The American Way: A Restrospective on the United Imperium

Out of RP: Thank you to Nukey for this bulletin idea. I have posted the original link below here: https://politicsandwar.com/bulletin/id=33579/world-of-nukeya

As the United Imperium became the first nation to land on Mars, the story of the nation appeared to reach its highest peak. From humble beginnings on the unforgiving shores of Lake Michigan, through the lows of the Opal War and the highs of the Delta Wars, from the horrors of the 2081 riots to the triumphs to the Imperium's World Cup Win, and the greatest accomplisment of them all, the first ever Mars Landing, one man watched on sliently, reflecting on the history of the nation to which he had given everything. Of course, that meant reflecting on the history of the world at large. And to reflect on the past means we must inevitably look forward.

Of course, in 2059, when he was one of the co-signers of the Declaration of Independence from the Communist Monarchy of Canada, he had little idea of what was to come in the years ahead, so naturally he considered the moment to be his finest. A stand of defiance in the face of tyranny. At that young age, as we all do in our youth, he believed he was invincible. Staring out the window over the lands of the Imperium, he now knows the end for him is near. But for his nation? The people still hold faith in the invincibility of the American Dream-that unique principle where death is preferable to tyranny, that greatness does not come from playing it safe, and that no matter our background or cause, we are entitled to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

2065. The Communist Surrender at Winnipeg. The official victory. The birth of a nation, at last. An Eagle had hatched amongst the hawks and snakes. For how long could the Eagle survive? Even now, as the turn of the century approaches, the man marvels at the resilience of the United Imperium in those early days. The threat of larger nations hung over their heads, seemingly omnipresent. Ares, Richard's Kingdom, West New York. Like sharks, they smelled blood in the water. 

The man now thinks about 2070. Five years of independence. Ares and Richard's Kingdom had collapsed. West New York, on its way out, crippled by economic stagnation and foreign debacles. But new powers were on the rise: Nukeya, Williamsbourg, La Punta, Dreamistan, Igua-Sul, Greater Korea, and FRS. During this time, the man initially swore his nation to neutrality. A populace exhausted by the drudgery of foreign intervention was more than happy to agree with this policy. But as things heated up, the man realized something important: What happens over there matters over here. Even if we don't want the fight, by some virtue or other, it will become ours. Here was the first point of critical mass. A moment of inflection for the young nation.

The Imperium committed itself fully to the great conflict of nations. Five years of conflict. Economic turmoil. Terrorism at home and abroad. Domestic divides. Finally, a decisive triumph. Democracy had triumphed over tyranny. But at what cost? In her victory over Dreamistan, had the Imperium become the very thing she swore to defeat? The man didn't think so then, and he still doesn't think so now. No doubt the means were extreme, but the end was still achieved with integrity. For the man, that is all that counts.

For her alliance, and for her standing the world, the Imperium appeared to be on trajectory for a moonshot to global superpower. A World Cup Victory in 2073 doesn't hurt this. As the nation inched closer to 2080, more nations came out from the woodwork: Rocky Mountain Republic, the Chaos Insurgency, Novaya Rimskaya Respublika, Luna, Dauchh Palki. Many of the old guard disappeared during this time as well. Greater Korea, FRS, and Williamsbourg disappeared into the annals of history. La Punta, Austria-Hungary, and Igua-Sul quietly removed themselves from the forefront of global politics. At the same time, a greater issue began bubbling under the surface. The man reflects upon inflection point number two: the Opal War.

The Golden Age had to come to an end at some point, after all. Nothing lasts forever. By 2080, the man retired from the leadership of the nation. Roosevelt took power. And it was at that point he made the grevious error that nearly doomed the nation: Incurring Nukeyan wrath. The man glances to the right, towards the Memorial to the Fallen. He shakes his head silently. So many lives lost, and for what? Perhaps he should have done something. But the man knows full well that Roosevelt would have never listened to him. Had the Eagle had flown too close to the sun?

Of course, the United Imperium decisively triumphed over Dreamistan and Austria-Hungary in the Opal War. But Roosevelt should have known that Nukeya was (and is) not an ordinary nation. In the end, the nation withdrew her troops from a part of the world where they should have never been in the first place. A rare moment of humilitation, a darkest hour to mark the end of this evolution of the Pax Americana. Even now, the man ponders what could have possibly motivated Roosevelt to do such a thing.

Then the dark times. The debt crisis. The riots of 2081. The American ideal was in jeopardy. The nation lost its position aboard the military advisory of The Fighting Pacifists alliance. Then, the descent into anarchy. A national freefall. Fear puts the country in a chokehold. Was this the end? The man grins to himself. Of course not. The rest may fall, but the United Imperium is not like the rest. The man chuckles, remembering a quote about Americans: "We don't quit because we're wrong. We just keep doing the wrong thing until it turns out right." That stubbornness may have brought about the Imperium's darkest hour, but it also allowed the nation to see the light of a better day. In these difficult times, the nation remembered its motto, its guiding principle: Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the enemy. The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself. Against all odds, the nation clawed its way back from the pit which had condemned so many other states and countries.  

It's 2083. Things are getting better. The debt and inflation are down. The relationship with Nukeya repaired. Demeter had all but collapsed. New cities, new lands to explore. Now, the nation looks forward to the final frontier. The man looks towards the sky, like so many before him, and spots a red dot in the sky. Mars. A fleeting chance at eternal glory. The United Imperium, in the past, was a good nation. A stable and powerful influence in the world. But beyond that, what had the Imperium done that other nations had not? 

2090. The man, and the Imperium at large, have the answer to that question. They have become the first nation in history to put a man on the Red Planet. But why? Because it wasn't easy, and because it was hard? The man has tremendous respect for Kennedy, but that's not the only reason. To build a multiplanetary future for humanity? Musk and SpaceXpeditions played a crucial role in making The United Imperium the first nation to step foot on Mars, but the man knows that wasn't it either. Tremendous scientific and economic gains were to be had, but that also didn't fully explain it.

The man concludes that there is no real singular reason for why the Imperium made history. But there is a common theme, and it is the most American of themes: big dreams. Nobody dreams impossible dreams quite like Americans. And making the impossible possible? Other nations have done it in the past, but no one in living memory has defied the odds quite like the United Imperium. We take tremendous risks, and we often fall from high places. But we always dust ourselves off to keep climbing towards the summit. And not only did the United Imperium reach that impossible summit, it became the first nation in history to ever do so. A people etched into the grand story of Orbis for all eternity. Pax Americana personified by the excellence of the United Imperium.

The man now thinks about the future of his nation. Again, the trajectory points upwards. The United Imperium has returned to a position in alliance government. What is next? The man is not sure, but if his tenure as an American has taught him anything, it's that there will be bad times, but the Imperium will rise above to create greater times. In the face of adversity, freedom will survive. The man smiles as a Bald Eagle perches in the window. Not much is certain, except for one thing in the mind of the man, George Delano Lincoln, the Father of the United Imperium: We were there when all of this begun, and we will continue to persist as the others fall victim to the same fate as so many others. The American Way will never yield to tyranny or terror.