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This is an Imperial Opinionata, published to whatever Household would request a copy, noble or common, but specifically not pinned on notice boards or freely handed out. An Opinionata is a written opinion from an individual which is not meant to proclaim something, but explain a stance to those who are interested in hearing it to use it to further their own rhetoric and agenda. The Opinionata is titled:
But it was in reading between the lines of these proclamations, that one has to examine the words, the ideologies, and the people, and that while the content of the written word is mere drivel, that the underlying meta-factors of information represent a good picture of what the Empire's current political status is in. I have in the past been a political campaigner for change myself, both in the conservative as well as in the liberal sense. I have sailed a more hard-line pro-military and war-like agenda as holder of the Imperial Seat, I have sat silence as those proclaiming lunacy-level politics made changes in my name to harm others, and I have sat silence as the inevitable rip-tide of progress and innovation washed all of the scars clean. I am what they call a Centrist, and I like to see myself as a Pragmatist. To some I am a Conservative, and to others a Progressive. And In this Opinionata, I wish to explain how everyone is wrong about all of it.
Histories of Failed NarrativesConservatism has long existed as a cornerstone of the Empire's ruling class, dating as far back as the monarchist leagues of the early centuries, to the military foundations of the middle centuries, to the great rise of the not-so-great Iron Bulwark, and the general political leanings of Bulwarkism. Evidently, Bulwarkism is nowadays seen as a relic of a fanatical past, a past in which tyranny and cruelty dealt with disregard to all that is "other" was brought to such heights that it was almost comedic even, as if the only real response one can muster to the infliction of such suffering, is to pretend that it is cruel mockery of real-life.
Bulwarkism eventually gave rise to the equally untenable Jingoism, a political ideology built around the idea of perpetually bankrupting the nation with perpetual war and hiding the latest riots and bread shortages with pointless victories that underscore the endless loss of life to those that are so dear to me, the fellow Tenpenny soldiers. Much like Bulwarkism that was brought down by the complacency and arrogance of its founders, Jingoism was undone by the mere acts of the few, expressions of tragic incompetence from the likes of Kehlen and von Rahm that showed that divisive policies and anti-cooperation became the death of a conflict that was generally seen as easy to win, hard to haul.
Jingoism eventually gave rise to Montagaardism, or Neo-Bulwarkism, whatever way you want to define it, both never found great footing in the Empire's political class because they took what killed the last ideology to the next level. Divisive policies, or the very ideology of Divisivism showed the recidivist tendencies of domestic terrorists who engage in hate-campaigning to create a backwards relic that we had once removed from existence through the Five Family Rebellion.
These now dead schools of thought eventually gave rise to Conservatism as it is defined today, whatever definition that takes hold, whether it is campaigning to have a legal act removed that re-legalized something that has been legal in the Empire for hundreds of years and only made illegal for less than a year recently, or to go directly against the Emperor's personal wishes, by inconveniencing Him for having used vague enough language so that it allows others to press intent where there was none.
One might add that this Opinionata is in fact leaning more progressive by making a point about the falsehoods of Conservatism first. Far from this Divisivist ideology, the reason why Conservatism is highlighted first, is because Progressive ideology is not actually an ideology at all, and while it takes four paragraphs to explain why Conservatism is less than functional, it takes less than a sentence to judge Progressive ideology: Progressives do not actually have any stances, any believes, any thoughts, they simply model their ideology on contrarian beliefs of whatever is in fashion in Conservatism, because whatever goes against the old must be progressive and innovative, therefor good, therefor Conservatism is bad, and whatever is progressive and innovative and good, must happen immediately and as soon as possible for the benefit of all, regardless of the collateral damage and impact on those who are slower to adapt, a form of other-hate that is tantamount to Tyranny.
