The burden of leadership
Day 1,140, 06:35
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Published in South Africa 
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by
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by Fhaemita The Apostate
Anybody can become president in erepublik, keep you head down enough to get not into too much trouble and keep your head enough up to get noticed by being active on the forum and preferably on irc too and you will be able to become president in six months if you're lucky and you play your cards right. In a time of freedom when a country isn't PTO'ed almost anybody has a shot to become president and even one that is considered a good president. You don't even have to have that much experience in cabinet. In the last pre PTO era of the 4th republic for instance Stryke Blayde became president although he had only been deputy minister twice, the first time Deputy Minister of Information and the second time Deputy Minister of Tourism.
I was told that being president was hard work and would take a lot of time and a lot of your real life. Although being told I don't think you never fully understand this till you yourself are in the position of being president. Being president especially during a PTO is very different from being president during a non pto situation and also much more time consuming. I did underestimate the time it would consume and what it takes to be president of eSouth Africa.
There is a big difference between being president during a peaceful time and when there is no threat of a PTO and you have all your regions or being president in a situation like the last six months where we PTO'ed, being president in normal peaceful situation is a whole lot easier. Being under PTO a president sometimes has to take the though decisions the decisions that might not the easiest to make and the ones that not everybody might agree with, and the ones that does not make one popular as president but in exception times you sometimes need exceptional measures. In the end the only important thing is the result and I think in my case I did well seeing the result that we got. What I did, not everybody might have agreed what I did or how I did it but in the end the ends justifies the means as we are a free country with free elections yet again.
People have criticized me for that I made a deal, that we should not make a deal with the PTO'ers and that we should never have made a deal with cheaters. I would be unethical to make a deal with them and they would not stand for it. Ethics and principles are very nice, but when dealing with people who have neither (or at least who do not follow them) you'll always be on the wrong side of the stick. It is nice to take the moral high ground but that would have prohibited us from getting our country back. Yes it was not sure if they would keep their end of the bargain, yes they have the same doubts but there was some mutual trust and in the end everything worked out.
A good leader needs not only experience but also a clear vision of what he of she things needs to happen and where he sees the country going and steer the country that way. As I already noted earlier in the article the president needs to sometimes make the tough but unpopular decisions and a president has to be able to stand behind his decisions and keep standing behind it and not waver when this decision gets some criticism. It is very easy the criticize the person of persons who make the decisions and call them elite as you don't have to make them and most likely don't have all the information. Before the exact content agreement was made public, people who did not even know the exact content. They where shouting to not make any kind of deal without any information they, where ready to judge based on nothing then their feelings towards the PTO'ers and not based on facts.
I do think I learned a lot of this whole ordeal, showed me how some people really and that it is hard to find people who you can really trust, who are loyal and who you can call friend in erepublik, and the people are only serving their own interest because they are holding a grudge for whatever reason or they might just be covering their asses. I am not going to point fingers but one person who was also informed about the deal send me a message when the controversy started about the agreement he send me a message that he suddenly did not agree with the contract but that he would support me in public. This public support did not lasted long and a couple of days after that message he made a public article against the contract. Loyalty and promises are one of the first thing that goes out of the window when people want to save their asses.
Now that my month as president has almost ended I hope that people in a few months, a year will look back to my time as president and see this as a good period, see if for what it was a difficult time but a difficult time where we overcame out problems and overcame the PTO and a time where we got out country back. I want to thank everybody who supported me especially Grimstone who has been a big support this month and I wish him the best of luck this upcoming elections and hope that he will win the country president elections.
Onwards in Unity & Solidarity!
We Shall Prevail!
Ons vir Jou Suid Afrika!
Fhaemita Malodorous
President of South Africa
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Comments
I can certainly understand that you stand by your actions but I think what most people objected to was the underhanded way you went about it rather than the actual content of the agreement.
I am not one of those people, I dislike the idea from start to finish.
Well know you know to never be CP again 0 - well you never were CP - just a forum accolade..but you get the idea
I'd rather go down fighting and lose everything than be weak and lose my integrity and everything that we stand for by submitting to their demands. It is not about taking the moral high ground but about showing our strength and back bone to keep to the principles to what we believe in. By making a deal our core values are meaningless. We have lost more by doing this than if we were too of stood our ground. How can we have pride from this? How can we be respected in this community for buying our way out? Where is our honour? Why did you give up? Why did you make us weak? To make it worse, they were leaving us anyway therefore you have just given them a gift, a gift beyond all there dreams. Did you not see who were pulling the strings? Did you listen to everything around you, or only to what you wanted to hear? I think the latter judging that this was conducted with so few individuals and without asking the people of eSouth Africa what they would rather. I do not wish to criticise your every move, we all make mistakes. I simply want us all to learn from this and move on. Maybe one day we can walk with our heads held high once more.
