10-25-2019, 12:35 AM
Excerpts from the Debates of the Fourth Round of the Great Selection of 2019
On matters of security and national defense:
Xocolcōza: "The answer to our security problems doesn't lie in merely expanding the military or ASI; that's an old-school and old-tech answer. We can't make everyone in Xiomera a cop or a soldier. Technology provides us the answer. By expanding the existing surveillance, information-gathering and threat prediction systems we have in place, and making them better and faster, we can provide the real-time information to prevent security threats. Don't make ASI bigger, make it smarter. As for the military, again, we have no business trying to wage an arms race; we are one of the smallest nations in the IDU and will never win that way. But with technology, we can make our military so advanced that no nation, even ones much larger than ours, would dare risk attacking Xiomera because of the collateral damage and risk they would face. All nations, before going to war, make a simple calculation, and it's not even if they can win the war or not. It is this: is this worth what it will cost us to win the war? Cost, in lives and treasure, is just as effective a deterrent as all the bombs and guns in the world. If we make the Xiomeran armed forces the most advanced in the IDU, trust me, no one will want to take the risk, and the losses, of attacking us."
Tepilcayotl: "As the Secretary of Security, I know better than anyone the dangers that face Xiomera. We face hostility from nations abroad, meddling in our internal affairs by foreigners meant to stir unrest, and domestic terrorists who seek to use violence and sedition to promote their own agendas to the harm of the Xiomeran nation. As I have demonstrated on Manauia Island, I can and will take the necessary measures to keep Xiomerans safe and the Empire whole. As Emperor, I will expand the security forces. Some of my opponents claim that technology alone can solve the security woes we face. And technology is indeed essential to the task, but you also need people on the ground with the training, the support, and the will to do whatever it takes to keep our people safe. More ASI agents are urgently needed to maintain our security. To deter foreign interests who seek to meddle in Xiomera, I will also expand the armed forces. The Imperial Navy should be the dominant force on the seas of Catica, but it is not. The Imperial Air Force should rule the skies over Catica, but it does not. This will change under my rule; I will expand the Navy and the Air Force to ensure that no one will dare to consider our backyard their playground ever again. A nation that cannot secure its borders, maintain security within them, and deter and defeat threats from its seas and skies is not a nation at all. Xiomera will not remain in that state once I become Emperor."
Yauhmi: "The answer isn't only to make our armed forces and our security forces larger; certainly we must do that. But we must also make them smarter, more efficient, and more effective. Both of my opponents who spoke earlier only have it half right. We do need more people to protect us, but we must also give them what it takes to protect us. As Empress, I will implement a truly complete and integrated security and defense plan that will utilize both cutting edge technology and sufficient numbers. A truly advanced Navy capable of defending Xiomeran interests anywhere in the IDU, an Air Force that can strike at our enemies anywhere they may hide, and ground forces that can win the day on the battlefield; that will be what I bring Xiomera as Empress. In addition, we must remember that no nation can do it all alone. I will work to make our allies stronger as well, and to gain us new allies as well. With a phalanx of like-minded nations by our side, Xiomera will be that much stronger. As for the security matters currently bothering our nation, I must point out respectfully that Xocolcōza, while no doubt more than capable of providing tech support for my Cala computer when it freezes, may not be the person to send to Manauia Island to fix that particular glitch. He may find armed terrorists a bit out of his pay grade. As for my other opponent who spoke earlier....I would ask this: you say you are the best person to keep us safe, but as Security Secretary, all of these security problems are happening under your watch. I would hope you would ensure you are doing your own job to the best of your abilities before expecting a promotion. People of Xiomera, this is not the time for half measures. Choose me as your Empress, and I will utilize all of the strength, skill, spirit, heart and knowledge of Xiomera to both keep us safe and make us ever stronger."
Cozamalotl: "We hear a lot of talk of giving more people guns and badges here. We hear a lot of talk about making Xiomera so scary that no one, whether inside our borders or outside it, will dare to challenge or question us. What do I hear when I hear all of this? I hear weakness. And I hear fear. Fear of change, fear of freedom. Do you really want Xiomera to be safe? Then stop doing things that turn our people against their homeland and their government. Stop controlling the media. Stop throwing people in prison just because they question the government. Stop destroying places like Manauia Island and then killing people like the Teyatia or imprisoning them for daring to try to protect their home. Stop suppressing the Itotemoc, the Tepiltzin and the Necatli; let their culture and their heritage flourish as it should. If you continue to run Xiomera this way, with nothing but police and soldiers everywhere, we will all soon be living in a giant prison of our own making. As for national security....the way to make us safer from other nations is not by making those nations fear us, or our intent. We can never make enough guns or tanks, or train enough soldiers, to protect us if we make the entire IDU fear us. They can make soldiers and guns and tanks also, and more of them than we can. The way we will keep Xiomera truly safe is to make it truly free, and a nation that both its peoples and its neighbors can respect and admire, rather than fear and loathe."
