Join the new world

Many eJapanese, including myself, have said that eJapan's greatest strength will be our culture. If we can incorporate the vibrancy of the real-world Japanese culture and media into eJapan, the idea goes, we will have a natural way to draw recruits and energy into our country and thus achieve national greatness.

I still believe that this is an important goal. But I don't think it goes far enough.

Lately we've also heard much talk about unity and harmony, driven by frustration with the loud divisions that have cropped up so often in the past few weeks. This too is a worthy goal. But if our only goal is harmony and we define harmony as the avoidance of divisive arguments like the ones we've experienced in the recent past, we've already lost. We are plotting our course not based on the destination we would like to reach but on the problems we would like to avoid.

If avoiding problems is a traveler's goal, one can avoid them all the time and still not reach ones true destination. And likewise, if our goal is simply to avoid disharmony, we will miss life's opportunities as they pass us by, our gaze fixed on our feet to ensure we do not misstep.

What goals do we have when we play this game? To feel a sense of achievement, to have fun, to connect with others... All of these and more drive new players to eRepublik and keep us interested in the game. By stating our goals as "harmony" or "culture" we would pigeonhole these diverse motivations into one vision, a vision which, while it might be positive for many, would not be a dream that all can get behind.

We need culture, yes. But not a nationally unified, monolithic culture. Or, let me clarify. The national culture we develop must be, not a perfect gem whose every facet is placed exactly to harmonize with and enhance the rest, but a garden whose flowers are inspired to greater beauty by the beauty that surrounds them. A pluralistic culture whose boundaries are not rigid but fluid, allowing for the vastness of the frontier. Our culture will be strengthened by every new voice.

In that culture, to those who object that things must be done a particular way or not at all, we need simply gently point out that our nation can contain contadictions. Indeed, while we might be small now, we have the potential to contain multitudes.

This is the change I wish to become. If you wish to walk this path with me, I extend to you my thanks and wish all of us the best of luck, in the days of hope ahead.