Ymir Dual Creation Laws

The Ymir Dual Creation Laws, is a concept dating back to the creation of the Empire, on how Astarians see the world around them, and the laws governing it and humanity. It can be summarized as their own approach to Natural Law.

In the beginning, Columbia, wife of Adrean Blachkor "The First" and first Empress, as well as Priestess of Ymir, considered that humanity had some inherent rights, such as liberty, property, equality and security. These four tenets were considered the basis of a civilized society as it was thought of at the time. At the same time, she acknowledged that the nature surrounding humanity was not subjected to those laws, and since humans were also part of this nature, their basic instincts could cause them to act against those laws. Therefore, those instincts had to be tamed in order for humans to go forward, instead of constantly tearing at each other. But at the same time, each one of us had to be aware of his surroundings and the people around him, in order to be ready to defend himself.

A few centuries later, as the Empire was suffering from the multiple invasions by European powers (namely Great Britain, France and Spain), Ernst Spregel, a Professor of History and Naturology at the University of Columbia, asked himself:

"What does this all mean? Here we are, a nation in our own right, with our own qualities and flaws, attacked by other nations, who while we consider them equal to us, have nothing but contempt and hate for us, calling us "savages" and using that excuse to lay waste to our lands and people, saying they "bring civilization to an untamed land." If we consider that these nations originate from the same place where we came from, and if they use the excuse of civilization to justify their actions, then where is the limit between it and barbarism? While I am the first to admit that the Empire is not exactly pure on that subject, having done questionable things too in the last centuries to tame this land, now more than ever, the true distinction between Natural Instincts and Natural Rights is questioned."

While many people around him would agree with his vision, they would rather use it at first as a justification to unrestrain themselves from their moral obligations, and fight the French, British and Spanish with the same ferocity they were fighting them, giving them no mercy, and eradicating their presence and impact on the lands of the Empire.( This is why there are not any physical remnants or relics of the European occupation in the Empire.)

After a few decades and the end of the Colonial Wars, the expedition of the Astra Oppdack around the world brought back new horizons and ideas to the Empire, which caused the Imperials to enlarge their spirits, and see beyond their isolationism.

And so, a new time began, where diplomatic relations were established, delegations were sent here and there, some treaties were signed.

Along the way, they also discovered the theories about Natural Law, especially the writings of John Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and due to their history, most of them tended to agree with Hobbes rather than Rousseau.

But while the Empire saw that establishing treaties brought some good, and that the signatory nations were more than willing to keep to their word, they also couldn't miss the fact that many of those same nations continued to act the way they always did, taking what they wanted without any remorse. The Astarians kept feeling that all of this was just an endless cycle.

This feeling led Adrean Lincoln, Professor of Theology and History at the University of Columbia, in 1800, to look back at all the centuries of Imperial history, and lay down the bases for the actual Dual Creation Laws as we know them today.

"Ever since the beginning, mankind has had to fight against a hostile environment for survival. We Astarians know it. Although, over time, we realized that we had to somehow let go of some of our basic instincts if our race was to prosper, and so we started to band together, either against animals or other humans that would seek us harm.

While nowadays, a majority of humanity have evolved from these primal tribes to create functioning nations and societies, which interact with each other, establish treaties, and try to work on many subjects towards a common goal, we can not also hide the sad reality that our basic instincts remain deep within us, causing us to plot against each other, to increase our influence, power or richness. Therefore, we have to acknowledge that while humanity can function as an ensemble of groups interacting with each other, we will never be able to function as one big, united group.

As Astarians, we believe that Ymir, Star of Life and Creation, gave life to us humans. And while we do not always understand her plans or intentions, we know that She believes in balance above everything else. This is why She surely gave us both of those sides, a natural instinct, and a more calm and mannered way of acting.

So, in light of this, I would like to theorize here what conclusions I've reached after my research, and hope it will guide us through the future. I humbly call it the Ymir Dual Creation Laws.

1) As a nation and a civilized society, we must always try, to the best of our abilities, to work towards common goals and peace with others nations, who we recognize as equal to each other, in order for humanity to move forward. Ttrade and treaties are one of the most fundamental way to do so. However, we also must not renounce to what we are by doing so.

2) At the same time, we have to recognize that our basic instincts will always be a part of human nature, and will always have a say in our relations. Therefore, as some may go this way only, we have to acknowledge the fact that words alone will not always help resolve a situation, and that one of the most effective ways of preserving peace is to show others we have the means to defend ourselves, by preparing for war. While we can only hope that the peaceful solutions may always win, we know it isn't the case.

These two laws were later summed up in these two sentences:

Haper det Optimas, Para det Pessimis (Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst.)

and

Om Vis Fred, Para det Skrig (If you want Peace, Prepare for War).

And to this day, these two laws have guided the Federalis Imperium's policy. While Astares Amauricanum is a signatory nation of many treaties, about environment, trade, etc, and is considered a loyal and trustful ally (loyalty being one of the core virtues of the Astrum Lex) it is also viewed by many with some worry, as it did not ratify any treaties about disarmament except two (The Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Biological Weapons Convention), and maintains a numerous and powerful army.