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eBelgium is really interesting to me. While I do not favor a lot of their political structure, I am always interested in the logic of their political system as well as why do they act/ react to events the way they do. While they are a state like that of eUK, eNL, eGermany etc, they are unique. When thinking about the title of this article I consider Belgians are from Mars and Netherlands are from Venus. I do not like this title since it is too long and it engenders the discussion. While Belgians are weaker and in my opinion less experienced than the Dutch, that does not mean the Belgians are effeminate. However, there are something really different between Belgium and that of other countries.

After thinking about this topic, I see eBelgium is not only a country in the game but that they have another identity in which most other countries do not have. They see themselves not just a federation of independent sub-communities within a greater community called the nation, Belgium is like a family unit, a tribe like identity which the bonds between the sub-communities are closer and more "communal" than that of most other countries. With exceptions like the so called Belgian Civil War between the Wardist and Shadowist (Shadowist are mostly outsiders anyways) the Belgian community is one family unit with family roles and support. While this sounds warm and ideal, this system does have both benefits and problems.

If you look into the political culture of eBelgium, the Belgians are not cynical. From an outsider, they can be viewed as naive and even silly. However, the mentality of the Belgians are that of a family. In most cases, there are not many problems that cause distrust between members. If there are tensions, it is often between the immigrants to eBelgium who has yet adopted the family oriented mentality.

In the clan of eBelgium, Elynea is the mother figure. She was the CP of eBelgium before most are eAlive and now her main focus is the BTA and to help the new players. She does see eBelgium and especially the young and new players as her children. She spends cash on gold to fund programs that will help them grow. She also cannot stand any one or group to disrupt the system. She sees change as a threat to the status quo which might put her "children" at risk. She is really defensive about people who change the political system.

It is hard to put people like Mittekemuis and MaryamQ into a direct family role. While they are like mothers like Elynea, they are less protective. Overall, they are more like grandmothers in which they love their grandchildren but they are not as directly active like that of Elynea. Also from in my opinion, Mittekemuis and MaryamQ is best identified as grandmothers as they are much wiser than Elynea. Elynea acts solely on raw emotions and passion (motherly instinct) the grandmothers of eBE are more analytical, calmer, but still "motherly."

NLSP's role in the clan of Belgium is that of a father figure. I am not saying that he is a role model or the ideal citizen, but he is the person of absolute ethics and discipline. While Elynea is kind caring mother, NLSP loves to focus on punishment and maintaining order. In his now repealed law "No Pain No Gain" he tried to made justice and punishment as something absolute. Even now he tries to create more laws solely focus on punishments. In his time as mod, he does not look at context in punishment but something as absolute. For his primary focus is order regardless of the results.

ThomasRed is the clan elder. While he does not really do anything for eBelgium as most other citizens, he is one of the oldest Belgians and be it justly or unjustly, is considered to be the founder of eBelgium. It is due to his position, he has a say in almost everything in eBelgium. Often times, his word is law and since he is the elder of the clan, the people follow his wishes blindly. When ask why follow TR's ideas, most of the time the reply would be "He is the founder of eBelgium and he should know what is best."

The normal Belgians that share this identity is best categorized as the sons and daughters of the family. People like Critically and Nohjis etc best fit in this category. They are nice people who really believe in this relationship and they contribute in a supportive brotherly/ sisterly relationship. This is why in the media comments, the feedback and comments are always positive even if the article is not really good.

The last group of people is hard to name. I think the best name is the people of bad influence. People like Shadow, MG, myself, and others are considered people of bad influence since they critique this family relationship. People that are from other countries that do not conform to this view tends to be the people of bad influence as well. From the "family's" perspective, the people of bad influence are not nice. Critiquing the eBelgium system is like critiquing the family. Who are you to critique my family?

The benefits of the family system promotes a much more egalitarian system. While there are conflicts, it is a lot tamer than that of most other countries. Insults between family members are almost not present at all and there are a lot of support for each other. The political system is tamer and as the family members care about each other's feelings.

There are also a lot of negative as well. Since critiquing the system is viewed as attacking the family, they view people who wants reforms and expressing new ideas as potentially dangerous. eBE is not really open to new ideas and is not the most innovative country in the eWorld. Like I said with the article of the performance a government member, even if they do a poor job, they are praised. This easy and loving way of politics does not produce the stress and urgency to compel that person to excel for the best. Also, it is this egalitarian politics, the politics in eBelgium is not really competitive as most other countries. It tends to be more oligarchical than most other countries in eRep. (Clan Elder TR) The biggest problem of the family mentality in eBE is the personalness of it. Like in the current war between the Dutch and the Belgians. What was a fun war turns ugly mainly due to this family mentality. It is bad enough for Shadow to critique the family, now you have a different "clan" "physically" attacking the family. They take this really personal and hence the moralistic language adopted by the Belgians. While they care about their land, threatening the congress election is threatening the family's honor and wellbeing. The war is no longer a "fun" war for it is personal. The Belgians sees it as an attack of their family and honor. The Dutch sees the reaction of the Belgians like Goopy's treaty and the moralistic attacks of the eBE citizens as insulting.

In the end, the Dutch and the Belgians have a very different viewpoints as well as identity. Whereas most states are a collection of parties and interest under the banner of their flag, eBelgium is one family under one flag. It does have benefits and disadvantages, but we should understand their position as well. We do not have to like or approve of their system but to understand them will understand their way of thinking which will allow us to create better policies towards them. To understand them also might help us better ourselves as a community.

Konrad Neumann
-German President x3
-Officer of Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw (Political dedication and service)
-Knight of Orde van Oranje Nassau (Societal dedication and service)
-19 time congressman
-Advisor to the Raidoh Administration
-Former Minister of Interior of Netherlands
-Former Minister Foreign Affairs of Netherlands
-Former Party President of Green Liberal Democrats [GLD]
-Former Party President of Open Minded Germany [OMG]
-Retired Emeritus of the now defunct Phoenix
-Co-Author of the Frankfurt Treaty
-One of the negotiator, author of the Phoenix alliance under then President Donnie Bronco
-Vice/MoFA of eGermany from August to January
-Former eGerman ambassador to eAustralia, eUK, and UNL