Nebulous Referendum and Why I Vote No!

Day 2,764, 17:09 • Published in Netherlands Belgium • by Konrad Neumann


[disclaimer] I do not write a lot of articles anymore especially wall of text like this one. I am really busy in real life and the game has changed a lot for the negative. However, on the issue of the eNL referendum to join Nebula, I designed to offer my 2 cents.

Before anyone dismiss my perspective, I do want to offer you my background and CV. I was one of the founders of the Phoenix Alliance as one of the representative of Germany. I was active in the inner circle of Phoenix when it was active. I was the CP of Germany for 3 times, congressman for 37 terms and I lost count of the times I was PP but it is more than 18 terms. I give you this notice for my perspective is an "old timer" perspective. I do operate on a slightly different perspective and standard other than what is "fun" with war galore etc. I will try to offer you a rational perspective. But these are my honest opinions with no BS. Some of you might not like what I have to say. I know some will even try to deny the contents of my perspective. However, you will have it regardless. To understand this perspective is to also help you understand others within this community. For we do live in a democracy where rival opinions and perspective are equally valued. This is why I am writing this now. [/disclaimer]

Let's get this straight, there is something really wrong with this vote to join Nebula a weak and insignificant alliance that serves no real purpose. I am very disappointed in how this whole incident was handled. In this article, I will discuss the procedural aspect of my grievances as well as the stupidity of seeking membership of such an alliance. In the end, I do honestly believe the process was hijacked and the constitution did not intend how referendums work and function.

The Procedurals:



I am honestly dismayed by how this government handle procedure. While he claims that it follows the letter of the law, I am not a fan of how he does things. He rushes votes based his own interest. For example, both the MPP (Aussie and Argentina) and the emergency power votes was rushed using the "emergency powers" clause. The combining of the two MPP's in a single vote was not fair and ethical as the congress does not have any means to vote for the individual. In addition, both the funding and MPP vote did not have any real meaningful discussion as the vote took place at the same time as the "debate" section opened and there was no means for congress to change or have any input into the content of the vote itself. This administration neuter the congress to a simple yes or no with no means to truly modify the contents of any bill.

The same can be said about this alliance. While there are some talk within the private section of the congressional forum. The prospect of joining Nebula was made known very recently with the congress vote to hold a referendum on this issue on the 11th of June. The referendum closed on the 12th and on the 13th we are already holding the referendum in public. The government never offered the common people any information. What are the pro's and con's. Why do we need to join an alliance? What is the capability of such an alliance? What is wrong with just MPP's? How would this alliance damage our existing friends like Belgium and the United Kingdom? etc. The government never explained anything. There was no discussion of the terms. There was no discussion about the responsibility of being in this alliance etc. Once again, it is a yes or no vote in which the people and the congress does not have much information about. The people and congress does not have any real say in the issue as we have no real means to evoke change within the votes. We are forced to say either yes or no and nothing more. This is extremely problematic as we are led to believe in an illusion of democracy via voting while the procedures used are to neuter any real voice that we have to address the details. To have a real meaningful and effective debate that allows the content of the item being voted to change. However, we are being rushed with detail-less yes and no vote with no real transparency, information, and most importantly, a meaningful and effective voice. So I see this as a huge constitutional problem as the very fabric of democracy is eroding.

Foreign Policy:



From my perspective, joining Nebula is extremely foolish. There is no need for such as move as Nebula is weak and pathetic. I see proponents of the alliance evoke image of minnows united to combat larger fish, but in the end, this analogy is not accurate. The nations that comprised Nebula are very weak and is unlikely to do any real harm to the powerful elites of Poland, Serbia, Hungary, etc, even if they combined forces. In addition, the "big fish" also have mates of their own. The reason of "power" is totally invalid as the power of Nebula is just not there.

Therefore, this brings us to the next problem. Nebula are hostile to our traditional allies and friends. We have great lasting relations with countries like Belgium and the United Kingdom. However, Nebula and countries they are sympathetic to are hostile to them. The recent Argentina airstrike as well as the Aussie AS against Denmark is problematic as it requires us to turn our backs on our old friends and allies. The same people who were "outraged" by the German "betrayal" are now pushing to turn our backs on innocent Belgium who did nothing wrong. Instead of supporting our brothers and sisters there, we sign a MPP with Argentina and is in the process of joining an alliance which is hostile towards them and UK.

eNL like many other nations in Nebula will be weak and insignificant. Alliance especially Nebula will not bring prestige and influence to eNL at all. Instead, it will make us turn away are traditional friends and allies. In addition, it forces us to deal with the problems of Nebula. This draws us into their conflict and makes us more vulnerable to rival attacks. Never once do the supporters of Nebula address the issue of why do we need an alliance. What is wrong with MPP's and great relations with countries around the world? Being neutral has its benefits as it allows us to be flexible. However, we will lose this flexibility when we are drawn into this alliance that is not powerful and cannot do much on the international setting.

In the end, eNL is weak and insignificant on the global stage. We will never have absolute security as we can never have the manpower of a Serbia or a Poland. We will always be regulated to be pawns of the elite and powerful. Nebula will not change that. Nothing will. With that said, I see no reason to join Nebula. It does not offer us greater protection, power, and influence. I am not in favor of joining an alliance for the sake of being in an alliance. There must be more, much more. If we are to turn our backs on our good allies, it must be a damn good reason. Nebula is not that. In a hot war, Nebula will struggle defending itself let alone doing anything significant and worthy. This is why I vote NO!