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it's time for: azure moon & democracy! specifically, how the game lays the groundwork for a participatory gov't in dimitri's solo end card thru dimitri's focus on evening the playing field to give everyone a voice & his anger at those who impose their will on others (1/?)
i'm going to start, of all places, w/ felix being a mouthy s.o.b. i'm pointing this out bc dimitri here is interested in freedom of speech. specifically, he's interested in free speech from those hierarchically below him, EVEN when they're critical of him.
we also see dimitri's desire for equality & free conversation in forms of address. dimitri seems v aware that equality in speech encourages equality in relations. he's EAGER to level out relations thru speech & action, tho he respects dedue & ashe's refusals to drop formalities
democracy is about allowing the people to have a say in how things are run. this participation thru having a voice is a key focus in the end card description.
also a focus is "foreign relations" (or in jpn 異民族 which can also refer to internal ethnic r/s, thnx @slip_fe3h) so:
also a focus is "foreign relations" (or in jpn 異民族 which can also refer to internal ethnic r/s, thnx @slip_fe3h) so:
we know dimitri's idea of equality isn't 'everyone is the same.' it's about everyone being valued & respected, including for differences. this comes up the most re: racial justice w/ duscur, but it also applies to crests, religion, & lineage (so, nobility)
but dimitri is also aware that power imbalances in society are damaging. bc society is ALREADY imbalanced, those who already HAVE power decide how things are run & create the narrative of what justice is
this is why it's so important that dimitri is interested in systemic reform, specifically economic injustice. fighting economic injustice allows everyone to ACTUALLY have a voice in self-governance & stops those in power from imposing THEIR voices, bc it empowers EVERYONE
interestingly to me, this also gives insight into how dimitri acts pre-gronder. to him, those with power impose their wills on others through violence, which is monstrous, but he believes that the only way to stop it is to impose HIS will thru violence, for those who can't fight
thus he perpetuates the violence to try to stop it. but he still holds onto his ideas of justice. they're just horribly warped. (that's why even when allies argue w/ him, he just stomps off or yells instead of imposing his will. & when they ignore him he does nothing. which, lol)
once dimitri recovers, the ideals of equality & the right to govern your own path & choose your own life comes out more strongly than ever & inform his convo w/ el. he believes pushing his ideals onto others is self-righteousness bc it's what he DID
thus he turns to collective action. & that collective action is enabled by reforming the system to create economic equality & by fighting against all forms of discrimination, bc only then can everyone join together to support each other & guide the future
dimitri isn't very overt re: politics, but democracy lines up w/ his ideals. he's consistent throughout that he values SYSTEMIC justice. he supports free speech, free religion, & racial & economic justice bc he believes collective action is the path to a better world (12/12)
also bonus notes: 1) we know AM ends in separation of church & state bc byleth & dimitri are described as arguing as the respective heads of institutions. that means the institutions must be separate w/ differing goals.
2) introducing democracy means the nobles will increasingly be losing power until they're basically irrelevant (eg, the erosion of the power of the UK's nobles as they increasingly lost land, money, & political sway). it's the only way for all ppl to have a voice
bonus info on dimitri's probable distrust for the church as an institution. since a lot of this is about the church imposing its idea of 'right' on others, it makes a lot of sense imo https://twitter.com/marezaha/status/1281814419308257282
i'd guess that byleth being in charge in AM means the church doesn't do the "MURDER THE HERETICS" thing (esp w/ dimitri's stated distaste for religious discrimination) & prob does more w/ the "offer aid to those who need it" thing, since that's dimitri's focus