Because all Ailor peoples are different, and because the majority of the cultures continue to reject Imperial centralization, the political ideologies in the far realms differ from region to region, from county to county. Conservatism can indeed be based on the traditions, norms and customs and the protection there-of of society. But what does conservation mean for the New-Regalians, and what does it mean for the Dressolini? To preserve Ithanian traditional dress for women, is seen as progressive and degenerate to New-Regalians, while the adherence to old folk traditions in Clannadh-Alba and Gallovia are Conservative, yet seen as religious freedoms and acceptance of paganism defined as Progressive to those of the Dressolini people who praise up critical thinking and acceptance of cultural dissonance.
What is this Opinionata point truly saying? There is no such thing as Conservatism or Progressive thought. There is only Ceardian Conservatism, Ithanian Conservatism, New-Regalian Conservatism, as there is Ceardian Progressive thought, Ithanian Progressive thought, New-Regalian Progressive thought. In many cases, nay, in nearly all of them, Conservative ideologies from one part of our Empire to the other are entirely repugnant. This is why a Conservative alliance in Regalia can never succeed. This is why the Progressives are never united in their contrarian beliefs against the Conservatives who occasionally make their last hurrah before their 'progress' of returning back to the 'old days' is inevitably overturned by the progression of time itself. An Ithanian Conservative will never be happy with a New-Regalian Conservative who enforces their dress code, while a Dressolini Progressive will never be happy with a Daendroque Progressive when it concerns the law and prisoner treatment.
This is why all politicians in the modern age who proclaim their ideology under these dog-whistles of political stances, are in fact Divisivists, politicians who do not believe in a consistent ideology, but rather model their ideology based on whatever they can approve or reject in order to maximize division between the many Ailor people of the Empire. To arbitrarily choose hills to die on, a little bit of Conservatism from New-Regalians here, a bit of Progressivism of Velheimers there, and a quaint dollop of Conservatism from the Ithanians on the side, is the entire definition of divisivism, to maximize the amount of opponents and enemies in society and to create divisions between one's self and one's own tribe and everything that is 'other'. With each new step, more and more sectors of society are alienated, until there is nothing less but the end-product of a Montagaardist wet dream: A society filled with hate and anger that expresses itself in the likes of Jamessons, because it can see nothing but enemies and tormentors wherever it looks.
Monatagaard stood for a self-fellating sense of Divisivism that takes glee in nothing but watching others tear themselves and each other to pieces, and with those left behind having to pick up what is left to rebuild their lives. One of the most damaging factors in my mid-years occured there, the Sancella, emboldened by events, declared my marriage with my husband never-having-existed. It was as if society never recognized wider that our commitment was ever real, and in there, one can examine the greatest weakness of what the modern ideologies mean to proclaim.
It is now often said that marriage laws, particularly the right to marry those of the same gender, but also those of other races, has always been a conservative restrained tradition of society. It is proclaimed now through false narrative that same-sex relations are repugnant to Conservative beliefs, and that I, when I campaigned for release of the marriage-laws, was a Progressive. It is this false-narrative rewriting of history that provides the basis for division. It is Bulwarkism and all subsequent ideologies that pretend 270 years of legal same-sex marriages never existed. It is a false narrative to pretend that 270 years of legal Ailor-Altalar and legal Ailor-Dwarf marriages never existed.
In a stroke of irony, the conservatives called me Progressive, even though it was I who was the Conservative, returning a keystone of marriage culture to our Empire as the Ceardians and Velheimers who existed for hundreds of years before our flag had brought it to our legislation, and it was the Conservatives who were the Progressives, in some sick and twisted version of innovating birth-control by forcing every partnership into the same static offspring-oriented factory relation. I fought for the tradition of our people going as far back as written and oral tradition, the very nature of Conservatism, while Conservatives proclaimed me a divisive Progressive.
I leaned on history, I leaned on the word of the Emperor, His advice, His vision. Without his prompting that society was ready for this change, I would not have endeavored. Without his wisdom that society was ready for this change, I would not have found so many signatures to support it. Without his vision, it could not have positively contributed to the integration of other contributors to the Empire, and made those like myself feel like we are equal to all other Ailor, and that we all make measured contributions to the Great Way, and our eventual goal of Union under the globe-spanning Regalian Empire.
