My Answers to NationStates Issues
All text that are with green text, are my answers.
Any Witch Way Spells Disaster
The Issue
In remote villages of Western Raboinia, mobs of angry villagers have taken to lynching women accused of witchcraft. Concerned citizens have come to you for answers.
The Debate
1. “Well, someone had to do it!” yelps self-appointed head of one of the border town’s lynch mobs, Edward Salem. “That lady was commitin’ witcheries left and right, turned my nephew into a newt she did! I mean... he got better, but that’s besides the point! The gov’ment needs to let us protect ourselves and rid our peace lovin’ towns of these foul she-devils!”
2. “No no, that won’t work,” says a tall, dark-haired mysterious stranger walking into your office with a gust of wind stirring his long duster coat and hat. He throws a crossbow onto your desk before continuing, “These simple folk do not have the honed skills to hunt witches or any other devil of the night for that matter. But I am a monster hunter. If you set up a sanctioned guild, then we can properly hunt these necromancers.”
3. “We’d appreciate it if you would all kindly mind your own business,” chastises Hermione Potter, who is dressed in a long black robe and pointed hat. “Our traditions are centuries old, and it is about time the government stepped in and protected us. You’d do well to build us a proper school away from these barbar— oh honestly Ronald, give me that,” she takes a carved wand from a young red-headed boy, “it’s Lo-go-phil-ia Levi-o-sa, make the ‘phil’ nice and long.”
4. “Where shall I begin?” coolly starts the head of the local planetarium, Dr. Carl deLawne Dyson. “These people, these simple farmers, they are taking what they don’t understand and they are calling it witchery. This sort of unsubstantiated ignorance must be stamped out. There is no such thing as witches, plain and simple. We need to start working towards a future free from these backwards superstitions at whatever cost.”
The talking point
No one believes anything until it has been strenuously tested and peer-reviewed.
Recent Headlines
"Kitten Fur Not As Soft As Previously Believed, Scientists Say"
"Jobless Numbers Grow"
"Newspaper Readers Demand More Complex Crosswords"
"Tourism Industry Discounts Benefit Locals"
Recent Trends
Industry: Information Technology
Fann-Boi Productivity Index +17.1%
Public Education
Edu-tellignce® Test Score +15.7%
Industry: Book Publishing
Bella Potter Productivity E-Index +12.3%
Intelligence
Quips Per Hour +11.5%
Scientific Advancement
Kurzweil Singularity Index +11.3%
Corruption
Kickbacks Per Hour +3.9%
Secularism
Atheism Rate +3.0%
Charmlessness
Kardashian Reflex Score +2.8%
Industry: Arms Manufacturing
Charon Conveyancy Index +2.8%
Rudeness
Insults Per Minute +1.9%
Taxation
Effective Tax Rate +1.6%
Human Development Index
Human Development Index +1.1%
Weather
Meters Of Sunlight +0.94%
Government Size
Bureaucratic Comprehensiveness Rating Scale Index +0.82%
Compliance
Law-abiding Acts Per Hour +0.33%
Average Income
Fyffes +0.25%
Average Income of Poor
Fyffes +0.25%
Average Income of Rich
Fyffes +0.25%
Integrity
Percentage Of Bribes Refused -0.04%
Employment
Workforce Participation Rate -0.13%
Eco-Friendliness
Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index -0.24%
Business Subsidization
Gilded Widget Scale -0.24%
Law Enforcement
Orwell Orderliness Index -0.24%
Welfare
Safety Net Mesh Density Rating -0.24%
Industry: Retail
Shrinkwrap Consignment Productivity Index -0.24%
Industry: Cheese Exports
Mozzarella Productivity Index -0.24%
Industry: Trout Fishing
Nemo Depletion Efficiency Index -0.24%
Public Transport
Societal Mobility Rating -0.24%
Industry: Mining
Blue Sky Asbestos Index -0.24%
Sector: Agriculture
Mu-Bah-Daggs Productivity Index -0.24%
Industry: Insurance
Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating -0.24%
Industry: Pizza Delivery
Pepperoni Propulsion Productivity Index -0.24%
Public Healthcare
Theresa-Nightingale Rating -0.24%
Industry: Automobile Manufacturing
Henry Ford Productivity Index -0.24%
Foreign Aid
Clooney Contribution Index -0.24%
Defense Forces
Total War Preparedness Rating -0.24%
Industry: Furniture Restoration
