As it stands we really shouldn't be thinking about whether or not we're trying to preserve the Tokyo political system.
Unfortunately, every single person we talk to will be asking themselves whether what kind of threat we pose to the status quo. And until we have an answer for that question, the thread will rehash the debate every time the question is asked, even if every single time it ends up replying "no comment". And because I'm pretty sure the topic has been a horrendous shitshow every time it's been raised so far, it will be a horrendous shitshow again and again. I want to short-circuit that
right now.
As for the specifics of your argument: I agree that we can't make a final decision here and now whether we should topple the Council or not, but that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if we should even
contemplate knocking it over. We will ask completely different questions, look for completely different weaknesses and strengths, look to talk to completely different people, use completely different language, and consider completely different goals if we allow ourselves to pursue solutions which lead to the dissolution of the Council in the process of stabilizing the area and improving the lives of the magical girls in Tokyo. Formally, I'm asking whether we want to establish a schelling point for time-shifted variants of ourselves on "don't knock over local governments" to help us avoid unpleasantly contentious debates around slippery-slope type topics, either by declaring that that behavior is acceptable as long as we are actually doing good (essentially declaring that there is no slippery slope, only an engineering problem) or by setting in stone (or, well, Madoka-declarations) a line which we will not cross.
edit: Honestly, though, I kind of expect the question to be moot.
I am becoming convinced that the Tokyo Council is only stable by
massive application of mindfuckery and that we'll be forced to burn it to the ground and start over because the Tokyo girls wouldn't trust anything with even a minuscule shred of a relationship with the old Council.
I approved of Pheonixian's vote re-politics because our focus is on what our actions might do as short-term shake up and leads the greater political considerations and maneuvering to the two girls who seem to be good at it. The points of cleansing trips, clear seeds, and recruiting were specific concerns that we have. It's not railroading them because it's only a focus on what we're doing and leaving the rest of the political build up in their capable hands.
This argument represents a gross misunderstanding of human conversational dynamics and how discussions like this proceed. There is no "We'll focus on this and leave the rest to them". There is only the current topic, whatever that may be. Bringing these concerns up guarantees that the entire discussion will revolve around them. And as you yourself state, these are short-term things that only Sabrina would care about and it would be a gross waste to spend Madoka's and Hitomi's time on them at the present moment.
but it doesn't seem as concerned with getting local information from either of the teams.
Because, frankly, we do not care about the details of their local situations. The people we're going to be talking to are far better-equipped to tell us what they need. Instead of trying to obtain details on all of the groups near them so that we can make that decision for them, we should ask them what they need and listen to what they say.
anyway... *plants flag on hill* I made a vote for this quest for once! I shall stand by it!
I can't tell if you're joking or not, and if you are I apologize in advance for inappropriately raining on your parade, but I can't help but be annoyed by this line of thought. "It's my plan so I'm going to stand by it even if it's wrong" is terrible reasoning and it and its ilk are responsible for some of the worst engineering and military disasters in human history. Have the courage to doubt yourself.
