Sober Thought
| |
| Flag of Sober Thought | |
| Motto: We are extreme in our moderation | |
| None / Aucun / Kein | |
| Region | International Democratic Union |
|---|---|
| Capital | Yes / Oui / Ja |
| Official Language(s) | English, français simple, schlecht Deutsch |
| Leader | Extreme Moderate |
| Population | 147 000 000 |
| Currency | Free Thought / Franc pensée / 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 29 March 2005
UN Category: Inoffensive Centrist Democracy
Civil Rights: Excellent
Economy: Reasonable
Political Freedoms: Below Average
The Community of Sober Thought is a very large, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its burgeoning fox population. Its compassionate, hard-working population of 140 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, Education, and Social Welfare. The average income tax rate is 44%, but much higher for the wealthy. A large private sector is led by the Beef-Based Agriculture industry, followed by Gambling and Trout Farming.
There have been a series of riots between local cannibals and health food advocates, referenda can be called for any law at the request of at least one third of the voting population, genetic research is temporarily tied up in government red tape, and the police force is on a recruitment drive. Crime is relatively low, 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 Free Thought.
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
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.)