It's been a really tough ride.
No one's perfect--and the way i see it...at the end of the day it's just a game. And you made it more interesting.
Thank you for your service, FM.
Everything Sam said, with the added fact that you've now invited every PTO group to PTO us for an easy 500+ gold.
You say it all worked out in the end. Just how easy would it have been for the PTO'ers to take the money, and screw us over somehow? That's right, it would have been even easier for them.
You were basing the future of eSouth Africa.....on a chance. The reason you didn't want the Brazil alliance to continue?
"It had a chance of not working."
So you spoke out against a chance, when in fact the agreement was a chance in itself.
Is there really any point in making all these negative comments? Even though I dont agree with this resolution, whats done is done. There is no point in continuing to talk about it when we could just move on and prepare for whatever may come out way. Fhaemita is CP for 2 more days, do we really need to still bash him?
The highest trees catch the most wind.
Hey we are having free elections, would not have been possible without the deal.
"Hey we are having free elections, would not have been possible without the deal."
Brazil wiping our regions for open citizenship says hello.
I believe Fhaemita was right to do this, It may have been risky and uncalled for but the PTOers have accepted it therefore it was a cunning plan,why aren't you happy?Nothing defeats the price of freedom,it is priceless.Now we are free why can't you stop arguing and thank this man?Good Job Fhaemita!
@ stryker & Sam
You keep giving the same faulty arguments that I already proven wrong. 1. wiping would mean inviting more hostile people with citizenship in and most likely getting us PTO'ed again. 2. Huns where only leaving and made comment that they where leaving till they where pretty sure we would make the deal. 3. Like mark said we made deals before the last time was with the Brazilians.I am getting a bit tired of the basing and constantly have to rehash the same counter arguments to your faulty arguments. How many time do we have to go true this?
@Rody
You think I'll never be president again? I am pretty sure that if I ever run again I will stand just as good of a chance as everybody. Open your eyes and see that the people opposing this is just a small majority.
@Seisan & Mark
"I am not like others that are using the contract as a means to self-improve themselves and destroy the current supposed Elite that they continue to cry about. "
That is their only reason to keep bashing me. Nick is already calling me paranoid and have been warning people about this behind my back (probably a lot more people when I know of) but it seems that I am not the only one who see this. Some people here might have another agenda.
@Mark & rexedeus & Josepth
Thank you. Whatever a small minority of the people said what I did was right and I know that. Still nice to hear it sometimes and not only the people complaining that I did it wrong 🙂
"You keep giving the same faulty arguments that I already proven wrong"
Good god, those were your opinions, not facts. The Huns only accepted the bribe because THEY WERE LOSING THEIR FOOTHOLD. And PHX only sending people to PTO? How much would it cost for Brazil to keep eSA off the map, during an entire month? PHX wouldn't spend the resources for something Brazil could wipe with half a blink of an eye.
Put up an actual counter-argument before you say that you've 'beaten down' an argument.
And I feel like I'm grouped into that 'self-improvement' deal, just because I'm in the CEP.
First off, I had a horrible time as CP - V2 happened, everything I said I wanted to do was shoved aside for a glitched experience, only to end 20 days in with an impeachment from PTO'ers. WHY would I want to go BACK into that? Stop stereotyping those that are in a party.
This is the reason I don't particularly like the IA coming back. "Political power house of eSA", that's not something to look for in a democracy.
Dealing with the enemy is not a fancy thing to do. You just cannot please everybody.
Actually most of the time you will turn the people against yourself. And still, someone has to have the wisdom to put aside personal ambitions and popularity and do it, just because sometimes the most disliked things are the right things to do.
I've already stated my opinion more than enough times. I agree with Seisan. Fhaemita, as much as I've opposed you and slandered the deal, I'm grateful that you've given me back our country. It's somewhat disappointing to see people cursing your name while simultaneously picking up the pieces and rebuilding - something that they wouldn't be doing right now were it not for your deal. I guess I just see it as ungrateful. Sure, it could have happened eventually, but you certainly hastened things.
So while I'm one of those who oppose the deal, I've at least got the class to say thanks. Just don't do it again. 😛
Thanks you Shiloh.
That is very much appreciated!
