Challenge #02137-E308: Ante-Shattering Presents...
a documentary series by an alien film crew about the cultures of pre-shattering nations of earth
this week Americans.
loud, obnoxious, wildly opinionated, and with a cultural love of guns so deep that it never left. -- Anon Guest
A warning to all Havenworlders: This feature contains footage of Deathworlders, containing Deathworlders, and about Deathworlders. It is intended as a cultural analysis of pre-Shattering Terran identity groups. This episodes contains multiple explosions, loud Humans acting in violent ways, and portrayals of open hostility amongst members of the same species.
Ante-Shattering Presents: North America - the United States.
There is one national identity built on lies, forged in genocide and enslavement, that purported to stand for freedom in all its forms. Despite being discovered by several other nationalities in the past, the residents picked a man with poor mathematics skills who never actually set foot on the main land mass as the individual who discovered it. Chief amongst those neglected parties were the people who were already living there, in civilisations more advanced than the invaders.
Like most colonial offshoots of the European area (link to earlier episode included), colonisation began with accidental, then deliberate efforts of genocide against the native populations. Relegating the natives to the least-valued land and consequently blaming them for their own oppression. Campaigns against the natives included obliterating the food-supply, excising the young from their heritage and culture, and varying degrees of germ warfare. (link to file: European Colonialism Standard Operating Procedure)
Colonial Humans in the national identity have a long history of ignoring treaties forged with the natives of the region. Therefore, it should have been no surprise that this national identity had no intention of maintaining any of the treaties it forged with other national identities. And yet... it was.
(Censored for offensensitivity: extended footage of war. Ensure Mediks are prepared and ready before viewing)
Most of these wars are the direct result of actions from previous leaders in the United States national identity. This must therefore lead to a discussion on the topic of democracy. In a normal or 'proper' democracy, the entire population decides who shall lead them based on political promises. The winner is the leader who gains the most votes and, therefore, the will of the people.
Humanity, with its innate desire to win the most counters by any means possible, has messed with this. In this national identity, this has included such tactics as forbidding certain subgroups of their own group from voting (images of suffragettes, images of Native Americans, images of African-Americans, images of prisoners), gerrymandering so that the group in power stays in power by technicalities, removing registered voters from the lists of people eligible to vote, and the much-maligned electoral college.
Polarisation of political sides in a two-party system where money was allowed as a method of free speech only assisted in the de-evolution of their leadership system from democracy to oligarchy within the span of four decades. Encouraging hatred and vitriol between the political sides, an increasing gap between the wealthy and everyone else, and increasing heinous acts by the wealthy lead to only one conclusion. A second civil war.
Ironically, just like the first World War (link to earlier episode included), attempting to stave off the inevitable only made it worse. This combined with the ecological upsets of the early twenty-first century almost wiped out the population of the entire northern continent. Of course, it also almost wiped out the entire population of the world, which is one of the blind spots of this particular national identity. Like most national identities, it only cares about itself.
Following the ecological revolution and the vital necessity of natural energy use, Humanity discovered the abundance of one-way wormholes lying between the Terran and Martian orbits. Which began cycle after cycle of Humanity in general and this national identity in particular to use them as dumping grounds following the initial spate of 'bold exploration' with dubious results.
The official end of the United States as an identity occurred sometime within the twenty-sixth century, Terran calendar, with the fall of the last of the oligarchs in a violent and bloody revolution that saw the global institution of the wage ceiling. By this time, an awareness of other civilisations in the universe had begun. Humanity as a whole began to unify in preparation for more war against a genuine outsider.
This broadcast is proud to announce that Humans have yet to find what they expected.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / TsuneoMP]
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