- published: 02 Feb 2013
- views: 130522
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided. In theoretical terms, the idea of "sovereignty", historically, from Socrates to Thomas Hobbes, has always necessitated a moral imperative on the entity exercising it.
For centuries past, the idea that a state could be sovereign was always connected to its ability to guarantee the best interests of its own citizens. Thus, if a state could not act in the best interests of its own citizens, it could not be thought of as a “sovereign” state.
The concept of sovereignty has been discussed throughout history, from the time of the Romans through to the present day. It has changed in its definition, concept, and application throughout, especially during the Age of Enlightenment. The current notion of state sovereignty is often traced back to the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which, in relation to states, codified the basic principles:
YOU NEVER KNEW ME, YOU LOOKED RIGHT THROUGH ME
TO YOUR OWN ENDS, I WAS ONLY A PAWN
IN YOUR SHADOW GREW A PASSIONATE ANGER
A CHILD OFTEN KNOWS MORE THAN HE LETS ON
I’VE GOT A BULLET…COME AND GET IT
THESE WORDS ARE HOLLOW POINT AND AIMED AT YOUR HEAD
FROM THIS PEN, COCKED, READY, AND LOADED
I WRITE YOUR NAME, AS ‘PUT TO DEATH’
LIE DEAD…UNNAMEABLE
I’VE WAITED SO LONG, I’VE HATED SO STRONG
BLINDING FURY IS THE BEAST ON MY BACK
WHAT KIND OF COWARD DARES TO THREATEN MY MOTHER
TELLING HER, YOU’LL DANCE ON HER HEAD
I UNDERSTAND NOW, THE PAST IS RIGHT NOW
THE THINGS YOU SAID ARE NOW COMING BACK
YOU TOLD MY FATHER THAT YOU’D BREAK BOTH HIS LEGS
MAKES ME FEEL LIKE SNAPPING YOUR NECK
LIE DEAD…YOUR EPITAPH, READS BLACKENED…AND UNNAMEABLE
AS A YOUNG CHILD, HIDDEN IN THE DARKNESS OF YOUR
SHADOW…
I GREW INTO THE POWER, I GREW INTO THE KNOWLEDGE...
THAT BEFORE YOU, THERE WAS ME…THAT BEFORE YOU, I WAS
FREE
FREE TO BE THE CHILD, THIS CHILD WAS MEANT TO BE
NOW AS AN ADULT, I’VE LEARNED THE DEPTH OF YOUR LIES
THE DEPTH OF YOUR DECEPTION...
AND SO YOUR NAME LIES DEAD…FORSAKEN…FORGOTTEN…FOREVER
LIE DEAD…YOUR EPITAPH, READS BLACKENED…AND UNNAMEABLE
LIAR
IT’S NOT THE FIRST TIME, BUT IT’S THE LAST TIME
THAT I SPEAK OF YOU IN ANY WAY
TIME IS TAPPING AT THE CHIP ON MY SHOULDER
AND I DON’T NEED THE MISERY
I’VE GOT A BULLET…COME AND GET IT
THESE WORDS ARE HOLLOW POINT AND AIMED AT YOUR HEAD
FROM MY PEN, COCKED, READY, AND LOADED
DON’T EVEN THINK I EVER GAVE A DAMN
I AM MY FATHERS SON