Spitz-Pollish Productivity Index -0.25%
Crime
Crimes Per Hour -0.40%
Recreational Drug Use
Pineapple Fondness Rating -0.57%
Pacifism
Cheeks Turned Per Day -0.87%
Tourism
Tourists Per Hour -0.92%
Average Disposable Income
Fyffes -0.93%
Safety
Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating -0.94%
Sector: Manufacturing
Gooback-Jerbs Productivity Index -2.2%
Industry: Gambling
Kelly Criterion Productivity Index -2.5%
Industry: Basket Weaving
Hickory Productivity Index -3.0%
Compassion
Kitten Softness Rating -3.4%
Freedom From Taxation
Hayek Index -3.7%
Culture
Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale -4.2%
Niceness
Average Smiles Per Day -5.6%
Religiousness
Prayers Per Hour -7.0%
Primitiveness
Scary Big Number Scale -7.6%
Ignorance
Missed References Per Hour -11.1%
Food Quality
Meeshlin-Starr Index -16.9%
My reasoning and comments
If public education in a society is at a level where religious views are taught as a truth as the movements of the sun, then education should be secularized. People are allowed to believe in anything, but religious education should always be academic theology, exegesis and religious studies, and not fundamentally teaching religion as truth. Religion is an outdated meta-narrative, and it should be seen more from the perspective of preserving high cultural traditions.
I originally thought of choosing the third option because I am basically an advocate of individual freedoms. People should be allowed to do what they like. But then I thought that the general benefit of science-based education exceeds the educational individual freedoms of these witches. These witches, just like farmers, are very serious about their faith and if children studied in both of their schools, they would be marginalized. However, it is mentioned that Dr. Carl deLawne Dyson is the head of the local planetarium, so we already have scientific education. Segregation is really wild if we have schools that teach religious things and witchcraft and in the other school, science.
However, do I think that religion should be removed as a subject from the teaching of scientific education? No, in Finland I do not support at all that all representatives of religions should be placed in general religious education, but that everyone should focus on education related to their own faith. This is because the basic knowledge would be far too weak if, for example, a person only learned the basics of their own religion in an Orthodox theological seminary which is university-level teaching of Orthodox faith. You should know the basics of Christian faith as a child, not when you're 20-something year-old. Where do we get our theologians, priests and religion teachers then?
You Got Stones
The Issue
A government-sponsored contest to find the best Reboinian sculptor was wildly successful, with a multitude of statues brought to the Ministry of Culture’s marquee at the Reboinia City Convention Center. Thanks to some small print in the competition’s terms and conditions, the entries are now the property of the Ministry of Culture. Now there are tens of thousands of sculptures to dispose of, many of which are frankly terrible.
1. “You must display all these works in a permanent gallery!” exclaims Brenda Watson, a dubiously-talented artist who placed 3587th in the contest. “It doesn’t matter if people want to see these sculptures or not, as all art is part of the culture and history of our nation. Like that marble bust of you in the corner of your office, Leader - it’s pretty ugly, but we still keep it around.”
2. “We should distribute the sculptures en masse to our allies!” suggests Gustavus Dawson, your Minister of Foreign Affairs, who you recall ‘regifted’ your birthday present to him back to you last year. “They’ll feel obliged to accept in order to maintain diplomatic politeness. And hey, what’s so bad about spreading Reboinian culture around the world?”
3. “We should just demolish ‘em,” urges construction site forewoman Maria Kowalski, grabbing a delicate-looking ceramic anaglyptic and breaking it over her knee for emphasis. “All we need is your permission, and an empty lot, and half-a-dozen bulldozers and steamrollers.”
