A Fairy Tale?

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in the far away Kingdom of Deltonia, lived the mighty King Richard, descended from the House of Lorenzo. For years Richard and his Court had schemed to bring Deltonia and the Northwest Kingdom under his reign, thus bringing him and his henchmen untold riches and power.

Finally he was successful. But to consolidate his power he had to bring the people of the Northwest Kingdom, known as unionistas, under control. Over the years they had developed a tradition of speaking their minds and enjoyed democracy. By uniting together they had even gained the right to bargain with the Royal Family for higher wages and more benefits.

Once the merger of the Kingdoms was complete, the people of Deltonia began to notice disturbing changes under the rule of King Richard. In the past, they had been ruled by more benevolent kings who had given them much of what the unionistas had so that certain ideas would not become popular in the Kingdom. The cause of the unionistas began to take hold. Some, who spoke openly in favor of these ideas, were banished from the Realm. In spite of an atmosphere of fear and intimidation the unionista cause grew stronger.

Elections for King were possible in Deltonia. But the King had enforced a strange law, used in no other land, which proclaimed that all citizens who did not vote were counted for the King. This law made it almost impossible to unseat the King. To make matters worse, the King told his subjects they should not vote. In this atmosphere many simply sat the elections out.

Many thought the law was unfair, so the Great Court was petitioned for a change. You see, in most other lands decisions were made by those who chose to participate, not by a King and not by those who stayed silent.

King Richard became furious. He accused the unionistas of trying to undermine the Kingdom and of consorting with Dragons. He said it was unfair to change the rules because they had been in force for so long. Most in the Kingdom knew King Richard was angry because his total control was being threatened. If the rules were changed it was a near certainty the unionistas would win and he would have to share his wealth and power with all the people.

The Great Court listened to the arguments made by both sides. On the one hand were the unionistas, thousands and even millions of them who knew that the request for a change was fair and would advance the cause of democracy. On the other hand were the Kings of Unitedalia, Americana, Mesabaland, Comaironia. They resisted with all their might. If the unionistas were successful, they believed, the very foundation of control would be eroded.

In the end the unionistas prevailed against great odds. The laws were changed. The election was won and King Richard was forced to share power and wealth with his people. In the next several years many other Kingdoms followed suit. And they lived happily ever after.