Messages

Needless to say, Green Arda does not condone of the divisive and discriminatory policies suggested by SSS.

While we like the idea of expert panels for more areas of governance, we also query how the suggested specialist sectoral commission would be elected?

Furthermore, we oppose the male-orientated nomenclature that is suggested for this. This shows the WTA's automatic assumption of a patriarchal way of running Middle Earth. This goes against our beliefs in equality of genders, and Green Arda would strongly oppose this nomenclature. We would suggest names suggest as "specialist group" or "expert commission".

WTA also refer to His Majesty, but these elections are being held precisely because His Majesty is deceased...

Hear, hear

Green Arda roughly agrees with MACHO's proposals for education. As mentioned before, education is an important issue for us, as we believe it is key to improving things for all. Everyone needs to have access to high quality, free education and curriculums should be set by experts, not politicians. A topic-based approach to learning, rather than separate subjects would be favoured. Both vocational and academic tertiary education will be subsidised and of high standard, for the benefit of society as a whole.
Within education there needs to be an emphasis through everything on harmony, respect, care and awareness - be this of other ethnicities, species or gender (in the broadest sense of the word) or nature. The purpose of education is to provide the information with which individuals can become caring citizens in a harmonious society.

Dear Dunlander,
You say "We just want to be left alone to live our lives in peace and quiet". A great reason to vote for the Green Arda party. Pristine wilderness and biodiversity are excellent sources of "peace and quiet". Anti-war outlook will avoid conflict at all cost, keeping your peace. Well-educated citizens will get on with their lives in a variety of ways that are considerate and kind to all, giving you quiet.
You love your beautiful Dunland and way of life - vote Green Arda.

In reply to carbon budget being costly and unnecessary - you are probably right. But it can be there as a principle, should industrialisation become more wide-spread.

More science in education, obviously!

I seem to not officially things which are blindingly obvious to me. Therefore I will reproduce the parts that I agree with and Green Arda stands for, from others who have typed them out.

"- Full and equal citizenship for all, regardless of gender, sex, and sexuality. This pledge will include marriage equality between any and all consenting adults, a commitment to a federal ban on gender discrimination in the workplace, and the inclusion of third-gender options on all official forms."

To me this was inherently part of what I meant when I say things like "fairness in society", "equality and diversity", "no one left behind". But it's good to state I whole-heartedly agree and also stand for this.

"- A community-first, rehabilitative policing approach, with all communities having wide control over police recruitment, within broad federally set guidelines. Police will be formally separated from defensive militias, and may not be armed with bladed weaponry. Whilst local community law enforcement will largely administer prison services, we will encourage locally appropriate rehabilitative programmes as normal sentences for all non-violent crime. This will in turn give communities necessary manpower for improvement projects rather than leaving people locked up for years at the expense of local taxpayers."

I agree, this is what I was talking about earlier in law&order.


"- A Sentient Beings' Rights Bill that commits the whole of middle-Earth to basic standards of human dignity, the right to education, citizenship and a family, and voting rights for all adults. This bill would also end the death penalty..."

Again, the idea embodied in the Sentients Beings' Rights Bill seemed inherently implied to me when saying "fairness for all", so I would definitely agree to that. Green Arda also does not condone the death penalty.


"- We will federally legalise abortion (up to a period defined separately by species, with advice from medical experts) and, within certain strict limits, euthanasia as an option for the terminally ill as long as they are mentally sound enough to choose it. We believe that whilst any death is tragic, it is not the place of the state to order the hour of someone's death and seek to give people the right to end the most horrific levels of suffering that some species can endure."

Agreed, again I felt this was inherently part of what I have proposed so far, but clearly I should be more detailed!

"your proclamation of the aread that concern you is of course all very well, but the WTA must request details of your specific policies. How do you propose to manage the economy? Maintain law and order? Do you have any specific environmental legislation you intend to enact? How will you ensure racial equality?"

