of government and law enforcement to keep the riffraff from shanking or shooting each other in the open, but never ask them to take control of your lives. The encroachment upon the rights of the individual will be unprecedented, and nobody relinquishes these emergency powers willingly.
Working for a military dictatorship for over a year and a half hammered this point home, loud and clear. Folks, I will let you know right now that every side thinks they're right in matters of war or emergency, and the consequent power grab that ensues always resembles monkeys trying to plough a football. Only those in power win, leaving the individual with nothing but picking up the pieces once the dust settles. That happened here more than once, and only recently we have begun to put funds and manpower into fixing what we broke back in 3304 when we grappled with the Brotherhood for awhile. Guess who had to pick up our mess in the meantime? Those whom we didn't target when we raided their businesses.
No governmental power, no matter the form or level of benevolence up front, are the white knights they are often portrayed as and that includes us as well. Never ask us, or them to "do something" without a plan of your own. The result tends to be stoking up fear as a means of control. The difference is whether or not such powers will be relinquished, and this has not happened since the days of a place known as ancient Rome. Not every dictator is willing to return to his plow once the emergency is over.