On matters of security and national defense:
Xocolcōza: "The answer to our security problems doesn't lie in merely expanding the military or ASI; that's an old-school and old-tech answer. We can't make everyone in Xiomera a cop or a soldier. Technology provides us the answer. By expanding the existing surveillance, information-gathering and threat prediction systems we have in place, and making them better and faster, we can provide the real-time information to prevent security threats. Don't make ASI bigger, make it smarter. As for the military, again, we have no business trying to wage an arms race; we are one of the smallest nations in the IDU and will never win that way. But with technology, we can make our military so advanced that no nation, even ones much larger than ours, would dare risk attacking Xiomera because of the collateral damage and risk they would face. All nations, before going to war, make a simple calculation, and it's not even if they can win the war or not. It is this: is this worth what it will cost us to win the war? Cost, in lives and treasure, is just as effective a deterrent as all the bombs and guns in the world. If we make the Xiomeran armed forces the most advanced in the IDU, trust me, no one will want to take the risk, and the losses, of attacking us."
Tepilcayotl: "As the Secretary of Security, I know better than anyone the dangers that face Xiomera. We face hostility from nations abroad, meddling in our internal affairs by foreigners meant to stir unrest, and domestic terrorists who seek to use violence and sedition to promote their own agendas to the harm of the Xiomeran nation. As I have demonstrated on Manauia Island, I can and will take the necessary measures to keep Xiomerans safe and the Empire whole. As Emperor, I will expand the security forces. Some of my opponents claim that technology alone can solve the security woes we face. And technology is indeed essential to the task, but you also need people on the ground with the training, the support, and the will to do whatever it takes to keep our people safe. More ASI agents are urgently needed to maintain our security. To deter foreign interests who seek to meddle in Xiomera, I will also expand the armed forces. The Imperial Navy should be the dominant force on the seas of Catica, but it is not. The Imperial Air Force should rule the skies over Catica, but it does not. This will change under my rule; I will expand the Navy and the Air Force to ensure that no one will dare to consider our backyard their playground ever again. A nation that cannot secure its borders, maintain security within them, and deter and defeat threats from its seas and skies is not a nation at all. Xiomera will not remain in that state once I become Emperor."
Yauhmi: "The answer isn't only to make our armed forces and our security forces larger; certainly we must do that. But we must also make them smarter, more efficient, and more effective. Both of my opponents who spoke earlier only have it half right. We do need more people to protect us, but we must also give them what it takes to protect us. As Empress, I will implement a truly complete and integrated security and defense plan that will utilize both cutting edge technology and sufficient numbers. A truly advanced Navy capable of defending Xiomeran interests anywhere in the IDU, an Air Force that can strike at our enemies anywhere they may hide, and ground forces that can win the day on the battlefield; that will be what I bring Xiomera as Empress. In addition, we must remember that no nation can do it all alone. I will work to make our allies stronger as well, and to gain us new allies as well. With a phalanx of like-minded nations by our side, Xiomera will be that much stronger. As for the security matters currently bothering our nation, I must point out respectfully that Xocolcōza, while no doubt more than capable of providing tech support for my Cala computer when it freezes, may not be the person to send to Manauia Island to fix that particular glitch. He may find armed terrorists a bit out of his pay grade. As for my other opponent who spoke earlier....I would ask this: you say you are the best person to keep us safe, but as Security Secretary, all of these security problems are happening under your watch. I would hope you would ensure you are doing your own job to the best of your abilities before expecting a promotion. People of Xiomera, this is not the time for half measures. Choose me as your Empress, and I will utilize all of the strength, skill, spirit, heart and knowledge of Xiomera to both keep us safe and make us ever stronger."
Cozamalotl: "We hear a lot of talk of giving more people guns and badges here. We hear a lot of talk about making Xiomera so scary that no one, whether inside our borders or outside it, will dare to challenge or question us. What do I hear when I hear all of this? I hear weakness. And I hear fear. Fear of change, fear of freedom. Do you really want Xiomera to be safe? Then stop doing things that turn our people against their homeland and their government. Stop controlling the media. Stop throwing people in prison just because they question the government. Stop destroying places like Manauia Island and then killing people like the Teyatia or imprisoning them for daring to try to protect their home. Stop suppressing the Itotemoc, the Tepiltzin and the Necatli; let their culture and their heritage flourish as it should. If you continue to run Xiomera this way, with nothing but police and soldiers everywhere, we will all soon be living in a giant prison of our own making. As for national security....the way to make us safer from other nations is not by making those nations fear us, or our intent. We can never make enough guns or tanks, or train enough soldiers, to protect us if we make the entire IDU fear us. They can make soldiers and guns and tanks also, and more of them than we can. The way we will keep Xiomera truly safe is to make it truly free, and a nation that both its peoples and its neighbors can respect and admire, rather than fear and loathe."
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