[DEFEATED] Pride And Prejudice

[Prezaros]

Apart from the fact the wording seems very vague,I don’t understand the point of this resolution.On what basis are we to be determine if the officials and government is listening to criticism.And isn’t that attempting to influence the form of government other nations should follow which is their choice.

[Kozmix]

"I apologize for not having seen this rather abhorring display of moral projection before, and as many of the people before me, I too, would like to say a bit with regards to this blatantly ridiculous proposal. But enough adjectives for now, let us get into the meat of the matter."

Pride and Prejudice

Category: Furtherment of Democracy
Strength: Mild
Proposed by: Bears Armed Mission

Description: It is a truth [almost] universally acknowledged that a government which has been firmly in control of its nation for quite a while is most in need of honest criticism, and of the humility with which to listen to this advice…

"Who the devil is this proposal attempting to address? Democratically elected leaders are perhaps the first in line to listen (if not act upon) the issues of the masses. While they may take action only when necessary, they have factors to consider that the citizenry may be wholly unaware of. In other forms of government, the concept of "need" to do anything is defined by the leader, party, government and governmental infrastructure. They are not in any need of anything at all!"

Therefore, the World Assembly,

Aware that even in democracies the tenure of government or other public office, especially if prolonged and without credible opposition, may help lead national or sub-national leaders, government members, other politicians, and public officials, into a belief that they are naturally superior to their nations’ other inhabitants, and to think that their own views are not just the only ones they need to consider but the only ones that might even be worth considering at all,

"The reason they think that is because they are elected in that position for that long, and therefore their actions and thoughts are justifiably believed to be the actions and thoughts of the constituency/populace they represent. Furthermore, what evidence of this "feeling of natural superiority" do you have? Kozmixian government officials are public servants, and are, unfortunately, treated as such as well."

Defining the term 'the relevant people', for the purposes of this resolution, as meaning 'national and sub-national leaders, government members, other politicians, and public officials, whose roles involve making, voting on, and/or advising on public policy in any WA member nation',

"Oh, so the problem extends to people who advise the government as well? As in pressure groups, minority interest groups, fringe groups and advisory bodies? Why, because they are obviously the first to be heard anyways, why not add another reason for them to not voice their matters to the central government?"

Recognising that some of the relevant people might sometimes allow belief in their own superiority to lead them into arrogant actions, or into the passage of badly-thought-out legislation, to the detriment of their nations’ other inhabitants,

Recognising also that some of the relevant people, especially if confident of retaining power, might allow their policies and actions to be influenced by prejudice either towards or against various elements of their nations’ populations,

Believing that if any of the relevant people give in to Pride and Prejudice in these ways then they are unlikely to govern those nations in the best interests of the overall populations therein;

"WHAT!? There is a blanket reasoning of good and bad, furthermore action towards or against certain elements is the basis of all social legislation! Moreover, there is an evident belief of immediate and visible change in the nation as soon as a legislation is executed. Laws such as reservation for minorities, compulsory military service and other majorly criticized laws are policies that are believed to be arrogant actions, but are, in reality, done for a section of the society to enable them to have a voice"

Hereby,

1. Strongly Urges all of the relevant people to listen seriously to honest criticism and constructive advice, and to take this advice in the spirit in which it is meant, instead of just ignoring, belittling or even punishing, the sources of that criticism and advice;

"Absolutely not! We fear that if the Kozmixian leader takes "honest criticism" seriously, the stance we achieve is populist, which is not always the stance we want to take, especially with respect to internal land and water disputes, wars, minority issues (yet again) etc. More importantly, please define "honest criticism and constructive advice" Who is to gauge the honesty of intent of someone who is advising the leader, and not an elected representative? Also, the manner of delivery of this honest criticism is of much importance! Sedition is a criminal offence in Kozmix. While defined in as liberal a terms as possible, this ensures the lawful maintenance of peace and no simmering civil uprising. I do not see the need for the government to cater to this."

2. Strongly Urges all of the relevant people to act consistently in the best interests of the people within their jurisdictions as a whole, without letting prejudice either towards or against any elements of those populations influence the ways in which they perform their official responsibilities;

"Just read above. Social legislation are in large part going to look "prejudiced". Creation of special rights for a minority group, in order to ensure their protection is one of them"

3. Suggests to all of the relevant people that listening to public opinion might improve their chances of remaining in office;

"There is no proof of this happening. A populist leader may be seen as too weak on the brink of a war and not get elected again."

4. Declares that if a member nation's government officially states that it will regard the result of a forthcoming referendum or plebiscite as binding, and that vote is on a subject legal under both WA law and the nation’s own constitution, then (even if that nation's constitution itself does not state legally-binding referendums or plebiscites to be possible) that government must indeed consider itself bound by the results of that poll and act accordingly without undue delay;

"So the suggestions above are binding now? I do not know what this means."

