142
edits
Asteria: Difference between revisions
→Labor
m (→Labor) |
(→Labor) |
||
| Line 197: | Line 197: | ||
===Arts and Literature=== | ===Arts and Literature=== | ||
Asterian art is often more simplistic than in Levantia. Most Asterians can only trace their place in the country be centuries, and often came to Crona with what they could carry with them. Due to the religious nature of Asterians, most art is typically related to the natural beauty of the country. Most public buildings have massive murals depicting scenes out of nature. Sunsets are regularly featured as well, with art after the Asteria Revolution depicting battles and other historical moments. Modern art is not popular in Asteria, and during the 1980s and 1990s, most universities defunded modern art programs. The Church of Asteria along with the Catholic Church located in the country co-signed a letter condemning the movement. Although modern art is more accepted, most cities and towns have architectural standards in place, including an outright ban on brutalist-style buildings. Only in cities like | Asterian art is often more simplistic than in Levantia. Most Asterians can only trace their place in the country be centuries, and often came to Crona with what they could carry with them. Due to the religious nature of Asterians, most art is typically related to the natural beauty of the country. Most public buildings have massive murals depicting scenes out of nature. Sunsets are regularly featured as well, with art after the Asteria Revolution depicting battles and other historical moments. Modern art is not popular in Asteria, and during the 1980s and 1990s, most universities defunded modern art programs. The Church of Asteria along with the Catholic Church located in the country co-signed a letter condemning the movement. Although modern art is more accepted, most cities and towns have architectural standards in place, including an outright ban on brutalist-style buildings. Only in cities like Yarmouth and Hanover are more modern high-rises seen. | ||
Literature, meanwhile, is much more popular than the arts. The [[Great North Novels]] are an especially popular genre to the national psyche, depicting the rugged frontiers of the Northern Plateau and the lawlessness that came with it. Most novelists write slice-of-life works that do have political undertones, with genres such as romance and historical fiction popular. | Literature, meanwhile, is much more popular than the arts. The [[Great North Novels]] are an especially popular genre to the national psyche, depicting the rugged frontiers of the Northern Plateau and the lawlessness that came with it. Most novelists write slice-of-life works that do have political undertones, with genres such as romance and historical fiction popular. | ||
===Sports=== | ===Sports=== | ||
Following the Asteria Civil War, sports became a common area for people from different sides of the conflict to bond, especially in the form of physical sport. Most sports are managed through the [[National Sport and Athletics Association]] (NSAA), which manages athletic competitions and leagues from high school, college, and professional levels. The two sports with the largest following are football and baseball, and between the two one or the other are on television and radio for most of the year at the national level. [[March Madness]] refers to the six weeks between the [[Asteria Championships]] and [[Opening Day]], a time in which many Asterians are frustrated by the lack of sports on the air. The [[Asteria Baseball League]] operates with sixteen teams in two separate leagues and four divisions. Each division has four teams, with the most popular being the [[ | Following the Asteria Civil War, sports became a common area for people from different sides of the conflict to bond, especially in the form of physical sport. Most sports are managed through the [[National Sport and Athletics Association]] (NSAA), which manages athletic competitions and leagues from high school, college, and professional levels. The two sports with the largest following are football and baseball, and between the two one or the other are on television and radio for most of the year at the national level. [[March Madness]] refers to the six weeks between the [[Asteria Championships]] and [[Opening Day]], a time in which many Asterians are frustrated by the lack of sports on the air. The [[Asteria Baseball League]] operates with sixteen teams in two separate leagues and four divisions. Each division has four teams, with the most popular being the [[Yarmouth Mets]], the [[Concordia Filibusters]], and the [[Waverly Stars]]. Meanwhile, the [[Asteria Football League]] has twelve teams with two leagues, with two divisions of three teams in each league. The [[Yarmouth Titans]] and the [[Concordia Highlanders]] are the most popular rivalries, and the two teams regularly appear in championships. Most baseball games have at least a quarter of a million to half a million watching, while most football games have nearly a million viewing. Hockey has grown more popular, especially among the Atemeraw, but the NSAA has yet to form an organized league. Basketball is popular in urban areas and high school as well as college sports, but have likewise yet to reach a national level. | ||
===Symbols=== | ===Symbols=== | ||
''Are there any prominent symbols which are well known to represent your country?'' | ''Are there any prominent symbols which are well known to represent your country?'' | ||
| Line 221: | Line 221: | ||
