Query, Part II: Background on Altmeri Ideology

The attached document continues.

>As much a product of recent history as the Thalmor menace is, it is still important to understand the core of their perceived ideological conflict that spans back to Convention itself. It is no secret that the Altmer view Convention as a cosmic-scale atrocity, but I shall explain what this view entails.

>It validates atrocity on any other level as lesser evil. This already divides us in our conceptions of law. While we have moral barriers, the Altmer have only material barriers, which makes them a formidably unpredictable force.

>Altmeri culture is greatly influenced by a hatred of Convention, to an extent that the impeccable order and austerity of their culture is puzzling at first. Procreation, for example, is considered worse than murder. The Altmer recognise procreation as no more and no less than necessity. What does that say about murder? The answer is that any action can be justified, but only if it serves a hypothetical ‘greater good.’ This is why Altmeri society calls for order. It is to ensure that actions serve the nationwide endeavor rather than individual want. Reproduction and murder are traditionally under government supervision. The only taboo in Altmeri culture is dissent from authority.

>The cold disregard for ‘degenerate morals’ is a part of old tradition, possibly influenced by Thrassian invasions, which influences foreign policy as much as culture. The only problem with Fourth Era Thalmor foreign policy is that it is Altmeri foreign policy – in which war is encouraged as long as it proves beneficial. We must not make the mistake of blaming only the upstart political party and forgiving the Altmer people. As I will highlight later, the Thalmor rose to power because they appealed to the Altmer people.

>Atrocities within the Dominion itself are a product of more dire recent events. The Third Aldmeri Dominion has adopted what I have found to be a revolutionary new aim which I will cover later. The Thalmor have committed terrible crimes to their own Dominion states, Valenwood and Elsweyr, and even the Altmer have suffered under fierce paranoia towards political opposition. Violence lacks the calculation and public agreement that it used to have. Sometimes it is not as easy for the Thalmor to justify their actions, so even stricter and more hostile practices must be put in effect. The Thalmor practices new atrocities, for a new goal, according to old doctrines that have been taken to a new obsessive extent.

>Today, any deed can be justified if it can be linked to the endeavor of freeing Mundus from the bonds of Convention and reviving the Imperishable Spirit. Even seemingly anecdotal political purges and war crimes can be absolved under this endeavor, because any action of the Altmeri government allegedly contributes to their abstract ideological aim. Altmeri values have always been cruel in the eyes of the Empire, but only recently have they become a threat. In the next section, I shall explain why.

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