Moving My Luggage, With an Essay to Boot
Hey guys!
Since I've been doing some of the essays in Anti-Shur'tugal a while back, I found the current state of utter lawlessness quite irritating. So, once I found this journal, I thought that I must share my thoughts on government, eragon, and the future of Alagasia.
Cross-posted on the original Anti-Shur'tugal.
Government, Eragon, and the Future of Alagasia
Reading the news and chosen tidbits of history, I came to a controversial conclusion.
Change that comes from alien forces does not last.
Let's look at this for a while. We can all find examples around us when a military coup is made, order is established, and since the people had no say in the first place, they sit back and watch. When an alien agenda is forced in a culture, there will always be resistance, and in many cases, the resistance throws out the agenda in the end.
Clear now? This is why certain philosophies worked best in their home region, and were faced with backlash when trying to "deport" ideals to other cultures. That is why many independent countries fail to deport some sort of ideals or even a revolution to another culture without integration.
What does this have to do with Eragon? Everything.
In my previous essays I spoke about Elves, and their pretentiousness, and their ruthlessness, and their philosophy, and how they tried to shove it down Eragon's throat.
But since Eragon is -in the end- Paolini, and since the Elves voice Paolini's ideals, my point isn't that Eragon could eventually dispose of Elven nut-job-erry. But what the reactions of the people is, and how the Varden could deport opposition into mainland Empire.
Now, since we know that the Varden are foreigners (being made of tribes in Surda, dwarves in...Dwarfland, and a pocket of elves), it's impossible for them to form a credible opposition to Galbatorix to support their ideals, especially with influential people with native backgrounds (like Brom or other Dragon Riders) dead or suffer from the Paolini Negligence disease.
"But Derrick_Mace!" you might be saying, "We know that the people of the Empire suffer from poverty, sickness and political oppression and a monopoly of power and wealth to serve one elitist jerk on the top!" (I might have added the last bit).
But I tell thee: "Who cares?"
People allying with themselves in the Empire to overthrow Galbatorix could (gasp) exist. And if these people had political consciousness, they wouldn't as hell want elves (the same creatures who burned down Ceunon) to reign over them.
But wait a second...have you ever heard one citizen from the Empire speak?
Shut up Dennis, not now.
But here's a more important question: Why isn't there any local leadership spearheading political opposition in Alagaesia? Sure as hell they'd be repressed, but that didn't stop thousands of real-life examples. Magic, in the end, is a science in Alagaesia. Surly some stuffed old wizard was able to find a way to establish a mass-media arm to oppose Galby!
But here's the even more important question: What happens if Eragon wins? If he doesn't rule himself as a dictator who is "as gentle as the summer breeze and caring as the maternal heart of the Oz'thaq-far'ihazan-azar to its babies", he'd fulfill Angela's not-so-subtle prophecy to leave Alagaesia to the total lack of organized political order, and then force it into civil wars when the blood-hungry and power-mad lackies of Galby rise up from hiding and thirst for control over all Alagaesia.
So what is Eragon supposed to be doing?
GOD DAMN IT MAN. FORM A SYSTEM. You can't leave this hanging once you hang Galbatorix! If you remove a despot from power, you are obligated to fill the power vacuum with a popular font to provide enough emergency-room safety for the people to develop their own unique system!
That's the problem with one-man states. If you have everything left in the hands of one man, you have every man at the edge of a cliff, hanging on by a thin thread called "The Man's Mood".
Surda has its own system of tribal federation, and the elves have an absolute monarchy, while dwarves have something close to a constitutional republic. So far, ZERO system was found in the Empire, and with everyone's deliberate overlooking of what the citizens of the Empire have to say (instead completely removing them from the equation) we have a recipe for disaster. If Eragon rules, will he be able to organize the people to work well without his presence, or will he deny them the opportunity to form themselves into a ruling system in order to profit from the state of lawlessness and reap all the benefits of the land and the people?
What if Eragon himself goes mad with boredom and lack of events in his life that he will begin Project: Re-Dragonizing Alagaesia to provide him some hunting space?
What if at the last book, still no mention of the people is made, and the only thing mentioned is the people's thanks of disposing Galbatorix, only for the second part (state of utter lawlessness) to reign due to the lack of political participation in the first place.
