Update #2

[Isidor Casimir]

<img src='http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj213/Mr_J_Darach/kantrias1.jpg' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_img' />



You may be wondering about Kantrias, what we are, and what we stand for. What it is that makes Kantrias, Kantrias. Its understandable. We're new to the NationStates World. But one of our Citizens, Illusive Lucy, has written a short article that I feel should help you all understand Kantrias.



-<em class='bbc'>Cerian Quilor, King of Kantrias</em>



The Gavel and the Sword



Readers, if you’ll indulge me momentarily, I have a question I’d like you to think on. What is Kantrias? Where can we find its heart; where do we see the soul of our region? Is it embodied in the King and his court? Does it lie with the Senate and our constitution? Does it find its expression in the people?

I think it lies with all these points, but it’s also something more. Kantrias is an Idea. And that idea is expressed in the symbols displayed so prominently on our flag. Yes that’s right, the Gavel and the Sword. Of course, we all know, or think we know, what they represent, but here is a refresher. As our king put it:



<em class='bbc'>Law and Order (the Gavel) and military protection from outside threats (the Sword). However, it also represents the values of Kantrias - Orderly, Stable Democratic Rule at home and a Strong, Assertive and Aggressive foreign policy.</em>



Let us, though, look beyond these meanings. Let us consider what they say on an internal level; what can the other values we can derive from these symbols offer us? Let’s take a closer look.

The Sword is our desire for action. It is decisiveness, passion, ferocity. It is life, vitality, spontaneity. But the Sword cannot go unchecked. Too much of the Sword results in violence. It results in bloodshed. It leads us into conflict.



The Gavel is thought. It is reflection, judgement, wisdom. It is our tendency to weigh our actions and the actions of other. But like the Sword, the values of the Gavel can also lead to problems. We can over-analyse, become paranoid, be driven to inaction, paralysed with fear.



But Kantrias is not ruled by one or the other. Kantrias is the land of the Sword and the Gavel. It is Action tempered with Thought. It is Passion moderated with Wisdom. Perhaps all of us, at times, have allowed the Sword to rule us, or allowed the Gavel to control us. But this we simply cannot afford to do. Our society needs our wisdom just as much as it needs our passion. It needs our actions just as much as it needs our thoughts.



This is a not a call to arms. This is not a call to action. It is a call to reflect on the ideals of our region. There is a time a place for both the Gavel and the Sword, but if we rely on one over the other we will tear ourselves apart is a flurry of violence, or fade away as our fear of what others think about us stifles our activity. And that is a result none of us want.





Illusive Lucy

[God-Emperor]

Thanks for the update.