When people get angry at each other and want to fight over who gets what, they know they can ask the state to make someone else decide who gets what, with the help of important words that the state has already written. Because it takes money to have someone else decide, and because they can't fight with guns without fearing the police, they will fight with each other using words. They have some idea of how that other person would decide who gets what, so they use those facts to try to get more than they would get if they used the other person.
When states get mad at each other, it is different from when people get mad at each other, because states do not HAVE to let someone else decide who gets what. States can just fight each other with guns or with money, and never let any person who has not yet taken sides decide who gets what. This is really true if the states have a lot of guns or money, because there is no police for states. But there are important written words that states agreed on in the past, that still matter even though states don't have to listen to those words as much as people do. Maybe states still listen to these words, even though they don't have to, because it helps to be able to say, "I am right! I should get all these things that I want, and you should not!" Maybe they do this while also saying, "Remember, I also have GUNS and MONEY." Can those written words make states fight and act in different ways when no one has to listen to or care about those words?
One place where this might be true is when states fight about who gets how big a part of some waters and land. States LOVE water and land. I noticed that there are states on the other side of the world that do things like look at the past and find old pictures to show that they used to own more water and land than the other person that wants that bit of water and land. Why do they care about the past? Because there are people that states can agree to let decide which states get how much water and land. These people use and figure out the meaning of those important written words, and when these people have decided who gets how much land, they care about the past. They also care about who already pretty much owns the water and land, so these states on the other side of the world shout, "See! We built stuff on this land! We said it was ours BEFORE you said it was yours! That means it is ours!" They even fought with words instead of using guns, which means it is more like when people inside states get mad, because people can't use guns to fight without fear of the police.
Also, there is a really big, strong, and old state on the other side of the world that wants even more water and land than six other states near it want, which makes those other states angry. It has said, "We do not want some other person to decide who gets the land and water! We want to decide one-on-one with each other state!" It wants this because it has more guns and money than all the other six states. At least one of the other six states really wants to have someone else decide, because the important written words will give them more land than fighting with guns or money would give them. But, even this big, strong state spends a lot of time talking about the past and how people from the state used to find food in those waters. It does this because when states agreed in the past about how to figure out how much water states own, they agreed that states might be able to not pay attention to the agreeing if states already owned the water in the past. This big, strong state even made a city just so that city can pretend to own the water and land, because it knows that if someone else decides who gets what, that person will care a lot about which state looks like it owns the water and land the most. Guess what? It doesn't just use guns and money, even though it has way more of both.
So, you see, states DO care about important written words, even though they don't HAVE to.
(I was amused. Hopefully someone or another reading this also is =P)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2013-01-27 05:46 am (UTC)When people get angry at each other and want to fight over who gets what, they know they can ask the state to make someone else decide who gets what, with the help of important words that the state has already written. Because it takes money to have someone else decide, and because they can't fight with guns without fearing the police, they will fight with each other using words. They have some idea of how that other person would decide who gets what, so they use those facts to try to get more than they would get if they used the other person.
When states get mad at each other, it is different from when people get mad at each other, because states do not HAVE to let someone else decide who gets what. States can just fight each other with guns or with money, and never let any person who has not yet taken sides decide who gets what. This is really true if the states have a lot of guns or money, because there is no police for states. But there are important written words that states agreed on in the past, that still matter even though states don't have to listen to those words as much as people do. Maybe states still listen to these words, even though they don't have to, because it helps to be able to say, "I am right! I should get all these things that I want, and you should not!" Maybe they do this while also saying, "Remember, I also have GUNS and MONEY." Can those written words make states fight and act in different ways when no one has to listen to or care about those words?
One place where this might be true is when states fight about who gets how big a part of some waters and land. States LOVE water and land. I noticed that there are states on the other side of the world that do things like look at the past and find old pictures to show that they used to own more water and land than the other person that wants that bit of water and land. Why do they care about the past? Because there are people that states can agree to let decide which states get how much water and land. These people use and figure out the meaning of those important written words, and when these people have decided who gets how much land, they care about the past. They also care about who already pretty much owns the water and land, so these states on the other side of the world shout, "See! We built stuff on this land! We said it was ours BEFORE you said it was yours! That means it is ours!" They even fought with words instead of using guns, which means it is more like when people inside states get mad, because people can't use guns to fight without fear of the police.
Also, there is a really big, strong, and old state on the other side of the world that wants even more water and land than six other states near it want, which makes those other states angry. It has said, "We do not want some other person to decide who gets the land and water! We want to decide one-on-one with each other state!" It wants this because it has more guns and money than all the other six states. At least one of the other six states really wants to have someone else decide, because the important written words will give them more land than fighting with guns or money would give them. But, even this big, strong state spends a lot of time talking about the past and how people from the state used to find food in those waters. It does this because when states agreed in the past about how to figure out how much water states own, they agreed that states might be able to not pay attention to the agreeing if states already owned the water in the past. This big, strong state even made a city just so that city can pretend to own the water and land, because it knows that if someone else decides who gets what, that person will care a lot about which state looks like it owns the water and land the most. Guess what? It doesn't just use guns and money, even though it has way more of both.
So, you see, states DO care about important written words, even though they don't HAVE to.
(I was amused. Hopefully someone or another reading this also is =P)