Our Empire's traditions are not rooted in whether Ithanians get to bare their shoulders, or whether New-Regalians get to wear a specific shoulder-coat to a specific military parade. Our Empire's traditions are rooted in our Aristocratic system, in our Imperial ambition, and in the belief that one day, our Empire shall herald the paradise that we all so crave for, and bring an end to all earthly suffering and loneliness to unite us all at the end of the Great Way. It is rooted in the colors of purple-gold-purple, the Imperial Banner, the Imperial Palace, and the face of the Emperors on the Regal coin that rules the financial markets of the world.
Indeed, by the very definition of Conservatism, the perpetuation of traditions, customs and norms, should take its cadence from the Emperor, since he is the oldest and last unshaken tradition and conserved aspect of our society still standing. The Emperor is cautious for Innovation and Progress, because He bridges all our divided communities together. He is never the target of political hate, because he takes the most neutral of stances that is rooted in upholding what we once stood for, and shall continue to stand for: Our core ideologies of Union.
Indeed also, by the very definition of Progressive thought, the innovation of ideas and beliefs, should take its cadence from the Emperor, since he is the first to discover, the first to feel, when society is ready for progress and forwards momentum. Progressives rage against the dying of forward thought, always seeking to find new ways to make progress for all, yet at the same time trample on those who are slower to change, though the tyranny of enforced beliefs, a dictatorial belief traditionally only found in the worst of Bulwarkists. It is said that Progressive thought is the hottest and sharpest blade of rejection: To sign off whole stratas of society as unsalvageable because they do not think like they. Only the Emperor will know, and only the Emperor will say, when society is ready for Progress and Innovation, and so only through the Emperor can Progressive thought happen without the Tyranny it imposes on those who are left behind.
This is a call upon all Conservatives and Progressives to stop hiding behind polished words of ideology that have lost all meanings in the fifteen or so odd wildly varying cultures and traditional histories of our race alone. I call upon all of political leanings to discard their ill beliefs of these political ideologies, and to come to recognize that they have become meaningless, hijacked by domestic terrorists who hostage intellectual discourse and intellectual development in favor of inserting personal goals into public beliefs, and proclaiming them universal, when they are in fact only personal. I call upon both sides of the aisle to recognize that they have lost control over the ideology they once proclaimed, and that it has become nothing but the truest enemy of Union: Divisivism.
This is a call upon all Conservatives and Progressives to stop pretending like there is an Empire wide Conservatism or Progressive thought without the Emperor and the Emperor alone defining what either of those are in His magnanimous wisdom and oversight and communion with the Spirit, or to at the very least use the correct labels of their versions of Waldmark Conservatism, Calemberg Conservatism, Pays-Sud Conservatism, Vultaro Progressive Thought, Genevaud Progressive Thought, Drixagh Progressive Thought, and so forth. I call upon all to seek out His Imperial Holiness in an audience, and to seek his wisdom in ways that many other faithful, Imperial family members, and average Regalians do every day. And if you disagree with Him, you can always later decide to become a Reactionary or an Anarchist.
There is but one Tradition and one Innovation, and He is the Emperor.
I sat, as I do frequently nowadays, peering out over the gardens outside the Knights Headquarters, somewhere stuck between the new movement of Dragon Worship, and the old world of my life as Viridian Knight, something that now seems like a lifetime ago. This, all the while covered in the latest correspondences between those that wish to declare a moral victory with a proclamation of apathy, and those that wish to declare a moral victory through the use of base and low-brow humor vocabulary. Indeed, these public rattles are a past-time that many in the Empire would deem entertaining, if only just to kill time between our inevitable droning tasks that are set out by us, whether by Will, State or Faith.
But it was in reading between the lines of these proclamations, that one has to examine the words, the ideologies, and the people, and that while the content of the written word is mere drivel, that the underlying meta-factors of information represent a good picture of what the Empire's current political status is in. I have in the past been a political campaigner for change myself, both in the conservative as well as in the liberal sense. I have sailed a more hard-line pro-military and war-like agenda as holder of the Imperial Seat, I have sat silence as those proclaiming lunacy-level politics made changes in my name to harm others, and I have sat silence as the inevitable rip-tide of progress and innovation washed all of the scars clean. I am what they call a Centrist, and I like to see myself as a Pragmatist. To some I am a Conservative, and to others a Progressive. And In this Opinionata, I wish to explain how everyone is wrong about all of it.
