The Future is Always Beginning Now

Day 2,053, 23:21 • Published in USA USA • by Azazel Romanov


Thought I'd write something up now that I have some free time to spare. I just finished reading DMV3's new article "America: A Culture in Decline", and I have to say I agree with it quite strongly. I've written several times before about the importance of community, cooperation, and self-evaluation. I've admitted mistakes I've made and I'm fairly open about my shortcomings, and I've never been one to crave positions of responsibility when I am unable to perform them beyond my capacity. But there is one thing I haven't touched on much that DMV di😛 purpose. What is the purpose of playing the game?

Most would in fact answer that they play this game for one of several reasons: they like winning, they enjoy the community and social aspects, they like writing, they like tanking. I started as a writer, but lately have been more involved in international affairs and military than I ever intended. Somehow this mesh of politicos, writers, fighters, and friends work to create a country, for better or for worse. But we all work towards one purpose: pushing our country forward. There have been several problems with this though. We all hold our own vision of where America should be, or what the proper path to take is. The debates over CoT-EDEN, Unity-AFA, and AIM-USAF have shown that we're a country divided on several topics. However, more times than not we decide to agree-to-disagree rather than find common ground. It's a lot easier to point out what is wrong rather than work to fix it, and I think a lot of people prefer it that way. We face a multi-pronged problem of activity, cohesion, and cooperation.

How do you fix this? Open up dialogue. Make one's responsibility mutual responsibility. Realize we have bigger enemies than each other. You don't win wars by attacking leaders or being dismissive, you win them by offering to help to one another and deciding where you're needed. But even opening dialogue doesn't improve activity. We currently face a shortage of new players joining the meta-game. Despite the dislike in certain corners of this aspect, it is a part of eRepublik. Whether or not it is included in game mechanics, you need extra lines of communication and coordination the game simply doesn't supply. Activities like diplomacy, politics, and military organization require more than a message thread in-game. Instead of attacking it, join it or create more avenues for people to take. We always need new players involved, and there will always be someone willing to help them learn the game rather than dismiss them.

Another solution is to just treat each other as human beings. Everyone in this game has a flaw, no matter how much time or money they spend. We all make mistakes and we all fail occasionally. No one should be held to a higher standard than you would hold yourself. We all have our limitations which requires us even more to seek support in each other. No one person should bear sole responsibility for a country's fate, whether they are a president or a regular citizen. We can all work to change the game and the destiny of our country. We should all offer our support in any way that we can, and we all bear responsibility of our country's success or failure. Speaking of which, presidential elections are upon us, and I know someone who could use your help. Apply yourself, and find out where you can fit in. Even if the government is full, work hard in your party, your MU, your country. There is always a contribution you can make, even if it is small.