Superstrain TB

Day 2,688, 18:41 • Published in USA USA • by Tyler Bubblar



I last left eRepublik with the news that TB had been cured more than 50 years ago. It has since been brought to my attention that there are virulent drug resistant strains of TB dramatically on the rise in the last decade or so. Look there is even a scary looking World Health Organization official chart tracking this resurgent agent of disease. Charts make everything scarier and more believable.





This news along with Jefferson Locke returning, and witnessing my Party finish 3rd in the latest Congressional vote have conspired to prematurely drive me out of mouldering in my grave just as I was getting comfortable! Statistically it was a first place tie between the top 3 Parties with each receiving 13 seats. However 3rd is 3rd, and an incredibly embarrassing place to finish for the largest Party in our nation. This has sparked a great deal of internal debate. Rebrand, streamline, get back to the basics/our roots have all been common phrases in these discussions. Really the question we have to answer is a simple one: What does it mean to be a Federalist?





Proud and Horny (P/H), Newb Centric Meritocracy, Country > Party > Self. Those were the buzz words floating around the Party when I joined two years ago. The Party prided itself on being inclusive to all incoming members. Yet we also had a very strong rivalry with the other Parties. At times in my opinion it became too strong for healthy inter-party relations. For reference see Free Area and May 31. Somewhere in the late Summer, early Fall of 2013 I myself and my Party began to change. I burst into Congress and the National scene as something of a reactionary firebrand, and I quickly organized the bulk of my Caucus in a crusade against the status quo. I know for a fact my cohorts and I frustrated Molly Emma and NewAz.


We took great pride in serving as the opposition during Oblige’s 5th and 6th CP terms. This eventually resulted in an almost total freeze out by the other 3 Parties (at this time the AFA was still very much in the top 5), we were basically relegated to sitting in the corner with a dunce caps on our heads. So what changed? You might ask. Two things happened. After eating some humble pie over the situation I was largely responsible for, WildOwl approached me about working together, and Jefferson Locke returned from a 6 month hiatus. Jefferson and I worked together to fight our battles but temper and moderate our approach.






The USWP pride themselves on being the Party of stability and responsible government. In the areas that we have found common ground with them we have worked together. It has been a very good working relationship. WildOwl is a man of his word, I know anything he and I work together on or agreement we reach will be honored. He has been a great friend and a trusted confidant for a very long time for that very reason. Most of the time he and I agree on things, and most of the time the Federalist Party and the USWP also agree on things. It has been a long and fruitful partnership. The downside however are the soft whispers and the not so soft whispers that we are the same Party or the Feds are USWP lite.

This is a notion that I soundly reject. While yes we tend to collaborate on many things that we agree on, we have also collaborated with WTP and the BSP on issues we feel strongly about. A long bitter history with the AMP that has only recently begun to soften and ameliorate has precluded too many deals between our Parties. I do have hopes for a more cooperative and friendly relationship with them though. Which takes us back to who are we? What does it mean to be a Federalist? How are we different from the other Parties? Are we USWP lite?





I personally am partial to the Newb Centric Meritocracy. It may be Fed blasphemy but P/H has never really resonated that strongly with me. I have fond memories of asking EnterAwesome (the PP) a question about a game mechanic and being rewarded with 100 tanks and an answer that was helpful and kind. Josh Frost would randomly drop tanks, food or cc on members that were working hard. Fed Awards ran on a monthly basis and were always entertaining and fun. FedRadio (then eFPR) would air weekly. We would have a weekly Party meeting, and a weekly game night on IRC. Dozens of members worked in the various Departments. The forums and IRC were alive and vibrant. Things have changed since then. Gradually and in some cases suddenly these activities and practices faded away. Oh an ambitious Party President or group of people will swoop in on occasion and revive some of these things, but they take a lot of work to maintain, and things would implacably begin to drift back to the mean of decay.





Now you might be asking yourself, “why is he telling us all of this?” or “is it just hopeless?” I have been asked by Party Leadership to step in and take over Fed Media and Outreach. I have also been asked to take point on our efforts to “rebrand” and “find ourselves”. I have answered that call in the affirmative. Try as I might I care too much about the Fed community to walk away when I can help. One thing I told the Party frequently during my last two PP terms was the game may suck but we don’t have to. I still believe that. I don’t think that the player base can save this game from what the admins have done to it, but I do believe that final say in how we organize and interact in our communities that we have built is still ultimately up to us.

We can do a better job of adding the personal touch to new members of the game and our Party. We can do a better job of finding things to do for members that are eager to get involved in the day to day running of their Party. We can do a better job of boosting up those who want to be in Congress, Party President, in a National Cabinet or even CP. We can be a little kinder. Courtesy costs nothing, but is usually priceless to those that it is given to. In short we can live up to the ideals of this Party. What does it mean to be a Federalist? It means to work hard to achieve your goals, work hard to better the Party and the nation. That is what it is to a Federalist to seize the opportunity to build something and help others do the same in turn.





As a closing note, Fed media is not a post I have ever done before. I am looking forward to the challenge, and I will be reaching out to the Party to find contributors to Fed Press Releases.