Difference between revisions of "Sober Thought"

Revision as of 21:00, 17 May 2005

Sober Thought

Flag of Sober Thought
Motto: We are extreme in our moderation
IDU regional only / Seulement celle de l'IDU / Nur der Region
Region	International Democratic Union
Capital	Yes / Oui / Ja
Official Language(s)	English, français simple, schlecht Deutsch
Leader	Extreme Moderate
Population	431 000 000
Currency	Denkmark
NS Sunset XML

The Community of Sober Thought was created in February 2005 for the NationStates game.

This page includes the gameplay of Sober Thought. For a description of the values, goals and aptitudes of the real life person who created this country, see Sober Thought real. For a discription of the fictional structure of the NS nation, see Sober Thought game.

NationStates entry as of 17 May 2005

UN Category: Inoffensive Centrist Democracy
Civil Rights: Excellent
Economy: Reasonable
Political Freedoms: Below Average

Location: International Democratic Union

The Community of Sober Thought is a huge, safe nation, renowned for its devotion to social welfare. Its compassionate population of 431 million have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, the Environment, and Public Transport. The average income tax rate is 91%. A large private sector is dominated by the Beef-Based Agriculture industry.

The nation has an international reputation for compassion, cars are banned, there have been a series of riots between local cannibals and health food advocates, and parents live in fear of governmental 'child protection' squads. Crime is well under control, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Sober Thought's national animal is the fox, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its currency is the Denkmark.

See: http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/target=display_nation/nation=Sober_Thought for an always-up-to-date information page on the nation Sober Thought

Regional and world rankings for Sober Thought

14 March 2005: 7th and 58,651st for Largest Timber Woodchipping Industry
18 March 2005: 15th and 76,955th for Highest Average Tax Rates
21 March 2005: 16th and 42,297th for Smartest Citizens
22 March 2005: 16th and 95,019th for Best Weather
24 March 2005: 7th and 46,113th for Largest Insurance Industry
25 March 2005: 11th and 28,174th for Nudest (sic)
26 March 2005: 16th and 85,600th for Healthiest Nations
29 March 2005: 13th and 57,359th for Highest Average Tax Rates
30 March 2005: 17th and 122,856th for Most Extreme Nations
5 April 2005: 5th and 28,673rd for Largest Trout Fishing Sector
13 April 2005: 14th and 35,514th for Most Cultured

Falling church attendance daily issue

Religious professionals and fanatic hermits across Sober Thought have been drawing increasingly animated attention to the decreasing levels of church attendance among the population. The Debate

1. "The apathy of Sober Thought's people towards their religious duties to God is abysmal," rumbles a man known only as 'The Hierophant' as he brandishes his holy book at you. "If we don't rectify this problem immediately the ground shalt quake, the sky shalt turn blood-red, and the fields shalt turn to offal. The government must make religious attendance compulsory before all the land is damned to an eternity in the Netherworld!" (Forced faith is not faith, so not acceptable to me.)

2. "Compulsory church attendance is not the answer to this problem," says swami Zeke Mistletoe in between spells of meditation. "There are many ways to enlightenment and it would be wrong for the government to enforce any one of them so, instead, we must divert some of the money we spend on meaningless economic pursuits into funding an awareness campaign to help people discover their true religious identity. We must establish temples, mosques, and hermitages so people can find out which path to their spirituality is right for them." (Church and state need to be keep apart for the good of both, so not acceptable to me.)

3. "I reckon you could just ignore these zealots and scrap any government funding we still have going into religion," says Elizabeth Spirit, author of the wildly unpopular book 'Face It, There Is No Afterlife'. "I can't believe that modern thinkers like you and me are still tying ourselves down with outmoded and outdated concepts like the 'soul' or 'God'. Just drop all funding and give everyone a bit of a tax break. At least then we can be a bit richer before the long infinite void of oblivion at the end of our small, feeble, insignificant little lives." (Although the tongue-in-cheek colourful phrases mask it, this is the only option that is really about separation of church and state.)