Category:Culture of the United Citizen Federation

Since the Federation rose from the ashes of the old world nearly two centuries ago, one Earth united under a single government, the culture and society of humanity has changed dramatically in some ways and remained relatively similar to what came before in others. This is not due to some oversight on the part of the Federation but is rather a fact which is lauded and encouraged by Earth’s government.The Founders understood that nothing grows in a sterile, homogenised environment. Just as in nature, humanity can only thrive if there is competition. The competition they had was one another and the Federation has taken pains throughout the many years of its history to make certain every existing culture on Earth was allowed to survive and thrive.

For example, the Federation supplies government housing, made available to every citizen and civilian. Though these housing blocks share certain similarities no matter where they are located, they are also designed and built with the local culture in mind. In Japan, for example, the housing projects are built with steeply-pitched roofs, lacquered doorsand, in homes with more than one room, paper walls. In areas like Mexico and the American West, housing projects feature stucco exterior walls, bright interiors and tile floors. Obviously, there is more to a culture than just housing but, in nearly every way possible, the Federation actively encourages the continuity of old cultures throughout the world. There was significant concern when the Citizens’ Federation instituted English as the only official and accepted language that the other languages of Earth would die out, and the cultures they embodied along with them. Fortunately, both for the preservation of the cultures and the cultural and social growth that comes with diversity, that has not happened. Even obscure languages like Tagalog have survived and thrived. They may not be used in school or business, but they continue to be spoken in homes of people who make maintaining a cultural heritage a point of pride.

There are some cultures that take adherence to the old ways even further, as is their right. For example, in the Amazon rain forest of South America, a region of the world that was spared the majority of the destruction that was the hallmark of the Disorders, there are still some indigenous tribes that practise a Stone Age lifestyle. They are born, live and die just as their ancestors have for thousands of years, making their living by fishing, hunting and gathering, building their own shelters and keeping completely to themselves. Technically, they are required to register any births at the nearest Federation Health Centre, if only so that the newborn child may receive his Federal Identification Code (FIC) and be processed into the system. In practice, this rarely happens and, for such cultures, the Federation tends to turn a blind eye to this choice.

Although the advent of the Federation united the people of Earth under a single government for the first time in history, a government and a way of life that has endured for centuries since its founding, it would be a mistake to assume that every place on Earth is exactly the same. While the consistency of government, as well as the immediacy of technology, communications and transportation, has certainly contributed to a sort of homogenisation of the different cultures and peoples of the Earth, not all differences have been forgotten. The lines marking the borders of old nations still exist on the map, though those nations are obviously no longer sovereign entities, their status under the global government of the Federation altered to be more like that of a state or province. Nonetheless, the people of those ancient countries have not all been blended into a bland amalgam of humanity. Rather, they have found ways to preserve what they can of their ancient cultures while still becoming fully invested and patriotic citizens and civilians of the orderly government of the Federation.