5. Reminds all of the relevant people that no matter how long and how firmly they may have held those positions, or for how much longer they might reasonably expect to retain them, it is highly unlikely (unless they have very unusual metabolisms indeed…) that the sun actually shines forth from any portions of their anatomies.

"Consider our leader well aware of his anatomical build. And also of the fact that this does not validate anything in this loosely written proposal. In conclusion, the representatives Kozmix are thoroughly in shock that such a proposal reached quorum, and that it is now being voted upon. The GA is a sacrosanct place, one where real issues of human rights and other pressing issues are sorted out. This proposal is a display of the projection of the authors' government's values on us, and we are not pleased with the same. It is my request that this intended severe blow to independent lawmaking capabilities be voted against, as it is an imposition of a nearly impossible-to-execute mandate, while not furthering anything at all."

[Shaktirajya]

We, the People's Hindu Matriarchy of Shaktirajya, hereby vote AGAINST this legislation, finding the proposal to be incoherent and unprofessional. The proposal ineffectively purports to ensure the smooth functioning of democracy, but goes off on a lengthy tangent about minority population groups within a nation-state.

We also object to the unceremonious closing statement of the bill, which does not befit the professionalism required of a super-national organization such as the World Assembly.

Vaktaha Samajavadinaha Matarajasya Shaktirajasya

[New Keam]

"Consider our leader well aware of his anatomical build. And also of the fact that this does not validate anything in this loosely written proposal. In conclusion, the representatives Kozmix are thoroughly in shock that such a proposal reached quorum, and that it is now being voted upon. The GA is a sacrosanct place, one where real issues of human rights and other pressing issues are sorted out. This proposal is a display of the projection of the authors' government's values on us, and we are not pleased with the same. It is my request that this intended severe blow to independent lawmaking capabilities be voted against, as it is an imposition of a nearly impossible-to-execute mandate, while not furthering anything at all."

"I agree!" cheered the delegate from New Keam. "I don't know if pride and prejudice applies to this legislation or to the delegate of the country that proposed it".

[Terra Voltera]

While still in her World Assembly Headquarters office, an official document titled "Pride And Prejudice" is placed before Queen Kagawi Yuuki.

"What atrocity is this?!" She asked out loud while skimming over it. "The Empire of Lenlyvit could never support a proposal like this! We, and our colonies, are Monarchies and believe that the common people need a single strong ruler to lead them. That ruler should reign until the end of her life, and stand above criticism by the commoners. Democracy is not needed too much in our Empire, and should stay out!"

[Alex Sanctum Salvator]

Against

We're an autocracy, and would much prefer to remain one.
Long live the Emperor!

[Killik]

This is an attempt to force Politicians by Law to not be prejudice. If you are for the will of the people and true Democracy, you are for this bill.

[Verdrassil]

Happy to see that this trash fire of a resolution is set to fail horribly.

If joke proposals are going to be made, they should at least be made reasonably humorous.

[Wallenburg]

I remember when joke proposals were illegal. Those were the days. Against.

[Bolkenia]

"This so-called proposition is at best absurd, at worst it insinuate that we are some kind of dictatorship because the damn leader has been there for quite some time. However, when we choose to give said Leader the title of Empress and the fact that there is some people considerating her as some form of goddess, that our citizens are the most cheerfull in the whole PACES and that freedom of speech is in the second article of our constitution, we don't like to have someone telling us that we are oppresed by our goverment. "

[Kenmoria]

"The only mandatory active clause this proposal contains doesn't really have much of an effect, seeing as the government can just not say if they will consider he referendum binding or not. As a result of this, this proposal won't really affect anything anyway."

[Cosmopolitan borovan]

Still considered unecessary. why on Violet's beard would the GA be enforcing this? Just more liberal propaganda!

[Crookstan]

Although I understand the intent of this resolution and the fact that is a mild one, it is arbitrary and meandering in it's wording and we cannot in good faith vote for this resolution as we are not entirely certain what effects this will have on the IC, if any. When we don't quite get or understand the purpose of a resolution our vote will usually be against. Perhaps you will come up with a more focused resolution with a more specific implication next time.

We, The United Socialist States of Crookstan vote AGAINST this resolution.

Thank you ladies and gentleman, I bid you good day.

[Kaspania]

I'm not quite sure how this legislation would affect different nations. How are we to say what is and isn't constructive criticism. Against.

[Excidium Planetis]

"It is my regret that this proposal seems destined to fail at vote, and also that I must cast my vote against this resolution." Ambassador Blackbourne informs Apprentice Voice Silvertrees. "I simply do not see the necessity of this resolution. The basic demand of the resolution is that referendums be made binding, and while I agree that they should, it certainly does not seem a matter of international importance."

[No Name Available]

This is an attempt to force Politicians by Law to not be prejudice. If you are for the will of the people and true Democracy, you are for this bill.

