Proposed Issue on Witchcraft

[Panageadom]

Here's my idea for an issue:

Name: Too many burnt stakes?

Description: Following a recent surge in fervour, many citizens of @@NAME@@ have gone on a spree, hunting down wise-women, witches and doctors alike in an attempt to purge @@NAME@@ of the satanic. Though currently illegal under the law of @@NAME@@, petitioners have asked you to formalise @@NAME@@'s position on witchcraft.

Validity: Only valid for nations with a high level of "devoutness" or a low level of intelligence.

[option] "I think these burnings are unacceptable," says the lawyer of the recently deceased Morgan Lefay, @@RANDOMNAME@@, while exuding a slightly sulpherous fume, "My client was accused of dealings with demons, and subsequently executed without a trial. Now, I hold, not only that my client never engaged in such activities, but that even if she did, she was at perfect liberty to do so. The government must recognise people's right to deal with the satanic, and sent police squads after those who don't."
[effect] the government stamps down on those who would burn "witches"
[stats] crime drops, taxes rise slightly, law and order rises as a government priority, civil rights rise

[option] "I agree with my legal colleague, except that I feel we need to do more than combat the surface symptoms of this problem," says world renowned physicist @@RANDOMNAME@@, stroking a small goatee, "What we need to do is invest heavily in education, so that the witch-burners can realise that there is no such thing as witchcraft, demonic or otherwise."
[effect] the government spends copious amounts of time and money convincing the public that there is no such thing as witches
[stats] education rises as a government prioirity, taxes rise slightly, crime drops, the nation becomes more intelligent

[option] "Heretics! Didn't you see that physicist's horns!?" Screams avid witch-burner, @@RANDOMNAME@@, "The government needs to join forces with the milit- *ahem* vigilan- *ahem* devout in stamping out this menace to our devout and satanic menace: we need funding and legal sanction! You get the funds from that heathen-nest of an education system we have."
[effect] the government equips witch-burners in @@NAME@@ with both a legal mandate, torches and ducking stools
[stats] education falls as a government priority, religion and spirituality rises a government priority, the nation becomes less intelligent, the nation becomes more devout, crime increases, civil rights decrease

[option] "Now,I think you're failing to see the political application of this witchcraft fanaticism," says CEO of AntiWitch Inc., @@RANDOMNAME@@, "We can manufacture devices, en masse, for the government to use to find "witches" of traitors, political enemies - you name it, we'll find you a witch in it. All we require is a bucketload of money and monopoly status in @@NAME@@. That's not too much to ask for having your greatest weakness burnt by a mob, is it?"
[effect] the government of @@NAME@@ merely needs to find a person a witch by use of "devices" to have them find themselves on the stake soon enough
[stats] civil rights fall significantly, corruption rises, taxes rise, devoutness rises, intelligence falls, economic rights decrease, political freedoms decrease markedly

[Bears Armed]

Your suggestions about using low intelligence as an eligibility factor and about how choosing certain options would affect intelliegnce ratings seem based on the assumption that "witchcraft" is totally fake -- or, at least, self-delusion -- in all NS nations just as it (probably) is in RL.
However NS nations vary quite widely, and there are actually some where various forms of magic are not only widely accepted but verifiably genuine...

[Sirocco]

I like the issue. Ignore what Bears Armed said. It could do with a bit of revision, but you shouldn't try to pander to the magical nations since that detracts from the impact of the choices you're making.

[Theurgia]

You might want to find a more general word for "satanic" as this term is derived from specific religions, and is not universal in scope.

[FreeSatania]

This is fairly similar to the inquisition issue. That being said I thin you should change two things - both of the pro-witch burning positions are unreasonably biased. There is no reason for intelligence to fall, crime to increase or taxes to rise. As bears armed said in order to draw that conclusion you have to believe that witchcraft is not real. In RL that might be reasonable but in NS world it definitely could. In the first anti-witch option the marauders are granted legal legitimacy which should (since they were and are no longer commiting a crime) have the effect of reducing crime. In the second anti-witch option taxes increase which is rational only if Antiwitch is publicly funded... Where's the private sector option? Like a witch extermination company or somthing.

[Unibot]

Personally I'd like to see a "Is @@NATION@@'s Own @@LEADER@@ a heretic?" issue.

Where a Salem-esque witch-hunt has escalated to the point that the national leader is accused of being a heretic, and can either put an end to witch-hunts to save his/her own skin, deflect the argument and point the blame at someone else (a political enemy no doubt), legitimize witchcraft burning with restrictions and regulations for accusations and trials to the point where he/she is no longer applicable, or allow witchcraft and magic.

[New Olwe]

...or allow witchcraft and magic.

What he said. Why is there not an option for that on the issue initially proposed in this thread?

[Panageadom]

There is. The first.

[Unibot]

Wow, I read this totally wrong,

The government must recognise people's right to deal with the satanic

I thought you meant you were allowing citzens to kill off satanic people.

[Panageadom]

I just, with spelling corrected, submitted this issue.

[Pwnshop]

i suggest a pro-witch/satanic option

[Israslovakahzerbajan]

What do you burn other than witches?
MOAR WITCHES!

[Flibbleites]

What do you burn other than witches?
MOAR WITCHES!

Don't gravedig.

[Gummi Glen and Ursalia]

It isn't hard to guess that the guy who wrote this issue is an American, or spends too much time in American websites.

[Panageadom]

(Wrong)

[Gummi Glen and Ursalia]

Where else would such an idea come from, then?

[Panageadom]

Monty Pythonish, I think, originally.