The Asteria Civil War changed healthcare forever. With the use of chemical weapons and biological warfare during the later stages of the conflict, hundreds of thousands of civilians suffered from severe health issues, and over a million more physical ailments from the war, such as lost limbs and mental health issues. The [[Asteria Healthcare Act]] or the AHA was passed in 1934 as part of an historic expansion of social services. It established a two-tier healthcare system that has remained functional to this day. The rise in the cost of goods and services in the medical industry were capped, and raising the cap was based on the consumer price index and wages. The [[Health Security Agency]], or the HSA, is a sub-level organization within the Department of Health, was created to administer the system. All Asterians according to this system can access state healthcare free of charge, paid through with payroll taxes and taxes for higher-income individuals and companies. Every Asterian from birth is registered into the system, with all essential services provided for free. The HSA faces competition from the private sector, which while more expensive, provides better services. Employers use employer-based healthcare as an incentive to hire new employees, and the private elements of the healthcare industry force the public sector to compete and innovate. | The Asteria Civil War changed healthcare forever. With the use of chemical weapons and biological warfare during the later stages of the conflict, hundreds of thousands of civilians suffered from severe health issues, and over a million more physical ailments from the war, such as lost limbs and mental health issues. The [[Asteria Healthcare Act]] or the AHA was passed in 1934 as part of an historic expansion of social services. It established a two-tier healthcare system that has remained functional to this day. The rise in the cost of goods and services in the medical industry were capped, and raising the cap was based on the consumer price index and wages. The [[Health Security Agency]], or the HSA, is a sub-level organization within the Department of Health, was created to administer the system. All Asterians according to this system can access state healthcare free of charge, paid through with payroll taxes and taxes for higher-income individuals and companies. Every Asterian from birth is registered into the system, with all essential services provided for free. The HSA faces competition from the private sector, which while more expensive, provides better services. Employers use employer-based healthcare as an incentive to hire new employees, and the private elements of the healthcare industry force the public sector to compete and innovate. | ||
===Labor=== | ===Labor=== | ||
Although Asterians are typically pro-small business and support lower taxes and fewer government rules, labor unions are seen as the bedrock of the workforce, with a history going back to the Asteria Revolution. | Although Asterians are typically pro-small business and support lower taxes and fewer government rules, labor unions are seen as the bedrock of the workforce, with a history going back to the Asteria Revolution. Labor unions have existed since Asterian independence, with the [[Brotherhood of Farmers and Ranchers]] created in the far-north in 1834. Following independence, Asteria began a rapid industrialization out of Yarmouth, Concordia, and Waverly that ignited a massive wave of union activity. The Asteria Civil War, however, solidified the power of the labor union. During the early days of the conflict, President McPherson created the [[Bureau of Labor Relations]] or the BLR, which managed relations between unions, the government, and the private sector. This ensured that all three parties were given due consideration on contract issues. The [[National Labor Laws]] passed in the 1930s following the Civil War guaranteed labor unions collective bargaining rights, prevented workplaces from cracking down on union formation, and established dozens of new workplace safety and pay rights. In 1936, approximately 37% of working Asterians were members of a labor union. That increased to 55% in 1966, and again to 63% in 1996. Numbers have settled at around 70% by 2026, with most drivers, government employees, farmers, ranchers, laborers, teachers, and service workers belonging to some type of labor organization. | ||
===Transportation=== | ===Transportation=== | ||
' | Early roads in Asteria come from as early as the Atemeraw Confederacy, when trails between settlements were eventually patted down, with trees along these trails chopped down. Few examples of this exist, but most of these trails followed natural geography, and were the basis for most modern roadways. The first modern roadway was developed as the [[Western Turnpike]] rounding the Western Sound from Milsboro east to Yarmouth, then south through Natick and then into Waverly. The primary connection between the original colonies soon became the basis for a national motorway. A second turnpike system was developed after Kelly's War up the Yare River into Concordia. Following independence, developing a national turnpike system was a priority to policymakers in Concordia. A year after independence, the [[Concordia Line]] between that city and Yarmouth was the first railway line in Asteria. Over the next fifty years, thousands of miles of local roadways, turnpikes, railways, and even some canals were developed. In 1907, the [[White Rose Highway]] was created, making a circle from Milsboro through to Waverly, then moving north through Concordia into Nahena. Over half of Asteria's traffic moved through this system. | ||
The [[Port Authority of Yarmouth]] deals with over half of Asteria's naval traffic, holding the largest port facilities along the Yare River. Some medium-sized ships can move up the Yare River into Concordia, and even as far north as Willimantic. | |||
===Energy=== | ===Energy=== | ||
'' | Natural resources have been vital to Asteria's energy production, as well as powering up the cities and towns across the country. Whale oil was the first major resource required to light up city streets and homes, and whaling was one of the largest employers out of Waverly, Melville, and Ocean City. However, with the collapse of the whaling industry in the 1890s and 1900s, and Asteria Civil War of the late-1920s, much of the nation spent a decade in darkness. The creation of electricity was a landmark event, the [[Waverly Electric]] founded in 1912 to transform the entire nation's grid. According to local legend, the electric lightbulb was created in Waverly by [[Daniel Cosgrove]], who in 1877 was working on whaling ships. In reality, he had spent time overseas and in 1902 patented the electric lightbulb in Asteria. The destruction of the nation during the Civil War saw President McPherson hire Cosgrove and Waverly Electric to connect the entire nation to a unified electrical grid. Powered by offshore natural gas, in the 1960s, the government began to shift towards nuclear energy. The [[Atomic Energy Bureau]], created in 1949, was responsible in 1966 to constructing seven nuclear power plants, which powers most of the nation. | ||
===Technology=== | ===Technology=== | ||
''How advanced is your country? Is it an innovator, or does it largely import new developments?'' | ''How advanced is your country? Is it an innovator, or does it largely import new developments?'' | ||