The Conscience of the State

[Piov 2643]

THE CONSCIENCE OF THE STATE

OR,

A TREATISE ON THE SENATE AS

THE CONSCIENCE OF THE STATE

A Quadranscentennial Reflection of Service

 

By Sir Terrence May GCM

 

Published by the Imperial Association of Saint Everard IV,

10^th of Sigismund’s End, 1761

---

 

 

Forty five years ago, a daring but bold declaration was pronounced that altered the course of human civilization in our recent memory. As a man not even a quarter of a century, I remember as the tolls of mirthful bells filled the skies within the provinces. Tucked away in the far reaches of Nenzing within my great constituency of the Kingdom of Haense, Emperor Joseph I and his collaborators affixed their seal to a document that stands at the heart of this movement. In 1715, the Nenzing Proclamation was made known to all of Man. In it, the decree stated:

 

 

There is a sacred obligation, an enlightened trust and faith, between the emperor and his subjects. A social contract exists and has always [been] between the governed and the government which requires the compromise of personal interests on both parties in exchange for the betterment of the state of mankind. That is a bond of obedience and loyalty in exchange for protection and inclusion in his realm.

 

This ‘sacred obligation’ henceforth became the great creed that defined the future of human society, a daring but rational ideal that many so died fighting to uphold. The right of all Imperial subjects to have for themselves the rights of LIFE, LIBERTY, and TRIAL, are not matters of question, but unalienable to the breath of life that the Lord God so breathed into our animation. In essence, this became the soul of our civilization. 

 

 

Varoche Hall, seat of the Imperial Senate, Helena, c. 1750

 

 

In 1736, our Framers envisioned a government to withstand the times, enshrining our system of government with popular virtue, tempered integrity, and the values of a modern, just society. I argue that this is what the conscience of the nation entails. The strongest exercise of our conscience is the free will to decide our laws, our officials, and our direction for the future. We are here today inheriting this very system, united in our shared destiny to deliver on the promise of ushering in prosperity, peace, justice, and greatness to this vast Imperial domain. From the ashes of a once plagued past, the Imperial State emerged as the shining beacon of hope to a weary humanity. With it, our Framers offered illumination to our minds, enkindling the passion within our minds to rebuild our society anew. Guided by our moral conscience that no force but God Himself could bestow, we have since trekked on a path of progress, stability, and knowledge. 

 

With the institution of the Edict of Establishment, our government established a new framework unifying the social contract of the governing and the governed. In pursuit to perfect Imperial federalism, the impetus of this form of governance gave Oren a premier legislature, devolving the affairs of Men to their peers, duly elected. The virtue of the populace and the loyalty of service bonds together the senator to their constituent concurrently as a subject to the Crown. The intentions and products of our discourse are laid bare before the eyes of God, Emperor, colleague, and constituent alike. Our actions are held accountable by those whom we are charged by oath to represent and serve. To do anything short or to shirk this mandate damages that sacred social contract and pervades the conscience of the collective. 

 

When the Imperial Diet was declared, the soul of the Empire was energized as the spark of illumination. Indeed, the culmination of Josephite principles to reform a society and embrace the intrinsic liberty of God’s creation was manifested before us. In due time, the several provinces of the Holy Orenian Empire sent delegates to fulfill this new mandate. Forty five years ago, I penned an anonymous treatise during the early stages of the infamous War of Two Emperors, denouncing the corrupt rulers that have pervasively eroded the values of our civilization and affirmed the legitimate philosophy of Josephite values. From then, we have progressed forward, shedding the shackles of regression and embracing a complementary view that this country is a Tapestry of Man. 

 

As we have progressed, our nation has inherited a noble, and yet some may still find it, a lofty vision. However, it is undoubtedly true that they are transformative ideals seeking to forge a moral, equitable, and stable society. The Edict of Elections in 1736, the second pillar of our constitutional legislature, affirms the right of all Orenians to freely decide their lawmakers. The Tapestry echoed by the Basrid Ministry is reflected within the context of our sacred civic duty. Indeed, it is here when the conscience of the nation is truly exercised. 

 

 

Members of the Eighth Session of the Imperial Senate, c. 1751

 

 

Our collective assent to freely endow a certain individual the power to represent, voice, and vote on our behalf is a revolutionary concept, though no longer uncommon to us. The peaceful transition of power from one senator to the next reflects the peaceful transition that has forged the foundation of the state and the peaceful disposition of its people. Therefore, the Senate becomes the vessel of the people’s assent, in whose name the eight members have been vested to uphold the collective duty to honor their oath and governed with the conscience of the people as their compass.

 

For a successive period of twenty five years, the elections have reflected the composition of the Senate, thereby vesting in this legislature, the collective conscience of our nation. The Senate is thus tasked with safeguarding the moral integrity that the collective conscience has dictated. The Senate acts as the medium to exercise the principles of just governance, to actively engage in the dilemmas that the nation must address. The laws that emerge from this institution become the binding code that unites the conscious citizen to their home. This conscience echoes into the discourse of immeasurable importance for the life and welfare of every sector in our great Imperial State. 

 

The great gift for us in this current context is reflecting that with each passing generation, the conscience of the nation is dictated by the sovereignty of the many. We have manifested before the eyes of all, a system that truly voices the attitudes of the governed, honoring that sacred civic principle that freed us from the slavery of oppression.