Words Divide Us; Action Unites!
Day 561, 09:42
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Published in Ireland 
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by
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by Severin Organization
To my fellow eIrishmen/women,
Some of you probably noticed I was offline for three days (one of the very rare times I was away from an internet connection). Well I'm happy to be back now however, to be honest, I am very much disheartened by the current situation in eIreland. It seems every month, for the last few months now, a storm is cast at every Presidential election. The storm I am referring to of course is the ongoing mudslinging and manipulation of facts. I spoke out against this storm two months, I spoke out against it last month and I will do so again here. I am sick of it and quite frankly the people of eIreland do not deserve such cheap tactics (not to mention it seriously deteriorates the quality of the media).
What's with all the insults?
For the most part, we are all intelligent people here. Since when do we need to start insulting people for the sake of our own amusement? Everybody is free to have their own sense of humor however what one has to consider is that somebody's idea of a joke may be highly insulting to another person. Who likes to be insulted? My demeanor may come across as dry and bland sometimes in eRepublik (heh it couldn't be more the opposite in real life) however that is simply because I am taking into consideration the other people in the game (the thousands across all age groups and nationalities.) Oh and that's right a game, where cooperation between players is key to success not mindless fighting.
Just a game!
This game, as far as I can tell, is for the most part a social network that attempts to simulate real life economic, political and military situations. eRepublik is not a highly interactive, high graphic war game. You are not simply thrown into a web of activity. In eRepublik you can become as involved as you choose to be. This is mundane stuff but I will clarify for those who are disillusioned as to what an eRepublik citizen can do. You can eat, work and train, in time, start a company, write articles, reply to articles, fight and improve your military rank, join a party, run for Congress, join the forum, run for President and talk on forums etc (this is simply off the top of my head). If you think that is boring than I suggest you find a game that suits you. I don't know why people are calling eIreland boring? What has the administration done to make it boring? Ignore the promises of so called 'fun' as such claims are over exaggerated and only admins or skilled modders can improve upon the fundamental game mechanics. All we can do is add more opportunities for social interaction. Both of the main candidates have offered this. Quite frankly I have been enjoying eRepublik ever since I got involved in politics here and nothing has fundamentally changed to impair such enjoyment. There is no reason someone can't enjoy the game like I did or even have military or economic aspirations (unless, of course, this is not the game for them).
Mudslinging!
Now onto the mudslinging. I for one love political debate (I'm obsessed with politics) and a healthy democracy entails regular government scrutiny. Let me illustrate the difference between healthy scrutiny and mudslinging. Healthy scrutiny would be declaring a dislike for the Government; mudslinging would be calling the Government fascists (unless of course they actually are a fascist party). Healthy scrutiny would be declaring an opposition to a proposed bill; mudslinging would be starting a public outcry against the author of the bill before the Congress even voted on it. Healthy scrutiny would be outlining the faults of the administration and outlining a new plan for government; mudslinging would be declaring the government arrogant, ignorant and declaring the country in a state of ruins. I'm sure some of you might have noticed the mudslinging of recent times. Needless to say mudslinging is simply a manipulation and complete exaggeration of the facts to suit the author's self vested interests to get ahead through underhanded tactics. They are some 'personalities' in eIreland who are hungry to get ahead and are envious of those in power. I would suggest you be weary of the media and carefully distinguish between fact and manipulation.
The 'evil' IUP or the 'funny' opposition?
One 'funny' thing I noticed when I returned was how this formerly open election has turned into a tide against Irish Union Party. Even more interesting is the almost zealous dedication on behalf of the Irish Citizen Front to 'influence' the outcome of this election. This party which the founders declared to be a joke appears to be taking this election very seriously all of sudden. Of course when I say party I really mean a certain 'Godlike' figure who's name you won't find on the eIrish registry, who's Godlike charm can sway the young and naïve in his interest, who has openly declared his boredom months ago and has since tried everything to amuse himself... I know I have gone way too far already into keeping this a relatively clean article (hypocritical you might add) however I simply won't keep this to myself anymore. Hum when was last tide against the Irish Union Party... Who was running against us again... All I'll say is on voting day do not be lead astray by this tide and vote for the candidate you most think would benefit eIreland. I would hate to see a democratic deficit rise it's ugly head in eIreland with one person pulling the strings from behind the scenes...
Ch-ch-changes?
