Join the new world

Note: Please, always keep in mind this is a game. It’s supposed to be fun; it’s not real. Furthermore, this is a social strategy game. What we are doing here isn’t fighting, it’s genuine debate. If building virtual tanks and clicking the ‘Fight’ button is what you enjoy, by all means do that—but please don’t misconstrue fun ePolitics with infighting.

eSouth Africa,

Well, well. It seems we’ve stirred up quite the debate. This is really exciting, and I’m glad to see people active again. The community is becoming vibrant once more—people are becoming informed and integrated. I try to empathize with what a new player must see in our media right now—a political debate that is exciting and raw—something that shows that eRep is worth sticking around for. People now have a reason to log on and play the game.

For example, we have oldies like my good friend and personal hero Mark Morcom becoming involved in the political sphere again. I even see Lazer Fazer in there! 🙂 We have Party leaders pm’ing the two-clickers and zombies—integrating them into our community. (If you haven’t already started messaging them, I suggest you do. I will be.) We have a genuine political debate.

Some people have jumped to call me a “PTOer” (Political Take Over-er). I prefer the term political catalyst.

The use of this term is funny to me for a few reasons…

1. Having occupied the Presidency, Speaker, and almost every ministerial position—and having put in countless months of work for eSA in many different fields—having been fair and friendly my entire life…. I can be called a PTOer.
2. What I’m doing through this process is trying to fix the Party and fix a political system that is ripe for PTO exploitation. Already this process has made the community more active, informed, integrated and exciting (absolutely essential for an ATO population). And in the revolutionized IA, our description will encourage players to join the disproportionately smaller parties to prevent them from being PTO’d.
3. A Political Take Over implies there’s something active and political to take over. Not something we’ve seen from the IA or other parties in several months.

In fact, I think the use of “PTO” to describe what we are doing reveals a vulnerability by those trying to preserve the status quo. They know these ideas are true, they know things aren’t right the way they are now. But by calling me a PTOer and slandering my name, misunderstanding my ideas, and claiming I have ulterior motives is an attempt to create fear.

Fear is a tool used to control and command us. Fear is used to preserve the status quo.

The status quo is not fun
The status quo is not healthy
The status quo is dangerous
The status quo is unacceptable

It’s natural to be afraid, my friends. But I am not afraid, and you should overcome your fear with reason, as I did. I’m not afraid of being demonized by those that I knew would disagree. I’m not afraid of having a genuine political debate. I’m not afraid of having my friends and idols slander my name and become upset with me.

I’m not afraid because I know that this is right. I’m not afraid because I know this to be true. I know this process will be good for the Party and good for the country. You have to fight for what you believe in no matter what.



The only thing that gets to me is those who claim I have a personal vendetta against the IA. If you’ve ever read anything from me, you’d know I have a deep-seated love for history and community in eSA. I love IA, I always have. All I’ve ever valued is debate, different perspectives, and competition. I’ve never spoken one malicious word against the IA or anyone in it. Check my record. Every single one of you is a dear friend and inspiration to me. Envy? I’ve done and had everything there is in this game, I have no envy. What I do want is for others to be able to have fun as I did. That’s what this is about.

What we are doing here is without party affiliation. I’m independent on this, and it has nothing to do with any other parties. It’s not about one person, it’s not about one party. It’s about everyone, it’s about the future of this country and what’s good for it.

I have a memory of hiking through a forest with my father as a child. The forest was a national park; pristine, a true wilderness. However, during our hike we came along a section of forest that was burned down and blackened. Most of the leaves were gone. I asked my father how this came to be, and he replied that it was a controlled-forest fire created by the Park Rangers. Not understanding how such seeming destruction could be done by those who were supposed to manage the forest, I pressed him as to why they started the fire. He explained that some fires were good, and they helped clean the forest and give way to new growth. As a child, I could not see the relationship between the two.

Today, I understand this man-made forest fire. It did make those woods healthier, encouraging the evolution of fire-resistant and hardy plants, encouraging new life to emerge from the forest floor. Without destruction, there is no evolution. This is what we are trying to do with the Independent Alternative. Burn down the old, boring, harmful political structure of the IA (and nation) in order to give way to new and better ideas. The IA zombie foliage is blocking sunlight from reaching the forest floor—new political plants cannot grow. We need to allow new political life to emerge. New ideas. New horizons.

As Luc said, the IA just needs a spark


And that is a point I must stress. We will not destroy the IA. In fact, we will strengthen it. What we are destroying is its current form. Ultimately, this will create a better Party and better political system for everyone. Evolution.

Instead of slandering my name and pretending the IA is alive when it’s not…instead of making false accusations that this is somehow part of OOPS (this has nothing to do with them or any other party. This is me, leave others out of it.)…why not counter my ideas with some of your own ideas?

I have presented my ideas and policies that will create a better Party and eSA. Now I challenge my opposition in the old IA to come up with a single positive idea or policy for the country.

Don’t just claim that the zombie party is alive. Prove that it is alive. Be active, contribute, come up with some good ideas.

Rekindle the collective imagination that formed the Independent Alternative. Make people appreciate its art. Let’s have some fun.

“And at the same time it only unifies IA more and gives us more reason to become bigger and stronger than ever.” –El Fidel

Respectfully,

-O.

I am interested to hear your opinions. If you agree/disagree, please comment and say so.

Check out other articles in the debate. Look at this collective imagination.
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/-moda-news-update-part-1-1900202/1/20#comments
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/-moda-news-update-part-2-1900278/1/20
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/independent-alternative-is-alive--1900165/1/20
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/the-ia-power-the-zombies-will-eat-you--1900082/1/20
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/rebuttal-to-ia-invasion-1900392/1/20
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/on-ia-1900437/1/20
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/a-response-to-oprah-from-mark-morcom-1900428/1/20
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/reaction-to-lol-ia-pto-oprah-and-various-other-esa-things-1900466/1/20
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/irony1-1900456/1/20
http://forums.erepubliksa.com/politics/ia-oprah/msg119942/?topicseen#new
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/just-a-comment-from-me--1900483/1/20#comments
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/an-independent-alternative-idea-1900487/1/20