A New American Way, Part 2: The Power Of Legitimacy

Day 484, 12:24 • Published in USA USA • by NeilP99

In my first article of this series I explained why strengthening the economy would allow the eUS to develop a stronger military and I offered a few ideas on how to strengthen the economy. In this article I want to offer my view of what we should use that stronger military for. Once again the ideas I put forth here will be a departure from those that have seemed to run our country for as long as I can remember.

As Americans we have the ideas of freedom, independence, and justice running through our veins. In real life America has historically taken the side of justice when using it’s military. We fought the British for our independence in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. We fought ruthless imperialism in World War I. We fought fascism in World War II. In all of these major wars America took the side of those who fought for what was fair and what our society considered right. It didn’t necessarily benefit us, but because of what the American Spirit means we did it anyway. We sacrificed, we fought, and we died for the basic belief that every citizen deserves to be free from oppression in any form.

eUSA ≠ RL USA, Again
Here on eRepublik the US has stood for the exact opposite of what we stand for in RL. Rather than be the liberator we have generally been the oppressor. We have been Nazi Germany attacking Poland in WWII, we have been Germany attacking Russia and France in WWI, we have been China attacking Tibet, and we have been England attacking the American Colonies. If that offends you I say good, it should offend you, all of those aggressor nations were taking actions that were in no way moral. Unfortunately the eUS hasn’t been much better. We have repeatedly attacked nations that have done nothing to harm us and that posed no real threat to us. This isn’t American behavior and I believe that the un-American nature of this behavior is largely responsible for the hostile atmosphere here in the eUS.

I think that it’s time that we Americans start acting like what we are. Rather than try to invade nations just for the fun of it we should take a stand. Any candidate for President would earn my vote instantly if they promised to only fight wars that are truly necessary. This would be a return to that American Spirit that would rally the American people to our causes rather than divide them into bickering groups. We would know that when our great nation goes to war it would be for what is right and we would all feel the pride in fighting for it that we hear about from our grandparents in real life when they talk about fighting in WWII. I know what many of you will say, “Oh come on, it’s a game, nobody actually dies, and it’s all just for fun.” I realize that some will have a hard time approaching this with the seriousness that I am. However, I personally believe that whether you’re talking about a game or real life you should never do anything that betrays your beliefs. The American belief has always been in doing the right thing.

“But We Still Want To Fight!”
Of course the American people still want to fight. I understand that and I understand the benefits that fighting in wars offers. That’s why I believe that we should not remain militarily uninvolved. We should deploy our army and marines around the world to fight for just causes. I was incredibly proud when the eUS sent troops to fight for Australia’s independence several months ago. Admittedly that battle didn’t go as well as we would have hoped because of some confusion about strategy, but the reasons that we were fighting for were noble nonetheless. There are still causes like that to fight for today. Many eNations are mostly or completely occupied against their will. America could fight to free these people, and in the process change American international image, benefit from war in the same way we do when we attack another nation, and develop a sense of national pride in what we stand for.

Legitimacy Is Power
Perhaps the most important benefit from following a military policy like the one I have talked about in this article would be the legitimacy it would give to our eNation. We have all seen the PR machine of PEACE jump into action and turn international opinion against us. They return time and time again to calling us imperialists when we go to war with another country. When we read those articles here in the eUS we know that they’re right even though they’re being hypocrites. However, if we take that weapon away from them then we become a much more powerful nation. Again I’ll refer to the first and second World Wars. Both times America took the side of the group of nations that had a legitimate reason to fight. We were the defenders rather than the attackers and this allowed our public to identify with why we were fighting rather than question our motives. Creating a legitimacy to our nation’s causes here on eRepublik will have the same effect and will draw more nations to our side.

To be honest I’m a little nervous now that I’ve published this article. I could easily see the ideas I’ve proposed here being laughed at. I could easily see people calling me a pacifist wacko. Ultimately though I stand by these ideas because I want to feel that pride I felt about our efforts in Australia more often and I want to feel the shame I felt about our imperialistic efforts in Mexico less often. A defensive military policy that fights for the liberty of every nation, regardless of who the attacker is, is the only way to achieve that in my opinion. My next article will address some of the consequences a military policy like this one will have when it comes to our alliances. Sneak peak: Maybe it’s time for an alliance of a different nature. Thanks for reading.

UPDATE: Part 3 of this series has been published