Despite being part of the political, philosophical, and racial landscape of Phoenix for over 4 years, the notion of separating Fleet and state continues to be a radical notion.
The Colony needs a way to explain the concept which makes it easier to accept without undermining its radical, vital nature. I believe it's possible to reframe the separation of Fleet and state that not only avoids misrepresenting it, but emphasizes what's is most important: separating military from the civil authority. Governor Skye Greene ran on this platform and appears to understand.
One of the common arguments raised by those who object to the limitations placed upon how the government accommodates Star Fleet Protocol is that such limitations are an expression of hostility. Normally, such arguments are aimed at the civilian government and non-fleet personal, but this masks the fact that there is another, equally important issue at hand: the search for civilian justifications for Star Fleet Icons leads to the civilian government coopting of symbols and content.
To quote our new governor;
I believe in a colony where the separation of Star Fleet and the Civilian Government is absolute--where no Commdore would tell the President (should she be in the Fleet or otherwise) how to act, and no Vice Admiral would tell her loyalist for whom to vote--where no Fleet or Fleet Academy is granted any public funds or political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely because his military history differs from the Govenor who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.
I believe in a colony that is officially neither Star Fleet, Phoenix Fleet nor Klingon for that matter--where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Fleet Admiral, Star Fleet Command or any other Phoenix Fleet resource -- where no Star Fleet body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials--and where Star Fleet Power is so indivisible that an act against one small fleet is treated as an act against all.
She has it right. Having endured the tyranny of a moron like Vice Admiral Branson and the laid back dictatorship of Commodore Viceroy, it is time for the colonists to rule themselves and not just be a Star Fleet or Phoenix Fleet outpost.
Posted by:
Christine T'Nley
Omega News Network
Phoenix Colony
Phoenix Fleet
