Join the new world

Fellow citizens,

Most of you know me from my opinion polls and other efforts to encourage accountability in our leaders, but today I am publishing an article to shamelessly solicit your help on a project that I believe is vital for the future of Ireland – building a new political party for a new era in Irish history. If you are not currently affiliated with a party, or are not satisfied with your current political party, I ask that you take a moment to consider becoming a member of the fastest-growing and most promising party in Ireland today: The Society of United Irishmen.








WHO WE ARE

Although The Society is Republican in terms of its deepest ideals, it is a party that embraces the notion that cooperation and practical governance are the ultimate keys to realizing the widely-shared goal of a truly united Ireland. Rather than getting hung-up on personal rivalries, social cliques or real-life ideals, we recognize that wisdom and innovation comes from all walks of political life. It is therefore essential that such contributions be actively sought out and celebrated – even if it is at the expense of our own egos.

This is not to say that we do not have ideas or principles of our own. On the contrary, one of our highest goals as a party is to be leaders of vision and action (see this article for an example from our founder and current president). The point is simply that we make an effort not to be unnecessarily constrained by petty rivalries or real-life dogma. Our ideas, however innovate or principled they may be, must always remain open to debate and change. We are a party that learns from our fellow citizens as well as our own experiences, and we do it while looking boldly toward the future.





But policy and cooperation with other parties isn't the be-all and end-all of a successful party. We are also a party that is serious about being an effective political and social organization . Serving the needs of our members and making a positive impact on Irish society are among our highest priorities. This means going that extra mile to get our younger members involved and educated. It means having an inclusive and transparent system for choosing our political endorsements. It means using all of the means at our disposal to promote activity and responsibility in our political leaders once they are elected. It means communicating and coordinating within the party so our members know exactly what is going on at all times. It means building a sense of community and fellowship that defines us as a party and rubs off on the rest of the country. It means having fun.





Of course with a party as new as ours, these things take time and effort to develop. Because of this, we ask our new members to please bear with us for the next few weeks while the infrastructure for implementing these ideals is developed and applied. In the meantime, please feel free to stop by our party IRC channel #UnitedIrish to chat with other members and help out in these efforts. For instructions on how to use IRC chat (which is essential to eRepublik social life), please refer to this article.





WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Since our party was created (last week) we have already more than tripled our membership from 4 to 13 members (just shy of the top five mark)! This includes both young pups as well as old sages from a variety of other parties who are all very eager to make their mark on Irish politics.





We are NOT just looking for seat-fillers and zombie voters. Nor are we an exclusive club that gives automatic preference to veterans no matter how inactive they may currently be. We are looking for citizens of vision and action who are eager to do whatever it takes to help Ireland become a better country. No matter what your place in society, you have unique skills and experience that nobody else has, and we want to help you use them to make eIreland a better place. Even if you may not know exactly what those skills are yet, please consider joining our growing family so we can help you discover and develop them!








WHY ANOTHER CENTRIST PARTY?

It is a legitimate concern to note that Ireland already has several centrist parties that pride themselves on their level-headed and inclusive approach to Irish politics. Eire Aonair and Independent Voices are particularly noteworthy examples, both of which have done a great deal for this country and can boast members of impeccable quality. In our view there is absolutely nothing wrong with these outstanding parties and we are very eager to work with them in the future to realize our common goals.

But what this country needs the most right now is momentum, and we believe that building a fresh new party from the ground up is the best way to build that momentum and bring about lasting change in Irish politics. As a party whose reputation has yet to be established, we feel that we have something to prove. It is this drive and momentum, above all else, that we are counting on to make us an effective party.





Finally, it is our hope that, whatever the fate of our party, the renewed competition we bring to the Irish political arena will breathe some much-needed life into currently-established parties and give them the proverbial kick the pants they need to strive to become even better than they already are. We believe a party that is comfortable in their position or believes that they are above reproach is a party that has thrown in the towel. Simply put, it is our mission to keep them on their toes.








Well that’s all for now. Although I can guarantee you will be seeing a lot more of us in the future.

If you are looking for a party to join, I hope you do seriously consider the Society for United Irishmen. But if you are committed to your own party, that is great too. Either way we look forward to working with you in the coming months.

So here's to Ireland - past, present and future.

-Stilpo
Vice President, Society for United Irishmen





P.S. If you liked this article, don't keep it to yourself!