Histories of Failed Narratives
Bulwarkism eventually gave rise to the equally untenable Jingoism, a political ideology built around the idea of perpetually bankrupting the nation with perpetual war and hiding the latest riots and bread shortages with pointless victories that underscore the endless loss of life to those that are so dear to me, the fellow Tenpenny soldiers. Much like Bulwarkism that was brought down by the complacency and arrogance of its founders, Jingoism was undone by the mere acts of the few, expressions of tragic incompetence from the likes of Kehlen and von Rahm that showed that divisive policies and anti-cooperation became the death of a conflict that was generally seen as easy to win, hard to haul.
Jingoism eventually gave rise to Montagaardism, or Neo-Bulwarkism, whatever way you want to define it, both never found great footing in the Empire's political class because they took what killed the last ideology to the next level. Divisive policies, or the very ideology of Divisivism showed the recidivist tendencies of domestic terrorists who engage in hate-campaigning to create a backwards relic that we had once removed from existence through the Five Family Rebellion.
These now dead schools of thought eventually gave rise to Conservatism as it is defined today, whatever definition that takes hold, whether it is campaigning to have a legal act removed that re-legalized something that has been legal in the Empire for hundreds of years and only made illegal for less than a year recently, or to go directly against the Emperor's personal wishes, by inconveniencing Him for having used vague enough language so that it allows others to press intent where there was none.
One might add that this Opinionata is in fact leaning more progressive by making a point about the falsehoods of Conservatism first. Far from this Divisivist ideology, the reason why Conservatism is highlighted first, is because Progressive ideology is not actually an ideology at all, and while it takes four paragraphs to explain why Conservatism is less than functional, it takes less than a sentence to judge Progressive ideology: Progressives do not actually have any stances, any believes, any thoughts, they simply model their ideology on contrarian beliefs of whatever is in fashion in Conservatism, because whatever goes against the old must be progressive and innovative, therefor good, therefor Conservatism is bad, and whatever is progressive and innovative and good, must happen immediately and as soon as possible for the benefit of all, regardless of the collateral damage and impact on those who are slower to adapt, a form of other-hate that is tantamount to Tyranny.
Divisivism, the Hidden Killer
I propose instead that both political ideologies are dead before they are even conceived because of one very deceiving reality that everyone likes to ignore: Ailordom was never whole, and it never will be, we will and are forever a gathering of people from different corners of the world with their own traditions, customs and values. We are unified in our vision and dedication to the Great Way, but disagree on the right place of a soup-spoon in relation to the wine-glass, or the height of our trousers on our waist. To juxtapose Conservatism and Progressive thought here: Conservatism stands for the perpetuation of tradition, to oppose innovation, while Progressives, the very contrarians of our society, simply take the opposite stance, because of some ill-conceived notion that all forms of innovation are beneficial. Because all Ailor peoples are different, and because the majority of the cultures continue to reject Imperial centralization, the political ideologies in the far realms differ from region to region, from county to county. Conservatism can indeed be based on the traditions, norms and customs and the protection there-of of society. But what does conservation mean for the New-Regalians, and what does it mean for the Dressolini? To preserve Ithanian traditional dress for women, is seen as progressive and degenerate to New-Regalians, while the adherence to old folk traditions in Clannadh-Alba and Gallovia are Conservative, yet seen as religious freedoms and acceptance of paganism defined as Progressive to those of the Dressolini people who praise up critical thinking and acceptance of cultural dissonance.
