Re: Something Something Scorpion Swimming [D0, LA]
Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 6:55 pm
"It seems to me that if the sky gods created this code, and you have to read between the lines in order to aim for a just and orderly society, then the code itself is pretty terrible."
She motions toward Ai. "You can see it happening here, in your words. You say that killing a farmer is bad because it is a slight to the farmer's lord, but what about the farmer's family? The samurai just killed someone's husband, someone's father, maybe someone with many friends, and the only concern is that the man who lives in the largest castle and who didn't even know the farmer's name might feel slighted."
Soju shakes her head. "It may be working out great, I do not know. But it seems to me that this system only rewards those in power, and punishes those with no power. Thirty years ago, there was little difference between a farmer and a warrior. Both had good skills that the tribe could use. Now? Some people stand strong in the sunlight, armed with weapons, with their boots on the necks of those who carry rakes."
With a sigh, she sinks back into the water. "You are building a castle upon the backs of people who gain nothing from a system that punishes them while rewarding you. If things continue like this, one day, all of those farmers and workers will look around and realize how many of them there are and how few there are of you. And on that day, they will eat you."
She motions toward Ai. "You can see it happening here, in your words. You say that killing a farmer is bad because it is a slight to the farmer's lord, but what about the farmer's family? The samurai just killed someone's husband, someone's father, maybe someone with many friends, and the only concern is that the man who lives in the largest castle and who didn't even know the farmer's name might feel slighted."
Soju shakes her head. "It may be working out great, I do not know. But it seems to me that this system only rewards those in power, and punishes those with no power. Thirty years ago, there was little difference between a farmer and a warrior. Both had good skills that the tribe could use. Now? Some people stand strong in the sunlight, armed with weapons, with their boots on the necks of those who carry rakes."
With a sigh, she sinks back into the water. "You are building a castle upon the backs of people who gain nothing from a system that punishes them while rewarding you. If things continue like this, one day, all of those farmers and workers will look around and realize how many of them there are and how few there are of you. And on that day, they will eat you."