I had to admit that I assumed that Fhaemita would run for presidency alone, and the community would vote him to the seat unified. I thought that the fact he did not run for presidency is because he is tired of leading (which is time consuming, trust me I know from other games).
I know that in history the defeated usually goes on to fabricate "what ifs" and try to analyze why that happened. But bashing and thinking about a "what ifs" as the victor? Come on guys, you can't be serious.
Just ask one question: Did Brazil handed over even one province in the last couple of days? According to your plan this would be after open citizenship time, and before elections.
@Sam and Stryke, it is clear now that eSA has a ruling elite, that if you say something that they don't like, they will hunt you down with all their might.
To respond and add to fiquei ... what ever happened to freedom of speech?
@Stryke - If I recall the SAGP was the real political powerhouse. So not sure what you are on about
I'm confused Sam, you don't seem to have any problem writing a comment on this or an article. Your freedom of speech is not limited in any way. Fhaemita however can attack your a opinion, rubbish your opinion because of freedom of speech. Fhaemita cannot stop you writing an slanderous article, Fhaemita cannot stop you slandering him in a comment. That seems like Freedom of Speech to me. And if he says Shut up (hypothetically), he is practising his own right to freedom of speech, doesn't mean you would need to listen to him.
@Stryke
Losing their foothold? I already told you that we had a list of huns and it was a list of 400 profiles. If you think having 400 people is losing your foothold then so be it. They where more then able to keep this up for another 6 months.
In my article I did not say anything about phoenix. Could be phoenix could be any other PTO group who sends people to PTO us. Point is, the chance of us getting our country back with a wipe is still very slim.
@Sam
You should move to China and see what it's really like having no freedom of speech and not keep accusing me from limiting your freedom of speech. As bobady stated you can respond to articles, write articles, say anything you want on irc as long as you don't break the rules. How is that not freedom of speech? What are your arguments that you don't have freedom of speech? For now your argument of lack of freedom of speech is (as far as I can see) has no real base for the made accusations.
We elect leaders here. And their job is to make big decisions. Fhaemita was one and he made one.
So all of you who didn't like it don't vote for him or anyone who shares his opinion ever in the future and it's a done deal. I'm fuckin' sick of all this crybaby theatrics just because some people didn't have it their way.
Let's move on!
@Mark
They just had the most members. It was IA that had 15-18 Congressmen nearly every term, and it was the political people that were all crammed in the IA.
"In the end the only important thing is the result and I think in my case I did well seeing the result that we got. "
I agree, and have been pleased with your leadership. For those who stand on principles, I have the utmost respect, for they are the truest among us; they will lose every fight, but they will be martyrs and standards of integrity.
"am not going to point fingers but one person who was also informed about the deal"
No need to be coy, Fhaemita, it's unbecoming - we all knew who you were talking about.
@ Montaigne "Dealing with the enemy is not a fancy thing to do. You just cannot please everybody. Actually most of the time you will turn the people against yourself. And still, someone has to have the wisdom to put aside personal ambitions and popularity and do it, just because sometimes the most disliked things are the right things to do."
Very apt. You're intelligent and well-meaning these days, and I've decided I like you. I have to wonder why you decided to f&$k our country over for months.
@ Stryke Blayde particularly here, but FM too, and others
Make arguments, but not angrily. You only destroy yourself and our country by being belligerent about things. If you're right, explain you case cogently and respectfully, and you'll win the day.
Well, having read everyone's opinion, I can just as well add mine. Personally I do not like the contract thing. It was a very dangerous move to make. What's done is done and we cannot change that.
Getting our country back was a great thing to do, the way it was done, was not such a great thing to do. But.. and this is a big one, what would other CP's have done in your shoes, knowing very well how people complain about not having our country to ourselves accusing you of not doing what you should do as CP. Being under the pressure you have been, you did the best you could and what you thought was the best for the country. Maybe one day people will turn around and thank you for doing this - that is if the PTO'ers stick to the contract.
I really do not envy you if they decide to turn coat, take the gold and do what they did for the last 6 months.
You gave your best for eSA and I applaud you for that. If things doesn't work out the way it should, you still did the best you could under the circumstance.
At least the PTOers did what they promised this month. If I remember correctly none of the candidates are from Hungary (even thought who knows).
Also FM has a list of 400 members of the PTO. He (or the Minister of Security) can tick out names that already left and got new citizenship (in Hungary mostly).
@Stryke we may have been crammed in IA but guess what? we all worked together as a group of people who shared the same goal - doing whats best for eSA. We stood together, unlike some of the other parties who's members did not even care for their own party. They just cared for themselves. That was why we were politically so strong.