What is this Opinionata point truly saying? There is no such thing as Conservatism or Progressive thought. There is only Ceardian Conservatism, Ithanian Conservatism, New-Regalian Conservatism, as there is Ceardian Progressive thought, Ithanian Progressive thought, New-Regalian Progressive thought. In many cases, nay, in nearly all of them, Conservative ideologies from one part of our Empire to the other are entirely repugnant. This is why a Conservative alliance in Regalia can never succeed. This is why the Progressives are never united in their contrarian beliefs against the Conservatives who occasionally make their last hurrah before their 'progress' of returning back to the 'old days' is inevitably overturned by the progression of time itself. An Ithanian Conservative will never be happy with a New-Regalian Conservative who enforces their dress code, while a Dressolini Progressive will never be happy with a Daendroque Progressive when it concerns the law and prisoner treatment.
This is why all politicians in the modern age who proclaim their ideology under these dog-whistles of political stances, are in fact Divisivists, politicians who do not believe in a consistent ideology, but rather model their ideology based on whatever they can approve or reject in order to maximize division between the many Ailor people of the Empire. To arbitrarily choose hills to die on, a little bit of Conservatism from New-Regalians here, a bit of Progressivism of Velheimers there, and a quaint dollop of Conservatism from the Ithanians on the side, is the entire definition of divisivism, to maximize the amount of opponents and enemies in society and to create divisions between one's self and one's own tribe and everything that is 'other'. With each new step, more and more sectors of society are alienated, until there is nothing less but the end-product of a Montagaardist wet dream: A society filled with hate and anger that expresses itself in the likes of Jamessons, because it can see nothing but enemies and tormentors wherever it looks.
My Journey with Ideology
There is a hidden truth to why ideologies fail, and why Conservatism and Progressive Thought have never managed to unify and galvanize in the Empire. Why they have always made a step forward, only to make 3 steps backwards, and make everyone feel more poisoned at the end. I wish to examine this in my Opinionata, by examining my own journey with Ideology. As Emperor, I permitted Montagaardism to take hold of politics, I was silent while Montagaard tore down institutions and made the Regalian Empire weak, by expelling our intellectuals, by mal-treating our charitables, and by rejecting our innovations. Monatagaard stood for a self-fellating sense of Divisivism that takes glee in nothing but watching others tear themselves and each other to pieces, and with those left behind having to pick up what is left to rebuild their lives. One of the most damaging factors in my mid-years occured there, the Sancella, emboldened by events, declared my marriage with my husband never-having-existed. It was as if society never recognized wider that our commitment was ever real, and in there, one can examine the greatest weakness of what the modern ideologies mean to proclaim.
It is now often said that marriage laws, particularly the right to marry those of the same gender, but also those of other races, has always been a conservative restrained tradition of society. It is proclaimed now through false narrative that same-sex relations are repugnant to Conservative beliefs, and that I, when I campaigned for release of the marriage-laws, was a Progressive. It is this false-narrative rewriting of history that provides the basis for division. It is Bulwarkism and all subsequent ideologies that pretend 270 years of legal same-sex marriages never existed. It is a false narrative to pretend that 270 years of legal Ailor-Altalar and legal Ailor-Dwarf marriages never existed.
In a stroke of irony, the conservatives called me Progressive, even though it was I who was the Conservative, returning a keystone of marriage culture to our Empire as the Ceardians and Velheimers who existed for hundreds of years before our flag had brought it to our legislation, and it was the Conservatives who were the Progressives, in some sick and twisted version of innovating birth-control by forcing every partnership into the same static offspring-oriented factory relation. I fought for the tradition of our people going as far back as written and oral tradition, the very nature of Conservatism, while Conservatives proclaimed me a divisive Progressive.
I leaned on history, I leaned on the word of the Emperor, His advice, His vision. Without his prompting that society was ready for this change, I would not have endeavored. Without his wisdom that society was ready for this change, I would not have found so many signatures to support it. Without his vision, it could not have positively contributed to the integration of other contributors to the Empire, and made those like myself feel like we are equal to all other Ailor, and that we all make measured contributions to the Great Way, and our eventual goal of Union under the globe-spanning Regalian Empire.