I thought I had mentioned it in the "manifesto", but perhaps it's a case of "it's so clear to me, I may have forgottento communicate it clearly to others" 

Economy: everyone will be taxed, according to their ability, but at a fairly high rate, because most services will be provided for by the state for free. Like normal Socialism. The services provided (transport, education, healthcare, etc) will be free and of a quality that exceeds that than if people paid for them individually, precisely because there is one big pot of federal money from which to provide for all. Everyone contributes to their ability, and everyone benefits, more than they could privately.

Law and order: providing good education which includes good citizenship classes. Explain to everyone from a young age what the benefits are of working together and being considerate, and the disadvantages of crime and anti-social behaviours. I do appreciate this will not keep everyone automatically on the straight and narrow, but it does help. Law enforcement is to be done at the smallest level wherever possible. For example, anti-social behaviour in a neighbourhood by (say) teenagers is to be dealt with by their elders explaining to them the ramifications of their actions, getting the culprits to apologise to those they grieved and take action to rectify it. Depending on the severity of the case, some community help may be required.
At the far graver end of the spectrum, and when affecting more people (defrauding the communal honey pot of taxes or murder) will require trial and punishment in level with the crime. So the enforcement force would range from watchful neighbourhood elders, to more traditional officers of the law with the power to arrest.

Racial equality: this again (like most things) comes back to education. I proposed that Equality and Diversity and appreciation of different cultures are part of the curriculum. This could included school exchange schemes. If you have learned about differences in society, know people from different cultures/races/ethnicities and understand them, you are far less likely to oppress them! Equal access to government services for all is core to what I have expounded so far, so that obviously includes racial equality as well. And any breaches of this are to be dealt with in accordance of the law&order proposals above.

Environmental legislation:
Restoration of any destroyed lands (such as Mordor)
Protection of the resources through various principles: reduce, re-use, recycle
Land-sparing agriculture legislation
Personal and corporate carbon budgets legislation
Subsidies for particularly good biodiversity initiatives and heavy taxes on projects that are resource-intensive
Education of environmental issues for all in school and continued awareness through public announcements and engagement

Education, education...

Is there anyone who doesn't have socialism at the core?

Of the three parties that are actively participating, no - but are you surprised, given Exilian's known political bias?

Looking at the other two parties, Green Arda looks pretty socialist too, though their manifesto sets out a series of very specific policies rather than setting out their principles. I'm less certain about the Shiny Shirt Society - I'm not sure what its political principles are, or indeed whether it has any beyond "what is shiny is best, especially if it belongs to you!". I guess that counts as fairly capitalist...

I would like to hear more from Green Arda and the SSS on the various issues raised in discussion so far, not least because if they don't participate at this stage they are likely to be eliminated from the candidate list.

Hi,
Eowyn here. Green Arda is also a party that seeks to make Middle Earth more accessible. Unfortunately this forum is not very accessible to me, and so posts are likely to be limited. Urgent questions can be posed via Facebook if needed.

To reply to some of the concerns, the manifesto was not written to be a manifesto (no editing occurred), but was more a "pouring forth" of ideas that the party feels strongly about. However, you have correctly deduced from these points that Green Arda has a strong Socialist base with a heady dose of environmentalism on top. Green and red, like a political tomato, you might say. To give more of an idea of principles, I will give a list of words/concepts below.

Socialism
Fairness in society
Protection of our Earth and its resources
A voice for the oppressed and minorities
Equality and diversity at the heart of everything in society
Accessability
Prioritising education and raising of awareness of a variety of issues in society (rather than punishing later on)
Those who can do, those who can't won't be left behind
Recognising different strengths and skills to those usually rewarded in a capitalist society
High welfare standards for our companion and work animals
Intensive agriculture in a land-sparing way, to leave more space for wilderness and biodiveristy
Improve the public transport network, so all parts of Middle Earth can be reached by zero carbon transportation
Restoration of roads and public buildings that have fallen into disrepair but are of cultural significance.

Whatever needs doing in our society, it should be kind to people, shared equally and with the protection of Arda in mind.