Generally policy here at the Whateley site is to avoid politics, religion, and so forth. They're touchy topics online and tend to lead to explosive arguments even in the most disciplined and controlled places. I am, going to step outside that policy just a little to note - in the next few weeks, The US have elections. These elections include a much debated Presidency, but they also involve votes for legislature, as well as state and local candidates, and in some states various bills (or as they are called in California, propositions). Vote. Even if you think every candidate for every race is a complete waste of time... vote. And don't just walk into the voting booth cold... if you look at the candidates listed on the ballot and don't know what some of them represent, you haven't taken your responsibility as a voter seriously. The information is available to you. In every state. It's been mailed out to absentee/by-mail voters and in most cases it is online. If you think you might at some point in the next four years complain about what an elected official is doing, vote. Because at least then you can justify that you tried to put someone else in office. There is no state in the country in which the current "it is a blue/red state" could not be reversed by the people who haven't voted in the past (registered and voting citizens are a small percentage of the population), if not by people who have voted one way in the past and choose to vote differently now.
Vote YOUR mind, conscious, etc. Don't vote because a party tells you to. Don't vote because the media tells you to. Find a candidate who believes as you do, who understands your circumstances, and give them your vote. If that person doesn't exist, vote for the person who is more likely to introduce changes that will someday put your ideal candidate in office.
This isn't just an ideal. It isn't just something to do if you've got nothing better to do. It's your responsibility as a citizen of a nation.
*sets the soap box aside*
Ok... that done... I'd like to welcome back Dom to the 'front page stage' as we get the continuation of his Gen 0 / Exploring the World of the Whateley Academy piece about the history of the MCO. He's doing great work with this story. Be sure to thank him for "A Good Man" ... this is Part 2 (and it is not the end of the story).