Reminds me of the US elections back in November... Ah, it is great being in the opposition. You get to fire as much promises as you want and if you don't get elected nobody will ever know if they were attainable or not. Now this may sound like a totally crazy notion but not changing the administration every month might actually benefit eIreland. One month is not a long time and some things take more than a month to implement in full. Change the administration and all progress is lost and are once again we will be faced with a period of new ideas trying to get off the ground. An efficient, effective and successful country is driven by stability and if the administration is good why is there a pressing need to distort this stability? If something is working why should we get rid of it? So remember on voting day there is a lot of risk (and possible downfall) associated with change and think carefully before getting rid of a high quality administration which has worked up till now.
I await all the 'haters' and attacking comments,
Go raibh míle maith agat as do am is aire,
Neart le Chéile!
Severin, Irish Union Party President/Candidate for the Vice Presidency
Some of you probably noticed I was offline for three days (one of the very rare times I was away from an internet connection). Well I'm happy to be back now however, to be honest, I am very much disheartened by the current situation in eIreland. It seems every month, for the last few months now, a storm is cast at every Presidential election. The storm I am referring to of course is the ongoing mudslinging and manipulation of facts. I spoke out against this storm two months, I spoke out against it last month and I will do so again here. I am sick of it and quite frankly the people of eIreland do not deserve such cheap tactics (not to mention it seriously deteriorates the quality of the media).
What's with all the insults?
For the most part, we are all intelligent people here. Since when do we need to start insulting people for the sake of our own amusement? Everybody is free to have their own sense of humor however what one has to consider is that somebody's idea of a joke may be highly insulting to another person. Who likes to be insulted? My demeanor may come across as dry and bland sometimes in eRepublik (heh it couldn't be more the opposite in real life) however that is simply because I am taking into consideration the other people in the game (the thousands across all age groups and nationalities.) Oh and that's right a game, where cooperation between players is key to success not mindless fighting.
Just a game!
This game, as far as I can tell, is for the most part a social network that attempts to simulate real life economic, political and military situations. eRepublik is not a highly interactive, high graphic war game. You are not simply thrown into a web of activity. In eRepublik you can become as involved as you choose to be. This is mundane stuff but I will clarify for those who are disillusioned as to what an eRepublik citizen can do. You can eat, work and train, in time, start a company, write articles, reply to articles, fight and improve your military rank, join a party, run for Congress, join the forum, run for President and talk on forums etc (this is simply off the top of my head). If you think that is boring than I suggest you find a game that suits you. I don't know why people are calling eIreland boring? What has the administration done to make it boring? Ignore the promises of so called 'fun' as such claims are over exaggerated and only admins or skilled modders can improve upon the fundamental game mechanics. All we can do is add more opportunities for social interaction. Both of the main candidates have offered this. Quite frankly I have been enjoying eRepublik ever since I got involved in politics here and nothing has fundamentally changed to impair such enjoyment. There is no reason someone can't enjoy the game like I did or even have military or economic aspirations (unless, of course, this is not the game for them).
Mudslinging!
Now onto the mudslinging. I for one love political debate (I'm obsessed with politics) and a healthy democracy entails regular government scrutiny. Let me illustrate the difference between healthy scrutiny and mudslinging. Healthy scrutiny would be declaring a dislike for the Government; mudslinging would be calling the Government fascists (unless of course they actually are a fascist party). Healthy scrutiny would be declaring an opposition to a proposed bill; mudslinging would be starting a public outcry against the author of the bill before the Congress even voted on it. Healthy scrutiny would be outlining the faults of the administration and outlining a new plan for government; mudslinging would be declaring the government arrogant, ignorant and declaring the country in a state of ruins. I'm sure some of you might have noticed the mudslinging of recent times. Needless to say mudslinging is simply a manipulation and complete exaggeration of the facts to suit the author's self vested interests to get ahead through underhanded tactics. They are some 'personalities' in eIreland who are hungry to get ahead and are envious of those in power. I would suggest you be weary of the media and carefully distinguish between fact and manipulation.
The 'evil' IUP or the 'funny' opposition?