"The government of No Name Available is all in favor of the will of the people to have a very strong voice and presence in deciding the future of the country. We are opposed to true Democracy for ourselves, which is why we elect representatives (a Republican form of government). Regardless of these two points, even those in favor of spreading pure democracy should surely see how this Resolution is a terrible way to achieve its laudable aims.

"First, there's a whole lot of 'encouraging' and 'suggesting' going on, but not a lot of mandating. The only actual requirement is that if a 'relevant person' says that a vote or decision is binding, then it will be binding; this does not include any sort of enforcement factor, however, so it is utterly unclear what the consequences of the Lifelong Dictator of Made-up Nation lying would be if they should violate this term.

"Second, there's a whole lot of moralizing going on in what should be legislation. Morals are great things; I certainly applaud people for having morals and acting in ways that support them. Leave that drek out of the actual language of laws and resolutions.

"Finally, the final clause makes clear that this is intended to be some sort of 'joke resolution'. Per standing tradition for as long as we have been a part of the World Assembly, No Name will vote against any and all Resolutions incapable of maintaining a certain decorum suitable for such an august body."

[Dinoium]

The thing is, if we just urge them, they still have the choice to refuse to listen to the reporters, thus making this useless, if it gets passed, i'll do nothing, thus making this null and useless.. strongly against

[Fishy Apples]

The representative from Fishy Apples stands up and asks, "This bill seems very difficult to enforce. Controlling the morality and ego of politicians is not something one should or could enforce by law. This, we believe, is what elections were made for. They purge those that have lost the goodwill of their constituents, that is, as long as the elections aren't rigged and for show."
The representative pauses for a moment and continues, "Speaking of, since this is all about the nature of self-determination, I ask you... What about the will of those people that LIKE being oppressed? This bill doesn't do anything for them!! We definitely have to vote against this."

[Venkat]

"The representative from Venkat is confused from what you wish to achieve from this proposal. Democratic countries will stay democratic, dictatorships won't bat an eye. This proposition truly has no real purpose. Against."

[Agarntrop]

People who are complaining about this bill unreasonably 'forcing' things on politicians are mistaken
In fact, all articles apart from section 4 only 'strongly urge' politicians.

[Kenmoria]

People who are complaining about this bill unreasonably 'forcing' things on politicians are mistaken
In fact, all articles apart from section 4 only 'strongly urge' politicians.

Which makes this proposal fairly pointless anyway, as it has an extremely mild effect.

[Mifologin]

"[align=]The Protectorate of Mifologin[/align] may be new to the WA, but nonetheless we shall state what we think about this "Pride and Prejudice".

Firstly, as many have said before, the clauses in this resolution are not particularly binding. Clause 4, despite the fact it is the only direct law change in the resolution, is only in effect IF "a member nation's government officially states that it will regard the result of a forthcoming referendum or plebiscite as binding...that government must indeed consider itself bound by the results of that poll and act accordingly without undue delay;" (¶ 11). We do not see how this clause actually enforces anything, considering the only action that binds a nation to the results of any referendum and/or plebiscite is simply a statement that the aforementioned country will do so. A nation can simply not issue a statement promising to act upon this clause and nothing could be done, other than stern statements of disapproval from the other clauses.
Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 5 are less of potential legally binding statements and more of strong words to the rest of the world. The is no measurement to in which to measure a leader's ability to " listen seriously to honest criticism and constructive advice" (¶ 8 ), and frankly the wording of clause 5 doesn't exactly put this resolution in a friendly light.

After some reconsideration, we are against Pride and Prejudice. We wish lady luck be to your side with your next resolution."

[Tacela Islands]

The Tacela Islands delegation will happily support this legislation.

[Wolfpredator]

*Ambassador and Princess Cora of The Holy International Empire of Wolfpredator walks in fast and furiously.

"The Holy International Empire of Wolfpredator is hereby against the legislation, our family shall rule as we see fit. The last time we agreed to something like this, there was a bloody long time civil war within our Empire. Even if it passes, we will not comply."

[Surgeus]

Overlord Surge himself sends his thoughts on the matter:
"Let's ignore the vagueness of said proposition, as this has been well-addressed by those preceding me I think, and move on to tackle my issue with the main goal of this and other propositions like it.

I run a dictatorship for a reason. The point of a dictatorship isn't to let the people choose the dictator, now is it? It's been proven time and time again that humans simply cannot govern themselves, and if they can manage, it ends up spiraling out of control at some point. I became leader to set things straight, to set humanity on a good path, and while the voices of the people are heard, that doesn't mean I need to take any note of them if they're absolutely ridiculous. It's almost parental in nature; just because the children want ice cream for dinner doesn't mean you give it to them. In the end, humans tend not to know what is best for themselves as individuals, let alone themselves as a nation. As such, I cannot and will not support such legislation."