A Call to Arms!

Day 832, 16:12 • Published in USA USA • by PigInZen


If there's one thing I have learned from the past eight months I've spent in various Presidential Cabinets it is that one person cannot tackle this game alone. In as much as one person's damage in a battle may or not make the difference (usually not...) collectively, all of our damage can win the battle.

It is no different in the governance of the eUS. One person, no matter how qualified, no matter how effective, no matter how diligent cannot bring us to success single-handedly. Consider this argument to be my platform for POTUS. It's not about me, or what I intend to do, as much as it is about the rest of you - how much the collective "you" are willing to get involved, how much effort the collective "you" are willing to contribute, how much the collective "you" are willing to work towards our future.

For what seems like months now we've been bemoaning our slowly declining country; citizen retention has been an issue for how long? Citizen recruitment too? We've had baby boom wishes for so long it's hard to recall a time when we didn't worry about the future. And now it seems like all of these concerns including increased economic worry have all descended upon us at once.

Hint: this current state has been a long, long time coming. We've been essentially lacking a certain something for a while now...


What Have We Been Missing?



What have we been missing for months now?

A reason to play.

Wait, that's it? That's your answer, PiZ? Yep, that's it. When were we at our pinnacle of involvement, when was our population increasing, when were people logging in each and every day waiting to find out what would happen next? Right. When we were being invaded. It was the eUS against all of the baddies and Americans at heart love an underdog. It was that story, that storyline of fighting for your country, that urge of the moment that drove us. And ever since we kicked Hungary off the North American continent there's been a certain something... lacking.

I actually want to do something about this. I don't like to cast aspersions to the previous presidents so this isn't about what we should have done but rather what I want to do from March 5 onward. Yeah, I know, I could have put up sooner than later and done some of these things myself. But like I said earlier, without the rest of you my efforts would probably fall by the wayside. Maybe I could make a little dent into our problems. But I do know that if I can motivate you all and harness that energy and enthusiasm that I know exists out there that it would be so much more effective.

Hence why I'm waiting until now to spring this on you.




THIS IS A CALL



First, load this song.

Never fear, I wouldn't be so mean as to not point to a YouTube link...

It's time for you all to get involved. We need help. And by "we" I mean the eUS government and by extension eUS society. If you see fit to vote for me for President of the eUS on March 5th I will be making citizen involvement, recruitment and retention my #1 focus. It is where my interests in eRepublik truly lie. In furtherance of this goal, I have some ideas...

1. Create a national goal. No, not the silly in-game goals but rather a goal to which we all should aspire. This goal will be national organization and community building.

- Recruit citizens of specific talent to produce targeted flyers and postings for targeted recruitment away from the traditional recruitment feeding grounds of online gaming forums.

- Use template-driven Facebook outreach for generic recruitment. This game is right up Facebook user's alley and we should recognize it. The new Facebook synchronization utility on your homepage is our ticket to recruitment.

- Recruit citizens with knowledge of php/MySQL to produce database-driven applications for all citizens' use. WE NEED PROGRAMMERS!

- Drive new citizens to the eUS forums via in game PMs (using the National Database).

- Increase the activity of Ambassadors.

- Increase the importance of Political Parties. It is going to be essential that political parties fill the void in government policy. Last month's Congressional Election showed the need for us to fill every Congressional spot to avoid PTO efforts. I believe that we could realistically see serious, contended Congressional races. But that's a ton more work for political parties...


2. Create a national story. This differs from the national goal in that the storyline will define who we are and where we want to go.

- Introduce some role-playing into our policies. No, I'm not going to put on my wizard hat and robe. No that kind of role-playing... Rather, role-playing in the idea of the eUS being the "good guy" and "fighting on the side of right." We've seen our national self-image take a hit recently and many have been wondering if outside of their damage contributions if there is any reason to this all. I want there to be a reason why we do the things we do. I also want there to be disagreement over said reason!

