In many ways, the emergent gameplay cultures and ideologies of NationStates are a projection of the facets of humanity, the good and the ugly alike — Imperialists and Pacifists, Autocrats and Democrats, Warriors and Artisans, Perpetrator and Victim, all of them are found in this little slice of virtual reality just as they are in the real world. With that observation in mind, it should come as no surprise that acts and attempts of conquest in NationStates are as old as the game itself. Indeed, the very event we are celebrating this week was borne out of one such attempt at conquest in the earliest throes of the game. Just the same, however, it must come as no surprise that from the dawn of this virtual reality there are peoples who recognize a deeper, fairer, and more fulfilling principle than "Might Makes Right", and who do not tire in their pursuit of a peaceful world. The fact of the existence of these diametrically opposed philosophies of how a world (real or virtual) could become carries with it one simple implication: Even those who love and value peace must at times turn to blade and arrow to defend their peace.

We are, by our very nature, a region of peaceful artists and artisans, and yet we are no strangers to taking up arms at times to defend the manifestation of our nature. We have overcome the trickery of Devonitians. We won the painful war of attrition against Milograd. We survived New Ali and The XYZ Affair, and came out stronger on the other side. All of these events, and others that I have not listed, were initiated by oppressors and conquerors seeking to seize our freedoms in this virtual reality and replace them with forced servitude and obedience.

Fighting against these conquests requires that even we artists and artisans form a competent military. That does not mean that we become conquerors and oppressors ourselves - quite the contrary. Our military, in conjunction with the Council on Regional Security, protects our borders. Our military helps and protects our friends and allies in need, who in turn will help and protect us in times of our need. And our military helps and protects innocent regions under siege by malign actors, looking for conquest and self-enrichment rather than peace and enlightenment. With the recent passage of Resolution on Adopting Defending Military Principles, we have reconfirmed our commitment to regional sovereignty, and that it is something worth fighting for.

Our military works for us and is representative of our values, rather than being a chess piece in yet another imperialists' evil machinations. This is only possible because in 2003, LadyRebels rejected the ACC's desire for an easy conquest of a lucrative target, and instead gave us the gift of independence.