One 'funny' thing I noticed when I returned was how this formerly open election has turned into a tide against Irish Union Party. Even more interesting is the almost zealous dedication on behalf of the Irish Citizen Front to 'influence' the outcome of this election. This party which the founders declared to be a joke appears to be taking this election very seriously all of sudden. Of course when I say party I really mean a certain 'Godlike' figure who's name you won't find on the eIrish registry, who's Godlike charm can sway the young and naïve in his interest, who has openly declared his boredom months ago and has since tried everything to amuse himself... I know I have gone way too far already into keeping this a relatively clean article (hypocritical you might add) however I simply won't keep this to myself anymore. Hum when was last tide against the Irish Union Party... Who was running against us again... All I'll say is on voting day do not be lead astray by this tide and vote for the candidate you most think would benefit eIreland. I would hate to see a democratic deficit rise it's ugly head in eIreland with one person pulling the strings from behind the scenes...
Ch-ch-changes?
Reminds me of the US elections back in November... Ah, it is great being in the opposition. You get to fire as much promises as you want and if you don't get elected nobody will ever know if they were attainable or not. Now this may sound like a totally crazy notion but not changing the administration every month might actually benefit eIreland. One month is not a long time and some things take more than a month to implement in full. Change the administration and all progress is lost and are once again we will be faced with a period of new ideas trying to get off the ground. An efficient, effective and successful country is driven by stability and if the administration is good why is there a pressing need to distort this stability? If something is working why should we get rid of it? So remember on voting day there is a lot of risk (and possible downfall) associated with change and think carefully before getting rid of a high quality administration which has worked up till now.
I await all the 'haters' and attacking comments,
Go raibh míle maith agat as do am is aire,
Neart le Chéile!
Severin, Irish Union Party President/Candidate for the Vice Presidency
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Comments
Welcome home. I missed ya.
The quality and clarity of thought, honesty and morality which Sev brings to this country is vital. To be honest, I enjoyed this game much more when I began it, and what has been going on in some quarters in this election is farcical. Lets keep this one about politics, ok!
Just one point of clarity I'd like to address, as a fellow member of IUP, healthily scrutinizing the words of our Party President...
It is, indeed, OK to call the government Fascist if it is actually run by a Fascist party... 😉
@Manni - I was just about to compliment you on being polite, and then you went ahead and deleted! Ah well, no brownie points for you now...
Thank you for speaking the words of many Sev.
Thanks 🙂
lol good point Kolshire and I edited the article to reflect your healthy scrutiny 😉
Always nice to see a nice bit of sense. Particularly when there's a Bowie reference in there.
Just back and you have already made a big impression on everyone and the elections.
You are a credit to your party and to eIreland and its citizens.
Well done.
A nice article Sev. I myself have been taken aback by some of the IUP hate. Many of the IUP membership are working very hard and some of the things said have gone beyond the line of "just for the lulz" at times.
I'm of course not going to take away guilt from some of our own either. There may well of been some IUP members that have also crossed the line.
However I'm sure the voters are smart enough to actually look at the facts presented and vote wisely.
Well said Sev, you're keeping the boat well on course
Good article, very well said. On the point of the mudslinging I like to think most people can see right through it, but possibly this isnt reflected in comments as they might not feel the need to point it out.
Nice article Severin. I'd like to see a presidential election without senseless mudslinging by both sides
Great article I couldn't agree with you more the levels of mud being thrown in this election is unbelivable
We'll need a convoy of bulldozers to get rid of it. 🙁
United under an IUP banner is just fine with me. No dissent, no problems, right? By the way, if you look at who's been turning the arguments from debates into mudslinging, it hasn't been ICF members.
No dissent, no problems? You clearly haven't been at our party meetings...but we are ALLOWED to have opinions, and we unite on important issues....LOL...
We are secure because we are united under our banner, why else would we remain in the party? :0)
I referred to Irish politics, as did Severin's article.
I didn't notice Sev using that terminology, so I presumed it to be your opinion?
Níl aon tóin tinn mar do thóin tinn féin.
Sev said "I would hate to see a democratic deficit rise it's ugly head in eIreland with one person pulling the strings from behind the scenes..."
Fun disagreement:I believe I found this piece of mud in your sling which I would like to return to you as I know you could not possibly have meant to use it🙂
Detatiled analysis: You cleverly cushion you mudslinging in the form of "I would hate x to happen". You never state positively that it will happen if the opposing candidate is elected but it is reasonably implied from the context.
Your aim is to place a seed of irrational fear in the minds of citizens that voting for Nith will prevent this terrible situation from arising. However the danger to which you refer is a magical creation of your own mind with no basis.
This is the type of politics I hate.... not the overt stupid mudslinging which can be spotted a mile away and is mildly annoying.... but the inciduous, crafty, calculated and deceitful type of politics that aims to gain support through encouraging an explosion of irrational fear in the minds of voters.