The Emperor's Salvation
All of these other ideologies will always fail, because they lack the central unifying power of Imperial Ideology, an Ideology that roots itself in the thoughts and wills of the Emperor. The concept of Imperial culture is scary to many, bare the thought of wearing too much black, or the idea of a gender-divided society where all fulfill their role of maximum efficiency. Rid one's self of all this clutter and side-information meant to dress up the core concept of what Imperialism stands for: To look to the Emperor as the single unifying aspect. Through all Conservative and Progressive thought, even though all Divisivist tendencies, there is but one permanent and ever-enduring factor that has existed for over 300 years: The Emperor. Our Empire's traditions are not rooted in whether Ithanians get to bare their shoulders, or whether New-Regalians get to wear a specific shoulder-coat to a specific military parade. Our Empire's traditions are rooted in our Aristocratic system, in our Imperial ambition, and in the belief that one day, our Empire shall herald the paradise that we all so crave for, and bring an end to all earthly suffering and loneliness to unite us all at the end of the Great Way. It is rooted in the colors of purple-gold-purple, the Imperial Banner, the Imperial Palace, and the face of the Emperors on the Regal coin that rules the financial markets of the world.
Indeed, by the very definition of Conservatism, the perpetuation of traditions, customs and norms, should take its cadence from the Emperor, since he is the oldest and last unshaken tradition and conserved aspect of our society still standing. The Emperor is cautious for Innovation and Progress, because He bridges all our divided communities together. He is never the target of political hate, because he takes the most neutral of stances that is rooted in upholding what we once stood for, and shall continue to stand for: Our core ideologies of Union.
Indeed also, by the very definition of Progressive thought, the innovation of ideas and beliefs, should take its cadence from the Emperor, since he is the first to discover, the first to feel, when society is ready for progress and forwards momentum. Progressives rage against the dying of forward thought, always seeking to find new ways to make progress for all, yet at the same time trample on those who are slower to change, though the tyranny of enforced beliefs, a dictatorial belief traditionally only found in the worst of Bulwarkists. It is said that Progressive thought is the hottest and sharpest blade of rejection: To sign off whole stratas of society as unsalvageable because they do not think like they. Only the Emperor will know, and only the Emperor will say, when society is ready for Progress and Innovation, and so only through the Emperor can Progressive thought happen without the Tyranny it imposes on those who are left behind.
Concluding my Thoughts
What this Opinionata means to proclaim, is that the Emperor should be the only valid political standpoint for Empire wide-Conservatism, and Empire-wide Progressive Thought. Only the Emperor is the truest of Conservative symbols, and only the Emperor knows when the Empire is ready for innovation and progress, and when society can handle forward momentum out of stagnation. This is a call upon all Conservatives and Progressives to stop hiding behind polished words of ideology that have lost all meanings in the fifteen or so odd wildly varying cultures and traditional histories of our race alone. I call upon all of political leanings to discard their ill beliefs of these political ideologies, and to come to recognize that they have become meaningless, hijacked by domestic terrorists who hostage intellectual discourse and intellectual development in favor of inserting personal goals into public beliefs, and proclaiming them universal, when they are in fact only personal. I call upon both sides of the aisle to recognize that they have lost control over the ideology they once proclaimed, and that it has become nothing but the truest enemy of Union: Divisivism.
This is a call upon all Conservatives and Progressives to stop pretending like there is an Empire wide Conservatism or Progressive thought without the Emperor and the Emperor alone defining what either of those are in His magnanimous wisdom and oversight and communion with the Spirit, or to at the very least use the correct labels of their versions of Waldmark Conservatism, Calemberg Conservatism, Pays-Sud Conservatism, Vultaro Progressive Thought, Genevaud Progressive Thought, Drixagh Progressive Thought, and so forth. I call upon all to seek out His Imperial Holiness in an audience, and to seek his wisdom in ways that many other faithful, Imperial family members, and average Regalians do every day. And if you disagree with Him, you can always later decide to become a Reactionary or an Anarchist.
Fight against Divisivism, I implore you. It has utterly taken hostage the very fabric of our Politics.
~Cedromar II Kade
~Cedromar II Kade
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