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Deconstruction and study of "The Scarlet Pledge"
Topic Started: Mar 18 2012, 11:46 AM (778 Views)
Nullarni
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After a night of successful libs and too much caffeine, I began reflecting upon my membership in the UDL. In general, the UDL is a very laid back and casual organization... Expect for one thing: The Scarlet Pledge.

I have seen raiders and even other defenders try to say that we do not follow our oath... And this bothers me. In RL, I am a member of a religion that takes oaths and covenants very seriously. So what did we actually swear to do, and are we doing it?

For convenience sake, here is the text of the pledge:
The Scarlet Pledge


The pledge is only three paragraphs long, and along those paragraphs can be broken down into three primary parts: What the individual is committing to do; The duration of the commitment; The individual's relationship with the UDL.

I know it has been said, "there is nothing outside the text," but despite the text making no actual distinction I am going to assume that this oath is strictly referring to conduct within NS... You know, for the sake of our souls...

The Individual's Commitment
Flowery language aside, what we are committing to do is rather straight forward:
* We are expected to be essentially "good". This means everything we do in every aspect of the game needs to have a positive spin on it.
* We are expected to make up for any wrong we have done in the past, and refrain from repeating such actions.
* We need to be trustworthy, and give help and good advice to all those around us.
* We are to protect all "native" communities from outside harm, unless they request otherwise.

The interesting thing about these expectation, is that only the last one has to do with being a defender. The rest deal entirely with your conduct outside of defending.

The Duration of that Commitment
The duration of the commitment is fairly well hidden under eloquence and metaphor. But once you strip all that away, you find that you have committed to these things for as long as you participate in NS. Interestingly, where other oaths would infer permanence by not addressing duration at all, the Scarlet Pledge openly states that the individual is expected to adhere to their commitment even despite the individual's personal feelings evermore.

The individual's relationship with the UDL
I find it strange that the UDL is not mentioned until the very last line of the pledge. It seems almost an after thought, really. From what I see, there can be two interpretations of this last line:
1.) You are pledging yourself to be a follower of the UDL, and therefore a "civil servant of the good".
2.) You are pledging to the UDL that you will assist the organization by being a "civil servant of the good".

I tend towards the latter interpretation. You see, the rest of the oath is centered around your conduct as an NS player. And while this oath is used as an initiation into the UDL, if the UDL were to ever become a corrupt and not good, the individual is bound to the behavior they swore to uphold not the UDL organization, itself.

Conclusion
So are we upholding the oath we all took? From what I have seen of meany of our members, I would say, "yes," but that can only truly be answered by each individual for themselves. The Scarlet Pledge is not just a few lines of text to be copied and pasted onto an application, but a promise to all who read it that you will fulfill its tenants.

I have seen discussions on who should get the UDL's protection, and while I agree with the official stance the Scarlet Pledge makes no distinction. The UDL can officially protect whoever they like, but you, as an individual, must protect all.
Edited by Nullarni, Mar 18 2012, 11:57 AM.
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Nullarni
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Um... These interpretations are entirely my own and do not necessarily represent the UDL's stance or veiw of such matters.

I dedicate this to all those who have left our ranks "because raiding is just more fun."
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Unibot
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I'll break it down a bit more,

Quote:
 
I _______, pledge to see with all my faculties of morality


I believe this is a depiction of morality as a sense of judgement that once fine-tuned should be able to discern between right and wrong in the same sense that you can "see" what is black and white. More generally, this provision is asking one to consider the morality of one's actions so often that it becomes natural.

Quote:
 
to be incorruptible as a symbol of good in the face of intense adversaries,


This provision is there to prevent the escalation of conflict. In a world of good and evil, evil will torment good by breaking the "rules" and flying in the face of principles. Good can come to think as though if it does not abandon its principles it will not be able to conquer against evil. It's a perennial tale.

Quote:
 
to atone any historical conduct of perniciousness and malignity,


Renounce your past wrongs.

Quote:
 
to be a person rightfully known as one to trust when one needs ephectic assistance, defense and sound guidance,


Based on Kandarin and Nai. "Ephectic" means non-judgemental. The pledge thus asks people to be a person that if someone needed non-judgmental assistance, 'defense' and sound guidance ... or even just more generally, a person to talk to, the oath says they can expect you to do so.

Quote:
 
to defend with probity all native communities from insecurity, intimidation and terror on condition said communities do not will otherwise.


It's more general than a standard, "you will defend" clause. Sometimes you can't stop invasions or liberate regions, but you should at least endeavor to reduce native terror and fight the intimidation of them.




Quote:
 
I heed a calling of absolute duty, for which I wear my quiver of truth and justice. But I acknowledge that there will come a time when the furnaces for rightfulness burn no longer in my gut, for there comes a time in every great defender’s life when one needs to be stoked with the reminders of what audacious calling motivated them to carry the weight of such an iron quiver. Eventually every trusted friendship will be lost, every avenue for amusement, exhausted, every setback and depression, augmented, every window of happiness I observe, smashed – and yet I will hobble away from these tribulations, moral confusions and disillusionment on the crutches of my duty, because I will know then that the virtuous need duty as much as the duties of the world need the virtuous to serve them.


I've always read it as meaning that you will have tough days defending... it's unavoidable if you're defending right. When those days happen, you use your duty like a crutch and live to fight another day. I put in it the oath because I refuse to lie to people -- the duty isn't easy and it can build up on you emotionally and drain a lot out of you.

As for the final clause, I follow your second interpretation, Nully.
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Mallorea and Riva
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Nullarni
Mar 18 2012, 11:48 AM
Um... These interpretations are entirely my own and do not necessarily represent the UDL's stance or veiw of such matters.

I dedicate this to all those who have left our ranks "because raiding is just more fun."
A nice interpretation of what the Pledge means. I wanted to make sure that you knew I saw this.
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Milograd
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Hey Mall! How've you been?
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Mallorea and Riva
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Good! Very good! A tad busy in RL, but it won't be stealing me away, don't worry.
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Kogvuron
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Hello Mall :)
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Mallorea and Riva
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Hi there!
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Groundisred
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Morality is important, at least in the scenario when you're dealing with raider Nations. Because, as you all said before, when you take the pledge - you're essentially pledging to be the good guy, and to attempt to liberate those who are oppressed. Tyranny comes in all shapes and sizes; you could argue that one can not be good and still fight against tyranny - but when it comes down to it, it is simply fighting for the greater good of all by freeing those who are stifled by the chains of unfair leaders.
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