- One of the great things about Emerick's presidency was that he always had a narrative to the actions we took. Expect more of that. I don't mean to invoke Em as our solution, far from it, too many people are ready to wrap themselves in the Shroud of Emerick and lay claim to his mantle. I'm not one of them but I will feel free to steal from some of his methods.

- Take a step back from the mechanical nature of our policies as of late. We've tried turning this game into some sort of tactically-driven wargame (which it is, to some extent...) but that leaves out so much that we're left wanting. Besides, the vast majority never get the chance to actually debate or make decisions of just what the hell we do policy-wise anyway. Which gets me to our next point...


3. Create different communication systems of a more collaborative nature.

- We have a wealth of communications systems at our disposal, we need to USE THEM! The eUS forum, IRC, wiki, in game chat rooms are all underused in my opinion. These are the glue that holds our online society together.

- Department Secretaries will be responsible for holding weekly "Salons" in which open participation in our governmental decisions is encouraged. These will occur either on the eUSforum, in IRC or in the National Chat room. I haven't decided on the best venue. Perhaps we'll rotate them and see what works best. This is the way for all of you to get your voice heard. I can hear the groans from some quarters already... lump it. We've been focused on excluding voices and shouting people down for so long we don't realize how exclusive we've become in the ranks of power.

- Promote and encourage the use of the eUS wiki. Aha! You were probably unaware that we had such a thing, right? Well, it's fairly new and I would like to give a public recognition to LifesaverM for his work in making this thing go. I envision that eventually the eUS wiki (a separate site from the eRepublik wiki) will contain all of our government documentation as well as information on game mechanics and rules as well as advice. There will also be links to forms, reports, and organizations. A true centralized national phone book of sorts.




My Goal - The Great Society



(Yeah, that's the old 10,000 Fists! image... so sue me.)

I alluded to The Great Society in my last article. Here is what it will take

1. Increased organization at the government level.

- I'm your guy for this. I've been focused on government organization in eRep since practically my first day as Deputy Chief of Staff for then-President Harrison Richardson.

- A greater tiering of government decision-making and a broader involvement in all levels.

- Increased usage of the Department of Human Resources. In short, we need a place, a centralized place for citizens to go to to find out just how they can help. I've pushed for this since I created the HR Department under Gaius Julius' Presidency.

2. Less bitching, more action.

- That's right, I said it. I'll be the first to lead by example. It is always easiest to find problems and call people out rather than to ask "how can I help fix this?" Well, the time is nigh - I'm calling out the collective eUS citizenry. GET INVOLVED.

3. More Writers.

- We're going to need more writers. eRepublik is media-driven and the media cycle is 24-36 hours. That's a ton of writing. We'll need writers to publish government positions in foreign media, writers to publish government articles domestically. We've made headway with the White House Press Office but it's not enough.

4. Less focus on what's wrong and more on how YOU can help make it right.




My Pledge to You All



Again with lemony fresh scent!

I will push for greater national imput and discussion on the mundane.

I will create a new Department of Technology.

I will consult with military command and our allies to make the best decisions possible with regard to foreign policy and war.

I will actively encourage political parties to become more involved in the day-to-day support system of our nation.

I will not accept Cabinet members who are rude, elitist or carry political agendas.

I will accept as my Vice President the runner up in the election.

Finally, I will always, always take criticism and be held accountable for our failures, be they of my own doing, the doing of members of my administration, or of us collectively. That's what leaders do. They stand up and lead.

If you support this agenda, my plans for the coming term, then by all means VOTE PigInZen for US President on March 5th. I believe this is the focus that our nation needs at this moment in time. Wars, alliances and taxes are not the sole solution.




E Pluribus Unum. From Many, One.



I'LL SAY IT AGAIN: Together we have strength beyond measure. Do your part. Follow DoD orders. Fight with weapons. Maintain your wellness. SUPPORT THE CAUSE.