Join the new world

Hello friends, and welcome to the third installment of The Bear Island Banner. I realize that up until now, this publication has been solely campaign articles, but I'm hoping to change that. I don't have my finger on the pulse of the eWorld, I don't know all the players and all the ins-and-outs, but I think I have a pretty decent understanding, and I'm always looking for that little bit more. With this article, I hope to broadly discuss what has recently transpired on the eUS forums with regard to attempts to either censure/blacklist or un-censure/un-blacklist certain individuals, the precedent/s this would set, and how it impacts eUS policy and procedure going forward.



If only he'd stuck to making eggs.


I joined a long time back, though I couldn't tell you versions or any real information about the time other than the date (13 JUNE 2009). What I do know and do remember is seeing names/avatars that stuck with me for one reason or another (Emerick, Woxan, PigInZen, Publius, Max McFarland 2, even "he who must not be named"), profiles I looked into after I rejoined, simply out of curiosity. Some moved on, some are still active, others are active in some reduced capacity, but all together, they stuck with me. It wasn't because I knew them, as I never really participated in the meta or anything beyond the basic daily operations back then, but I remembered these people. In my eyes back then, they were titans in their own ways, good, bad, or otherwise. Our community has dwindled since then, and while I don't mean to do any disservice to those who are here, the level of participatory decline was drastically apparent to me upon returning.



I can only imagine what the eUS Mt. Rushmore would look like.


I realize this may not seem like it relates to the topic I initially described, but hopefully I can bring that around now. It's unfortunate, but for the time being, the eUS community doesn't seem to be slated for any kind of "baby boom" or massive population increase, and as such, we have to account for/work with those we have as best we can as often as we can. There's been a lot of talk on forums lately about theft, about betrayals, what could even be considered "eTreason", and how we can rectify this. I've read articles and forum posts decrying clique mentality, calling into question associations and affiliations for one reason or another; all of it infighting. I get it, I do, negative behavior should get negative feedback, lest it repeat itself. I'd be lying if I didn't say I saw the jadedness of those shaping things, the ingrained prejudices and biases that, while surely rooted in past slights, serve now only to impede any further progress. If we're ever going to be relevant, we need to sort this out. To quote an "A Song of Ice And Fire"/Game of Thrones character I quite like, "a good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad the good." I don't believe everybody should be friends, hold hands, and sing Kumbaya, but I do feel that we can't be overly picky about willing allies in times like these. The "titans" of old are mostly gone, and without meaning to seemingly speak ill of those who are here, it's unwise to decide someone's participation isn't to be accepted, barring an outrageously harmful action. We can't be in bed with wolves, but we can't turn away people without spotless records either. If a person has changed, is willing to work towards the national interest, then I believe we should welcome that.



Knees...bending...


I admit fully that I probably seem like a naive youngling who is just trying to get newspaper attention, and perhaps that will be the final opinion of some of those who read this. For those who read to the end, I hope that perhaps you'll understand that it's my hope that, in spite of the divisions and slights and biases, we allow ourselves to work towards a common interest, and that's national relevance and prosperity. In the brief time I was in Congress and in the threads I've read from the public proceedings, it's as if nothing can get done because every topic of discussion, regardless of it's point of origin, is derailed into ages old mistreatments and personal backbiting. I'm not asking you to take off the armor or forget the scars, but I'm asking you to see the bigger picture, see the bigger threat. When our community becomes so fractured that we're unable to achieve even the smallest measures through governmental procedure, we're building a foundation of instability and future obstacles. We need to come to terms with the past, and move forward.



We don't have to be friends, just allies.


tl;dr: Old slights suck, and people may or may not be as "good" or as "bad" as they were in the past. However, in a time where there's absolutely no certainty about how things will proceed at most levels, a solid core of like-minded individuals is a valuable asset, especially for a group who aren't necessarily center stage.



I'd like to thank you for reading, ask you to please vote/subscribe, and wish you a pleasant rest of your day.

Regards,
Zachary Dionne


(P.S. I'm running for Congress again on the WTP ticket. If you're WTP, please consider voting for me in the primaries. If you don't have a party affiliation/are undecided, please consider voting WTP on election day.)

(P.P.S. If there are gratuitous spelling/grammar/syntax errors in here, please excuse them for now. I'm tired, but wanted to get this out there.)