Join the new world

I wrote this article on February 16th. However, circumstances somewhat constrained me from publication. As such I have delayed until now. Nearly a month later it still feels like the right thing to do.

Early on in my Fed career something happened that I have never forgotten. An endorsement for Party President long ago set off a firestorm that forever altered the landscape of the Federalist Party. Shortly after the May 2013 election Tiacha, a fixture in the Federalist Party throughout its history up to that point parted ways with us and has never returned. In the subsequent two elections for Party President, Fingerguns endorsements in favor of Greene swung two consecutive elections against Dunks by one vote. Soon after we lost Dunks. Considering his activity and energy level, that has been a void we have never filled. Nearly two years after his departure he is still the number one poster on our forums by a wide margin.


As a result of this I had forever been hesitant about asking for endorsements on my own runs for office, and had been very wary about publicly picking a side in ongoing elections. We had three candidates on the ballot for our February 2015 Party President. I think they each are excellent in their own way. I also consider each of them a friend. My time here has been about trying to provide opportunity to any and all that are looking to grow and further this Party. Such was done for me not quite two years ago. However, it would seem that I forgot something very important: King Making makes enemies. Enemies out of long time friends it would seem. I also forgot that while I legitimately earned my opportunities this Party has given me, many of those openings were created by others giving way.

Not long after I joined the Federalist Party long time leaders such as: Fingerguns, Malarkey, Greene, Dunks, Tiacha, BigCdizzle, Cromstar, Paul Proteus, and more either left entirely or greatly throttled back on their activity. As such I felt a responsibility to step in and step up. I have worked throughout my career to provide my Party with stability and leadership. I have made a lot of friends, and until recently very few enemies. I have gone from being an up and coming Fed to as ViKy recently put it up and came. I am now viewed as a progress stopper by promising up and comers. Others gave way and I was there to take the burden. Has the time come for me to step aside and allow others the same opportunity?





Those thoughts have been floating through my head ever since I read the departure articles of DMJ and Malarkey. In truth they have been in my mind since about mid way through my second term as CP. My time in that office shattered a lot of illusions for me. I had always prior believed that if we the community worked hard enough we could save this game from Plato’s folly. I no longer believe that. However, I still very much believe in my Party. When I decided to run for Party President two months ago I told my fellow Feds: “the game sucks but we don’t have to” somewhere in the last 3 weeks things began to go wrong. Internal tensions arose. Pressure was brought to bear. Finally after dithering I made a decision. That decision led to me wielding the considerable influence I have within my Party to help Trekker win this latest Primary.

Whispers of cheating floated around on both sides of this election. I do not believe there was cheating. A lot of time and energy was devoted to cleaning up voter access and the forums were scoured for multis. Those that were found to be suspicious were removed. However, 2 years in eRepublik is an eternity. It gives the chance to make a lot of friends and contacts within a community. I made full use of that influencing the outcome of this election. It was narrowly successful, a 6 vote deficit was turned into a 1 vote win for Trekker. After sorting through the fallout of this it would appear that it is immense. A lot of good people departed.

I have seen long time Feds leave because of disagreements with Greene or Fingerguns, but never in my wildest imaginings did I think I would see it because of me. I had a conversation with Josh Frost about this last month . He was a big influence on me in the months after I came back to eRepublik, and I still value his thoughts on things. Though I have borrowed heavily from a Scene in Rocky III, it fits rather nicely with what was actually said.





TB: Why did you leave? Why did you walk away like that?
JFrost: Life's too short, kid.
TB: Where are you goin'?
JFrost: I'm goin' on a permanent vacation, that's where.
TB: What are you talkin' 'bout? We got one more fight.
JFrost: No, no. Not we, you.
TB: Why you doin' this?
JFrost: Because you can't win, Tyler! This guy'll kill ya to death inside of 3 rounds!
TB: You're crazy.
JFrost: What else is new?
TB: He's just another fighter.
JFrost: No, he ain't just another fighter. This guy is a wreckin' machine, and he's hungry! Hell, you ain't been hungry since you won that CP medal!
TB: What are you talkin' about? I've had 14 Congress terms, 2 Speakerships, 5 PP Terms, and 2 CP terms.
JFrost: That was easy!
TB: What do you mean easy?
JFrost: They was hand-picked!
TB: Setups?
JFrost: No, they weren't setups. They was good fighters, but they wasn't killers like this guy. He'll knock ya into tomorrow, Tyler!
TB: Jeez, Josh, why'd you do it?
JFrost: 'Cause the beatings that you got from Gnilraps should have killed you, kid. It didn't. It was my job to keep ya winnin' and to keep ya healthy.
TB: You really don't think I got nothin' left, do you?
JFrost: Well, Tyler, let's put it this way. Two years ago, you were supernatural. You was hard and nasty. You had this cast iron jaw. But then, the worst thing happened to you that could happen to any fighter. You got civilized. Don't worry, kid. You know, presidents retire, generals retire, horses retire, Man o War retired. They put him out to stud. That's what you should've done, retire.
TB: I can't retire knowing all this, Josh.

tl;dr: Frost told me I was acting like a bitter oldfag trying desperately to maintain their grip on power. When I reminded him there were not a lot of oldfags left in the Feds mostly just me, he said exactly. Suddenly the thought of “look at this mess I can’t just walk away from it” rings hollow to me. (out of concern for undermining Trekker and/or worsening the situation I've held this article until now)

The Federalist Party was never meant to be about one person. I have garnered a great deal of influence and respect within my Party, and until recently I have been careful and judicious about the way I have wielded it. I have no wish to be a progress stopper, gatekeeper, or king maker. I have a very old and very large magnolia tree in my front yard. It has grown to the point that it has needed to be pruned back to keep the branches off of my roof, and the city had to cut a tremendous amount of branches to keep the power lines from becoming entangled. It has grown to the point that the vegetation underneath has begun to die off. The ground is becoming just soil and the large roots of this all encompassing choking tree. I do not want to be that tree.

I have come to realize that there is a pattern to the aforementioned Frost’s career. He swoops in and fixes things. Once he is finished he is gone just as quickly. He allows others to grow and lead by his absence. He will give advice and help in small measures if asked but for the most part remains above the fray. As such he is held in near universal regard. Maybe he is on to something.





That thought has been with me in regards to eRepublik since I recommended we raise taxes after a very expensive battle with Argentina during my second CP term. The backlash of the action was swift and immediate. I found myself at odds with the anti tax crowd that I once worked hand in hand with. For a while now I have done my best to ignore the whispers that I am not the same person I was 2 years ago. I chalked up any changes made to my style of play to learning from my mistakes. Ultimately there is little I can do to shape my own legacy as it will be made by those I leave behind, eventually to be nearly forgotten when even they depart. I have stayed in and fought the tides of progress and time here in eRepublik and the Federalist Party longer than I ever thought I would. I logged in two years ago because I was curious about an email regarding a gold mine. I came for the gold I stayed for the Fed community. It is now for the good of the Fed community that I make my departure. It’s been awesome beyond my wildest expectations. Fare thee well. I leave you with this Epilogue.