Ascension on the Horizon

Ascension on the Horizon is a popular phrase and propaganda song in the United Kingdom of Malgrave. It was first noticed in the 1980s and has been linked by historians to be part of the popular response to the end of the civil war, although, immensely popular between 1984 and 1990 it experience a sharp drop in popularity due to the hardship of the Lost Decade.

Since 2000 it has experienced a resurgence in popularity. It is now mostly associated with efforts organised by the trade union movement to promote goals related to the current three-year plan but has some connections to the Royal Navy and Territoial Defence Force.

History

It is not known when the phrase ascension on the horizon was first made due to the potentiality of many phrases at the end of the civil war era, however, the first recorded use of the phrase has been linked to an article in the Royal Malgravean Times celebrating the signing of the Epping-Rensk agreement in which the RMT editorial board claimed that the agreement would lead to ascension on the horizon.

In 1985, a song started gaining traction among conscripts in the Territorial Defence Force which spoke to the general optimism in the country, with large strides in economic production, a boom in cultural productions and the development of a healthy atmosphere for research and development which was seen as making the goal of ascension visible on the horizon.

In the same year, the song was further boosted when popular performer Sakura Saito sang the song during a performance to celebrate the Day of Progress, an event which caused widespread celebrations across Malgrave and has been credited with cementing the unity of the people which until that point had remained somewhat fragile.

In the 90's the start of the era now known as the Lost Decade caused both the phrase and the song to become increasingly unpopular and it practically dropped out of usage, however, the end of the lost decade and the economic revival experienced in the 2000s led to the song and phrase going through a resurgence with Yukika Saito performing the song in 2020 to celebrate the Day of Progress.

Criticism

Ascension on the Horizon has faced some criticism over the years, with representatives of the Socialist Party initially claiming that unfairly praised the demise of the Socialist Republic of Malgrave, however, this is a criticism that has since been dropped.

Critics have attacked the song for being overtly nationalistic, as it calls for the spirit of ascension and social solidarity to be known by the entire world, however, this has often been used to describe Malgravean charitable endeavours. In 1987, the Malgravean Green Party attacked the song for its occasional references to the military, as the song can contain references to different branches of the Malgravean Armed Forces.

In 2020 this debate resurfaced, as Yukika Saito made a call for citizens to rally behind the sailors of the Malgravean Royal Navy and advance towards ascension, however, this was defended as a call to support the nation in a time of conflict and as a nod of thanks towards those in the Royal Navy.