[Gnil4CP]Values and a Vice President

Day 2,286, 10:25 • Published in USA USA • by Gnilraps
That Feel (Mandatory listening)
Day 2286 of the New World
February 22, 2014


Dear Fellow Citizens of eUSA,

When those epic RL Americans like Anna Howard Shaw and Susan B. Anthony once dared to speak to a nation of men about enfranchising the women of this country with suffrage, they were variously ignored, ridiculed, and dismissed as delusional. Women did not, could not, should not, and would not be voting in this country, thank you very much, and would these noisome ladies please just shut up about it?

Entrenched attitudes are more difficult to assault than entrenched soldiers.


Anna Howard Shaw, American Hero of Women’s Suffrage, circa 1915



The other day I approached you with the news that I am seeking the office of President. I was overwhelmed with support from so many people from across all different parties, MU’s and player groups. Thank you. (Especially, thank you for supplying over 180 votes on my article. I don’t buy votes or subscriptions for my newspaper, so your clicks and shouts will be a major part of how you can support this campaign.)

In that Announcement Article I promised that I would personally work hard for you. I also promised that I would be assembling a competent cabinet that will work hard for you.

But more importantly, I told you that I wanted to attack the entrenched attitude of cynicism in this game. It is an attitude that, much like denying women suffrage, veritably denies an entire class of gamers the opportunity to enjoy eRepbulik. What class of gamers is that?

New players.

We can (and we probably should) complain about our disappointments when sudden game changes frustrate our progress and plans. Heck, eRepublik practically invites us to complain about it in their dedicated forum.

But I know many in our community who take the bad along with the good in this game. I know many who return each day, throughout the day, to happily click these buttons. And what generally brings them back is a community. Very few have ever logged onto this game because the eRepublik FIGHT button is somehow better than the FIGHT buttons of other games. They log in here for the same reason it is more fun to drink beer in a pub than at home: everyone here is drinking the same frosty grog.


A pictorial depiction of the average IRC room in eUSA.

SIDE NOTE: IRC rooms in other countries look a little different sometimes. Here’s a little party just getting started in eSerbia:




Here’s the thing about communities which are eager to grow - they exude welcoming. They laugh about all of the foibles and shortcomings in their collective - they don’t hide those truths - and the joy in their humor is infectious. Inclusive communities are inherently NOT cynical even in the midst of tribulation.

In eUSA we want to grow, but we do not always exude welcoming. (To some extent we have institutionalized “welcoming” in some of our programs. Usually they are successful. I am hoping to lead that change throughout our entire community.) That is what I want to work on.

And so today I want to share a few brief thoughts about my process for setting an agenda and building a leadership team for next term. Then I will reveal to you who will be serving with me as your Vice President. I am 100% confident that you will be absolutely thrilled with my choice, especially considering that he stands as a veritable paradigm of wry whimsy.

But don’t scroll down yet… wait for it.



By now you ought to be getting a sense for what kind of government I envision for eUSA during my Presidency. Here I will spell it out more clearly.

1: People
Everyone chosen to serve with me in March will be so chosen because she or he seems to be having fun in this game. I plan to treat every one of our Cabinet members like National Heroes next month, men and women who are sacrificing many clicks in pursuit of a better eUSA. They are heroes. And I want our National heroes to be infectious. I want them to be the kind of players who are capable of inspiring a two-clicker to become a future Cabinet member.

2: Purpose
When an organization lacks focus, it tends to surrender its direction to the individual whims of it’s strongest personalities. However, when an organization has adequately communicated a common purpose, and when that common purpose is adopted by those strong personalities, incredible accomplishments are possible. Like a great fleet of ships, sailing in perfect alignment is necessary for success. I will take it upon myself to cast an aligning vision for our March Cabinet, and every one of our strong Heroes will be working in concert to achieve our great purpose.

3: Politics
Politics be damned. I am not much of a partisan. I despise Machiavellianism. I do think that the dynamics of our Party system is good for gameplay, so I am not eschewing Party politics entirely. What I distance myself from is Person>Party>Nation. And so I am making a conscious effort, in building our Cabinet, to ignore Party affiliation and MU affiliation. I am not looking for the best and brightest from a strategically targeted party. I am looking for the best and brightest from eUSA. This I promise: no politically motivated appointments.

4. Planning
Already I am laying out a schedule for March. By March 6th there will be a framework in place for our accomplishing what we set out to do. I am not making empty campaign promises. I am going to quite literally tell you what we will get done.



And so over the course of the next 2 weeks (I really do think that extending the CP Campaign cycle longer than 10 days is a fantastic idea and I hope more will do it in the future) I hope you will follow this campaign as we build momentum for March leadership.

I gladly invite your participation.



And now the moment you’ve been waiting for.

In order to achieve our goals next month, we will need a Vice President who can quickly turn any circumstance into an epic moment. Our success next month will be partly measured by how much contagious mirth we generate.

So for our Vice President, I look to one of eUSA’s leading jesters. This is a man who clearly has a penchant for creating a sense of epicness out of… well, almost out of the thin air. Fellow Citizens of eUSA, your next Vice President:



Greeling.

Yes. If I have learned one thing during my 4+ years in eRepublik, it is that we need more Greeling. I know where I usually go when I need me some Greeling, but sometimes it just takes a few too many clicks to find all of the Greeling I need. We need our Greeling at our fingertips at all times. We need more Greeling.

Assuming that the rest of eUSA is in a similar quandary of needing more Greeling, my first formal act as President of eUSA will be to install Greeling as Vice President, thus ensuring a month-long festival of Greeling abundance. In March will see unprecedented levels of Greeling.

You are welcome, eUSA.

(On a slightly serious note, Greeling has been around long enough to be far more than qualified to do what most Vice Presidents have to do. He’ll be one of the great ones.)



While you are enjoying the afterglow of this glorious and historic announcement, I’ll be busy preparing my next article for you. As we grow closer to March 5th, you will hear more and more detailed information about our program for March.

Since I plan to run a campaign free of purchased votes, you can help me by shouting this:


Gnilraps Announces Running Mate!

http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/2376708/1/20

Votes and Shouts appreciated.


You may now return to your regularly scheduled clicking