4. “Or we could repurpose these items,” suggests your DIY-loving Uncle Tukti, wearing a pair of dungarees he improvised from rubber bands and reclaimed umbrella fabric. “We can knock together all sorts of useful items if we put our minds to it: big paperweights, weights for the gym, weights to keep doors open, mobile phone cases... that weigh a lot. The choices are endless! Well, not exactly endless, but you know what I mean!”
The Talking Point
The experimental sculpture "Overtures In Dried Fox Dung" has been declared a national treasure.
Recent Headlines
"Tourism Industry Brace For Influx"
"Latest Economic Data Shows Surge In Manufacturing"
"Incomes Rising, Economist Says"
"Accountants In Demand As Taxation Code Grows More Complex"
Recent Trends
Food Quality
Meeshlin-Starr Index +6.1%
Culture
Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale +1.5%
Industry: Basket Weaving
Hickory Productivity Index +0.78%
Primitiveness
Scary Big Number Scale +0.77%
Taxation
Effective Tax Rate +0.71%
Sector: Manufacturing
Gooback-Jerbs Productivity Index +0.49%
Government Size
Bureaucratic Comprehensiveness Rating Scale Index +0.38%
Tourism
Tourists Per Hour +0.33%
Economic Output
Fyffes +0.16%
Average Income
Fyffes +0.16%
Average Income of Poor
Fyffes +0.16%
Average Income of Rich
Fyffes +0.16%
Pacifism
Cheeks Turned Per Day +0.05%
Defense Forces
Total War Preparedness Rating -0.16%
Public Transport
Societal Mobility Rating -0.16%
Industry: Information Technology
Fann-Boi Productivity Index -0.16%
Industry: Automobile Manufacturing
Henry Ford Productivity Index -0.16%
Public Healthcare
Theresa-Nightingale Rating -0.16%
Sector: Agriculture
Mu-Bah-Daggs Productivity Index -0.16%
Industry: Mining
Blue Sky Asbestos Index -0.16%
Industry: Pizza Delivery
Pepperoni Propulsion Productivity Index -0.16%
Industry: Insurance
Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating -0.16%
Welfare
Safety Net Mesh Density Rating -0.16%
Law Enforcement
Orwell Orderliness Index -0.16%
Industry: Trout Fishing
Nemo Depletion Efficiency Index -0.16%
Public Education
Edu-tellignce® Test Score -0.16%
Industry: Retail
Shrinkwrap Consignment Productivity Index -0.16%
Industry: Gambling
Kelly Criterion Productivity Index -0.16%
Industry: Cheese Exports
Mozzarella Productivity Index -0.16%
Foreign Aid
Clooney Contribution Index -0.16%
Industry: Furniture Restoration
Spitz-Pollish Productivity Index -0.16%
Eco-Friendliness
Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index -0.16%
Business Subsidization
Gilded Widget Scale -0.16%
Average Disposable Income
Fyffes -0.35%
Charmlessness
Kardashian Reflex Score -0.69%
Weather
Meters Of Sunlight -0.93%
Freedom From Taxation
Hayek Index -1.8%
My reasoning and comments
If I had been more realistic, I would have chosen the second option but I wanted to live in more utopistic world so I chose first option. Yes, it's expensive to build more space to museums so these artworks could be preversed. But I think that the sculptures are more meaningful to Reboinians than rest of the World. Reboinian sculptures should be in Reboinian museums, because your own cultural knowledge would be quite thin if you only learned about them from pictures and didn't see these objects live in a museum. Then if someone wanted to go see their own people's sculptures, they would definitely be in museums that only the very rich can access.
However, yes, it would have been an effective means of spreading culture, but there are clearly better ways to spread their culture. Japan or Korea have not spread their own culture by giving away high-art works or ancient artifacts, but rather through popular culture products such as anime and K-pop. So I feel that easily mass-produced mass culture is a more efficient and, from a Reboinian perspective, a more socially sustainable way of spreading culture.
The latter two options were cruel and rude. Destruction? No fucking way, how much time people have put into them. Recycling? Well in a way if people recycle a work of art, it means that the work in question is ugly. How would it feel for an artist to see their own work recycled.