Just some thoughts.
Since I've been doing some of the essays in Anti-Shur'tugal a while back, I found the current state of utter lawlessness quite irritating. So, once I found this journal, I thought that I must share my thoughts on government, eragon, and the future of Alagasia.
Cross-posted on the original Anti-Shur'tugal.
Government, Eragon, and the Future of Alagasia
Reading the news and chosen tidbits of history, I came to a controversial conclusion.
Change that comes from alien forces does not last.
Let's look at this for a while. We can all find examples around us when a military coup is made, order is established, and since the people had no say in the first place, they sit back and watch. When an alien agenda is forced in a culture, there will always be resistance, and in many cases, the resistance throws out the agenda in the end.
Clear now? This is why certain philosophies worked best in their home region, and were faced with backlash when trying to "deport" ideals to other cultures. That is why many independent countries fail to deport some sort of ideals or even a revolution to another culture without integration.
What does this have to do with Eragon? Everything.
In my previous essays I spoke about Elves, and their pretentiousness, and their ruthlessness, and their philosophy, and how they tried to shove it down Eragon's throat.
But since Eragon is -in the end- Paolini, and since the Elves voice Paolini's ideals, my point isn't that Eragon could eventually dispose of Elven nut-job-erry. But what the reactions of the people is, and how the Varden could deport opposition into mainland Empire.
Now, since we know that the Varden are foreigners (being made of tribes in Surda, dwarves in...Dwarfland, and a pocket of elves), it's impossible for them to form a credible opposition to Galbatorix to support their ideals, especially with influential people with native backgrounds (like Brom or other Dragon Riders) dead or suffer from the Paolini Negligence disease.
"But Derrick_Mace!" you might be saying, "We know that the people of the Empire suffer from poverty, sickness and political oppression and a monopoly of power and wealth to serve one elitist jerk on the top!" (I might have added the last bit).
But I tell thee: "Who cares?"
People allying with themselves in the Empire to overthrow Galbatorix could (gasp) exist. And if these people had political consciousness, they wouldn't as hell want elves (the same creatures who burned down Ceunon) to reign over them.
But wait a second...have you ever heard one citizen from the Empire speak?
Shut up Dennis, not now.
But here's a more important question: Why isn't there any local leadership spearheading political opposition in Alagaesia? Sure as hell they'd be repressed, but that didn't stop thousands of real-life examples. Magic, in the end, is a science in Alagaesia. Surly some stuffed old wizard was able to find a way to establish a mass-media arm to oppose Galby!
But here's the even more important question: What happens if Eragon wins? If he doesn't rule himself as a dictator who is "as gentle as the summer breeze and caring as the maternal heart of the Oz'thaq-far'ihazan-azar to its babies", he'd fulfill Angela's not-so-subtle prophecy to leave Alagaesia to the total lack of organized political order, and then force it into civil wars when the blood-hungry and power-mad lackies of Galby rise up from hiding and thirst for control over all Alagaesia.
So what is Eragon supposed to be doing?
GOD DAMN IT MAN. FORM A SYSTEM. You can't leave this hanging once you hang Galbatorix! If you remove a despot from power, you are obligated to fill the power vacuum with a popular font to provide enough emergency-room safety for the people to develop their own unique system!
That's the problem with one-man states. If you have everything left in the hands of one man, you have every man at the edge of a cliff, hanging on by a thin thread called "The Man's Mood".
Surda has its own system of tribal federation, and the elves have an absolute monarchy, while dwarves have something close to a constitutional republic. So far, ZERO system was found in the Empire, and with everyone's deliberate overlooking of what the citizens of the Empire have to say (instead completely removing them from the equation) we have a recipe for disaster. If Eragon rules, will he be able to organize the people to work well without his presence, or will he deny them the opportunity to form themselves into a ruling system in order to profit from the state of lawlessness and reap all the benefits of the land and the people?
What if Eragon himself goes mad with boredom and lack of events in his life that he will begin Project: Re-Dragonizing Alagaesia to provide him some hunting space?
What if at the last book, still no mention of the people is made, and the only thing mentioned is the people's thanks of disposing Galbatorix, only for the second part (state of utter lawlessness) to reign due to the lack of political participation in the first place.
Just some thoughts.