01-29-2020, 08:18 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-29-2020, 08:31 AM by New Rogernomics.)
I have not really stated my own perspective on the Regional Guard beyond the drafting of the legislation itself. Though it is probably time I pitch in, since it has my name attached.
I do not oppose nor favor it, and my reasoning is as follows:
Firstly, regardless of where the pen falls, a lot of folks will hate this. It isn't a question of legislative ability so much as whether we should pass something folks will view as potentially divisive or destabilizing or alternately necessary for the military to expand its scope.
Secondly, there is the foreign policy issue, depending on how inter-regionalist vs regionalist you fall. Inter-regionalism would be against Lazarus establishing a military organization that could any way be construed to pick a side or enter the R/D and/or Imperialist spectrum - which drags in the debate on "Independent" being a cop-out for what is essentially imperialism.
Thirdly, we go into regionalism, which can have the "Independent"/Imperialist position of anything goes or Region First philosophy, which can really drag down a region's reputation in the eyes of any defender organization or neutral region.
Fourth, we have the three regionalism alternatives, a purely defensive militia that forbids any kind of military adventurism and sticks to straight defense of itself and allies, an ideologically driven military, or a military that takes no position and helps everyone in the R/D/Imperialist spectrum on a whim or by regional interest.
With that out of the way, what I want is really not one thing or the other. Though I do know where all this can go wrong and cause a disaster for our regional stability and foreign relations.
Lazarus was effectively dragged into being a Defender region for quite a while, under the Founderless Regions Alliance, which the region offered a lot of effort towards only for the organization to lose focus and interested leadership, with it eventually disbanding. After that during the Celestial Union, there was experimenting with a neutral or a bit of both alignment. Raiders and Defenders at that point struggled to swing the military their way.
Unfortunately, Lazarus has never had a military that is truly either independent or with a clear ideological purpose that comes from within the community of Lazarus itself. So by changing the Regional Guard now, we could be limiting the wider debate on whether we want to to leave the Guard alone and establish a volunteer organization instead that is run by Lazarus but has a wider ideological purpose. It certainly wouldn't need to be a new FRA of course, and the similarities would only be in inclusiveness with other regions of the same mind.
That said, I will modify this proposal and make a reasonable attempt at putting together what folks may want with this proposal. That said, if it fails again, I think that would be a clear sign that changing the Regional Guard is off the table for the near future.
Lazarus could of course take the alternative step of thinking further on what it wants well into the future, and start building an ideologically-driven military organization that is not the Regional Guard, but includes volunteers from Lazarus and eventually other friendly/allied regions. That would take the form of a treaty of alliance with that organization of course, so that the region/s involved could choose to withold or provide support to particular operations, and so that it is sufficiently removed from Lazarus as to not imperil our foreign policy or regional positions.
Whatever Lazarus chooses I will accept, as the military can be of use to a region, though if not enough of the region is into running a major military it is just a more wasteful distraction and foreign policy nightmare, than a positive activity generator.
That's my thoughts.
I do not oppose nor favor it, and my reasoning is as follows:
Firstly, regardless of where the pen falls, a lot of folks will hate this. It isn't a question of legislative ability so much as whether we should pass something folks will view as potentially divisive or destabilizing or alternately necessary for the military to expand its scope.
Secondly, there is the foreign policy issue, depending on how inter-regionalist vs regionalist you fall. Inter-regionalism would be against Lazarus establishing a military organization that could any way be construed to pick a side or enter the R/D and/or Imperialist spectrum - which drags in the debate on "Independent" being a cop-out for what is essentially imperialism.
Thirdly, we go into regionalism, which can have the "Independent"/Imperialist position of anything goes or Region First philosophy, which can really drag down a region's reputation in the eyes of any defender organization or neutral region.
Fourth, we have the three regionalism alternatives, a purely defensive militia that forbids any kind of military adventurism and sticks to straight defense of itself and allies, an ideologically driven military, or a military that takes no position and helps everyone in the R/D/Imperialist spectrum on a whim or by regional interest.
With that out of the way, what I want is really not one thing or the other. Though I do know where all this can go wrong and cause a disaster for our regional stability and foreign relations.
Lazarus was effectively dragged into being a Defender region for quite a while, under the Founderless Regions Alliance, which the region offered a lot of effort towards only for the organization to lose focus and interested leadership, with it eventually disbanding. After that during the Celestial Union, there was experimenting with a neutral or a bit of both alignment. Raiders and Defenders at that point struggled to swing the military their way.
Unfortunately, Lazarus has never had a military that is truly either independent or with a clear ideological purpose that comes from within the community of Lazarus itself. So by changing the Regional Guard now, we could be limiting the wider debate on whether we want to to leave the Guard alone and establish a volunteer organization instead that is run by Lazarus but has a wider ideological purpose. It certainly wouldn't need to be a new FRA of course, and the similarities would only be in inclusiveness with other regions of the same mind.
That said, I will modify this proposal and make a reasonable attempt at putting together what folks may want with this proposal. That said, if it fails again, I think that would be a clear sign that changing the Regional Guard is off the table for the near future.
Lazarus could of course take the alternative step of thinking further on what it wants well into the future, and start building an ideologically-driven military organization that is not the Regional Guard, but includes volunteers from Lazarus and eventually other friendly/allied regions. That would take the form of a treaty of alliance with that organization of course, so that the region/s involved could choose to withold or provide support to particular operations, and so that it is sufficiently removed from Lazarus as to not imperil our foreign policy or regional positions.
Whatever Lazarus chooses I will accept, as the military can be of use to a region, though if not enough of the region is into running a major military it is just a more wasteful distraction and foreign policy nightmare, than a positive activity generator.
That's my thoughts.