+1 Sean
Hear hear Sev. For a party established 'for the lulz', the ICF have brought nothing but negativity to the country since they began.
Good luck Nith and Sev
-DT (so bored of the ICF)
And as much as it makes me smile to be falsely thought of as some dark and mysterious puppet master, I don't think it's very fair to Starks
Great article!
I.U.P all the way! they wont joke us around "for the lulz".
Oh Sean you and your totally biased ramblings. Luckily I am confident most people don't think I'm some evil tyrant who wants to spread fear and oppression. I am just speaking the truth. I suggest you look past your stubborn opinions and figure it out for yourself. We are not the bad guys 🙂 What do I honestly have to get out us this anyway other then a title? lol how would that improve the quality of my life. My genuine care for eIreland is the only reason I bother writing articles like this.
Collins I would have taught you would be intelligent enough not to reveal yourself in the comment section 🙂I agree poor Starks. If not for some sphere of influence what are you doing it for? Out of spite because you simply don't like me and Nithraldur lol If not for the fact it is the truth you can almost disagree with me. Just for the record I have no quarrels with you personally Michael (or anybody else here for that matter) I just think eIreland deserves to know what the are getting and hope they get the best.
I'm really a nice guy once you get to know me, ask your dentist 🙂
It's simple. Nith made some choices this term that I strongly disagreed with. So I decided to help the Starks campaign. Nothing shady or sinister.
I think the choices you are refering are cabinet choices (let's face it you and patton have a checkered past, n'est pas?). Who is else had a problem with cabinet choices...oh yea Starks and Aran coincidence eh? The 'help is exactly why I wrote this article and my latest one. Personality shouldn't distort the democratic process. Afterall you could have simply written to Nith with your concerns (he is a reasonable guy). Would have saved you a lot of time and resources... None the less I hope there is no bad blood and hope we can reach a greater consensus in the future. For now all we can do is await the result tommorow 🙂
@Sev .... well done on using the fallicy of exaggeration to repond to my analysis. Thank you for showing people that you have no reason to believe the claim you made since you have not defended it up with one assertion or fact. I never claimed you were evil or a tyrant.
I did however try to show people :
1. That your claim of there being a puppet and a master is entirely ficticious and a product of your imagination. You give no reasons whatsoever for your belief... therefore I reasonably believe you are stating such either recklessly or in the full knowledge that it is false for political gain. This being much more disgraceful than straight forward mudslinging and an insult to Starks' ability which. I hope the voters will disregard your attempt to manipulate them with fear and vote on the positive message contained int he the very comprehensive manifesto of Starks/Aran TAl.
2. That dispite your claims you are not adverse to a bit of mudslinging and therefore hypocracy.
when you said "haters" were you implying starks Hayter, get it hater, hayter
"I think the choices you are refering are cabinet choices"
There were numerous things:
-cabinet picks, going back on his word to ignore party politics in choosing them
-refusal to get a Q5 hospital
-a general lack of initiative to get things done and progress that he talked about in his manifesto.
-a very big lack of communication with Congress about national matters
The last two things previous administrations have been guilty of as well, and I realized this month that this has to change if we are going to move forward.
"cabinet picks, going back on his word to ignore party politics in choosing them" How has he? He appointed three IUPers, three ISRPers and 1 Ireland First onto the Cabinet. Considering the size of the parties and applications he received, that Cabinet selection is more than fair. Of course save your personal opinions about patton 😛
"refusal to get a Q5 hospital" First of all Nith never refused or promised a Q5 hospital. There is hardly any pressing need to get a Q5 hospital in Dublin in peace time. Besides, all this would do is encourage even more people to move to Dublin during war games thus having an even greater adverse effect on Congress elections...
"a general lack of initiative to get things done and progress that he talked about in his manifesto." Bear in mind some things take more than a month to get off the ground and not all people follow instructions (that hardly is Nith's fault and it happens every month).
"a very big lack of communication with Congress about national matters" lol considering he's Ceann Chomhlairle that comment is a little ironic not to mention Nith is in the Dáil everyday for longer periods than most people...
"The last two things previous administrations have been guilty of as well, and I realized this month that this has to change if we are going to move forward." So the 'Alliance for Change' is going to cave in to all your above demands 😉
Sev.... What's all the talk from you a Nith presuming that a Q5 hospital if bought would go to Dublin? Placing it there when there when the north-east has none would be a waste.