[GR4ND] I've Been Changed
Gnilraps
Lord, I've Been Changed
"I wish I could be brand new again."
This is one of the more plaintive longings that befalls men and women of middle agedness.
So maybe this is my mid-eLife-crisis. Call it what you want.
But I wish I could be brand new again.
And so I am.
Ah, the glory of the browser game. I am not the first Citizen of the New World to seek new birth in the cleansing waters of a new Political Party. And I do mean “new birth”. I’m not talking about slapping a new tread onto an old tire… This isn’t a new coat of paint over a pockmarked and rotting drywall… This is not a rebuilt fuel pump replacement in a rusted ‘99 Ford Explorer.
I’ve been BORN AGAIN.
I went down to the river, and when my eBody emerged from its bath I was a neophyte member of the Socialist Freedom Party - that group I have had a secret love affair since literally my first days as a Federalist in 2009. I’m not making this up.
Here’s the thing about being born again. The old is gone, the new has come.
You may look at me… at my avater and my stats and my friends list and my medals and my TP history and my inventory (oh! if you could only see my inventory!) and I look the same to you except for the more colorful and interesting SFP logo in the place where the benign R/W/B USWP thingy had been. I don’t really look much different.
But true rebirth takes place in the heart… in the soul of a Citizen.
And so I do not want you to imagine this announcement of my candidacy for Country President as any kind of repeat of my former glories. I am not ashamed of my three terms as CP (and one as CP/D). I believe they are in the top tier in eUSA history. Wiping Canada. Wiping Spain. Enduring and loved social programs. Etc.
Instead, I would prefer that you view this announcement of my candidacy for Country President from the perspective that I am a brother of the Revolution. A true Socialist Freedom Party member.
And so this announcement of my candidacy for Country President is just that. I want you to elect me - as if for the first time - as Country President. And because I am a Revolutionary Brother of the SFP, I am NOT asking you to elect me as Dictator.
I will serve as your President, but not as your Dictator.
Yes. GnilRaps 4 No Dictatorship.
Go ahead and shout it. GR4ND.
And it is.
To this end, if elected, I will personally fund a Revolution to overthrow our current Defensive Dictatorship (which I, in my former skin, played a key role - perhaps THE key role - in building). December will be a Dictatorship-Free month. What else would you expect from the Socialist Freedom Party than to return power to the proletariat?
What does a Dictatorship-Free eUSA look like in the current eRepublik milieu?
1: Constant Vigiliance.
Under the Revolutionary Presidency there will be a far more robust National Security Council. We will need to keep constant watch ingame as the threat of hostile Dictatorship will of course be always in the air. In order to respond to this unspoken threat, we must have around-the-clock watchers who are empowered to respond immediately if a threat is detected.
Yes, the Defensive Dictatorship provides the front lines of security that makes such vigilance unecessary. And that is the point entirely. In a GAME that improves for all of us when more of the people playing it are actually PLAYING IT, creating non-human systems to do the same job that can be done by gamers is precisely counter-productive. We are safer with a Defensive Dictatorship, I know this. But we are impoverished by the same thing that has made us safe.
And so under the Constant Vigilance Doctrine, we believe that our nation becomes wealthier and more robust in activity and community and partnership and communication and social structure and mentorship and involvement… exactly what a healthy gaming environment needs.
2: Failsafe Fund.
It is notable that Congress has achieved a fantastic accomplishment by designing, supporting, and building policies that create a safety net of cash called “the Reserve”. Other eRepublik Nations fear our Reserve (perhaps not all of them, and perhaps those that do not are alien to wisdom…)
It is also notable that Congress has crafted an emergency system called the “National Security Council” to enable a Country President to respond to threats quickly with an approved cash supply.
In an era where a Revolution can arise in a matter of hours, and if it does it will most certainly arise during the “weak” hours of rest in eUSA, a further level of financial security is needed. There must be an instant supply of cash that is not dependent upon 3 of 8 people being awake… that is not dependant on 1 of 3 people (who have access to the Reserve) be paying attention enough to transfer the funds - even in the dead of night.
What is needed is the Failsafe Fund.
And so I have established this fund myself. It is an undisclosed number of millions of CC that belongs personally to me. The Failsafe Fund will be available instantaneously to the NSC and those participating in the Constant Vigilance. eUSA will be on guard in Round 1 of any hostile action. And we will have enough funds to win.
3: International Awareness.
Under my previous term as President/Dictator, I spent a great deal of effort and resources investing in friendly, open cooperation and communication with key members of the International eRepublik Community. I believe that in so doing, we actually minimize our exposure to potential hostile actions. We also maximize the pipeline of information or “intelligence” that comes in.
We simply must continue to develop ourselves as a worthwhile ally, a participating force in the International scene.
We cannot do this by strongarm policies, inflexible indepenence, and intolerance of systems that are beyond our ken.
And so the International Awareness Policy will be the guiding light of our Foreign Affairs. It is not so much a long-term approach (and let’s be honest what does “long term” mean in this game anyway???) as it is a Foreign-Policy-for-the-moment.
