[TRG]A Revolutionary Situation

Day 2,838, 21:15 • Published in USA USA • by J.A. Lake
A Revolutionary Situation


In order for a revolution to occur, there must come into being a revolutionary situation, or so the quote goes. A revolutionary situation in this game is just as difficult to define as it is in reality, and to add to that the mechanics are vastly different.

One could argue, however, that the eUSA's revolutionary situation is forming. There are several signs that point to this, I believe.


1: The Rise of the SFP

Political fortunes ebb and flow like any tide, and nothing is ever certain. However, something must be said for the 100% increase in membership of the Socialist Freedom Party. This time in November, when I was a relatively new arrival in the SFP, membership numbered in the high 50s or low 60s. Today it has 120.

Somewhere in the past 9 months the SFP began to grow, and grow quickly. This, coupled with the neutral maintenance or decrease in membership of the Top 5, shows that the SFP has a message that resonates with the people. At the very least, the moldering message of the Top 5 has ceased to appeal to people.

2: Boredom

It's time for the Presidential campaigns to start. We already have a pair of cookie-cutter announcement articles in the media. Here's the formula:

Intro
Meta-credentials
Fluff

It's pretty obvious once you see it. We'll soon see the articles announcing "cabinets" full of friends and cohorts, all of whom have held innumerable meta-offices for years. That isn't to say there is never new blood, but it's infrequent enough to make note of. In short, domestic politics are a revolving door.

All this speaks to the boredom that has infected this country. Foreign Affairs are built around maintenance of bonuses rather than any kind of ideal or truly any reason to fight beyond moving from two-clicking to twenty-seven-clicking.

3: Dictatorship

Dictatorship is perhaps the greatest gift Plato has ever given to the revolutionary movement, for two primary reasons.

First, Dictatorship has given rise to the oft-debated "defensive dictatorship." We've sat and watched as Congress voted itself into impotence, granting all power to the President in the hope that s/he'll always listen to them. In a game full of trolls and jokesters, how long until this blows up? How long until Congress comes to us to clean up their mess?

More importantly, should the people eternally be at Congress' beck and call?

Second, Dictatorship has given revolutionaries the weapons to remove dictatorship. The people, once properly roused, can now seize the reins for themselves. We have the capability to cast down the established order at will, if they cease to serve us ably.

Perhaps now you see the revolutionary situation in our midst. The ancient political hierarchy is finally showing signs of weakness, of termites in the foundation. Once again sacrificing for "defense", Congress has made themselves obsolete, save for within their metagame.

All it will take is a single misstep, a single disgruntled or trollish President. An invasion improperly dealt with. In this state, it need not be a massive event, even.

Comrades, the oligarchs have rendered themselves powerless for us, moving nearly all of their operations off-site. This precarious situation is ripe for a revolution.

The best part is, we're already on the way. The people are awakening. The time is coming to reform the eUSA. We could be a country that stands for something other than maintaining full bonuses for ourselves. We should replace isolationism with internationalism. Our tremendous resources could be used for good, or for evil, or for something that isn't sitting on our hands inventing wars for "fun" (and losing them, now).

All that remains is to take the first step!