Utilizing what Intellegence we can gather into a collective conversation of participating FA deputies who are sworn in to uphold the International Awareness 4H Priorites: Humility, Helpfulness, Honor, and Hellfire, we will again leave our nation in a better position on January 5th than however we find it on December 5th. (And this is NOT to say we are in a terrible spot at the moment, so don’t read it that way).
Does the International Awareness Policy take the place of long-term FA? No. It uses a set of well-defined immediate prinicples to make the short-term serve the long-term.
This is the core of my GR4ND campaign.
There will be more to speak about and do. But I will not be focused primarily on social programs and entertainment. I am fond of those things, but I have observed that they only create activity on a miniscule level.
Instead I plan to use the biggest tools we have to do the biggest job we have.
Go to your Party Primary and support GR4ND today.
And let’s end the Dictatorship for a month. Let's make December GR4ND.
Comments
Make December GR4ND
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/-gr4nd-i-ve-been-changed-2567944/1/20
Angels in e-heaven will sing your name.
o7
Make December GR4ND!
This might be the first Presidential election I'm legitimately excited for the outcome of. Full support o7
Make December GRAND!!
GN4ND!!
[removed]
Amen brother. GN4ND
I got an eChubby just now!
You will have to repeal a Congressional law to not be Dictator. If you fund a revolution, you will be impeached and blacklisted.
stickler
I didn't write the law...he did.
Ugh man. I just love those ingame impeachment buttons too much.
tl;dr but voted and endorsed. this dude writes good articles.
FIST
Hallelujah. o7
I don't understand the point. Gnil, explain to me why.
I've been Born Again.
No but really, I'm in a party now that largely wants to enjoy a Dictatorship-free America. Why not give it a chance?
The Dictatorship is obviously flexible. NOT having it for 4 weeks does no harm to having it placed back in motion again if that's what we want.
I want to try it this way. It should be interesting to see if America is similarly inclined.
Except that makes no sense, yeah it's flexible but every argument against it has to do with anecdotal retention. Getting rid of it for one term cannot yield any results as to whether it's beneficial to remove it, a longer period we could at least like try to look at some form of statistical evidence, but 4 weeks?
I mean you know I like you, even in a party I don't necessarily ever support, but from watching this, yeah it might do minimal harm, but it does nothing good except please the party you're in. I want to support you but I really don't see it.
*shrug* good luck man
It will prove to please more than just my party.
also, I didn't say I wouldn't run in January, nor do we know that the people who run in January will not follow suit.
The thing is, it has to start somewhere and somehow.
And so it starts now.
If this becomes the major issue that defines future CP races, I see that as a net good.
I'm happy to see this play out.
this sounds very promising and will generate more excitement.
i see only benefits to our community.
and let's be honest: we need that after such a dull and boring month.
o7
Full support Gnil!
GR4ND
You can't be serious.
like a heart attack
I could care less, but I do like Gnilly - I CAN'T HELP MYSELF!
Please post inventory.
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/images/unsold-car-stockpile-photographs-1.jpg
Dislike. No vote.
Please post actual inventory.
Got my vote in AMP.
Good luck man.
Oh and here's an endorsement too.
Dude who did the GFX I like it 🙂
I am actually good with anything that shakes this old place up a little.
Is e-life so dear, or e-peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery and silence and dullness and boredom?
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/give-me-socialist-freedom-or-give-me-e-death-2530744/1/20
I'll poll the Old Fu-ks and see if they want to Endorse you.
because, you know, the OhFU endorsement is like declaring a winner, automatically.
I stand with your in arms Comrade!
v56
Please VOTE : http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/2567867
Considering your history with the Dictatorship this is either a troll or an epic flip flop.
As I've been saying elsewhere, I'm not anti-Dictatorship.
I've merely decided to see if there might not be some other way to accomplish what Dictatorship provides.
And in doing so, you will find, once more, the resistance of those who abhor change mixed with those who actively seek maximal stability over all. It's not fun, but dictatorship is the most *secure* option. I left because the game stopped being fun, I could see coming back for a time if there's to be some more fun.
So behind this... First time for a little while I'm excited to be so involved.
Lets make December GR4ND
cart > horse
par for course
i sincerely wish you the best in sorting out the conflict
All in the name of fun
but where's the Fun WITH PURPOSE?
he's doing it on purpose and it'll be fun.
It will be an exiting CP election. The population will vote. Laws should follow that.
Make December GR4ND
tl;dr
so you sold your account amirite?
@ Gnil; I'm able to be active and I'll do whatever I can do preserve our integrity.
Critics; try to spin the dictator module how you like. It's a cowardly move and at the end of the day; I'm not willing to capitalize from something that flies against my morals.
When I encourage people to play eRep; there is no way to cast a positive light onto our dictatorship.
There certainly are multiple ways to present the dictatorship as a positive thing. It's nobody's fault but your own that you are incapable of comprehending and articulating them. Maybe you should ask Gnilraps for some help, as he has done so many times in recent days.
LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!
Hey GoTJ if you don't agree with him, I guess you're automatically wrong. lol what a joke
You build your eLife on Tom Waits words...🙂
\o/