We're Innocent When We Dream

Day 1,994, 14:05 • Published in USA USA • by Gnilraps
Innocent When you Dream
Day 1,994 of the New World
6 May, 2013


Something I've always enjoyed about eRepublik is the way we dream together in our communities. And by dreaming together, new (e)realities come to life.

But it has to start with dreaming.

I might pause for a moment to point out that there are, sadly, a few smallish closed communities who have lost the capacity to dream as a community. Their failure to dream in concert with outsiders dooms them to sectarianism, cronyism, and flameouts of what could have been great. (It is my view that the fizzling of "SPQR", for instance, is due mostly to this dynamic.)



But when the dynamism of diversity meets the electricity of excellence in the powderkeg of possibility, something wonderful happens.



US-AIM is a great idea.

So far, that's what it is. I really think that only the most parochial players among us can, with a straight face, say that a dozen or more independent Militias coordinating battle damage is anything less than PROGRESS.

I mean, even fingerguns sort of likes it. And actually, about her article, while it is true that many of US-AIM's leading voices overstated made the point that "having fun" is a major tenet of US-AIM, it is not the primary foundational principle. I think the overemphasis on the "for fun" aspect of this thing is more just a reaction to a concept that is popular in the public discourse at the moment. I don't blame fingerguns for picking up on it, there hasn't been much more than that to pick up on. Yet.

But I digress (again)...



US-AIM is a great idea.

First of all, it is an unavoidable reality of life in the eUSA that the majority of actual battlefield damage is done by citizens who do not fight under one of our official USAF military units. This makes eUSA (thankfully!) different than USA.

Just as an example, on day 1992 (an ordinary day of fighting CoTD's), USAF generated over 663 million damage. US-AIM generated just over 1.4 billion.

So if US-AIM makes it even just a little easier to coordinate what represents maybe about 1/3 of the total damage available (actually, if you exclude Dark Side Wolves from the equation, US-AIM accounts for greater than 1/3. I mention that because DSW just does whatever they want and will not likely ever become intentionally coordinated with eUS interests) then major KUDOS to those who organized it.

So US-AIM is a great idea because coordination > chaos.



US-AIM is also a great idea because there is no way our Government will be able to support such a massive army on its own. These financial constraints create a pool of players from which private/independent militias recruit.

As we have seen with the recent demise of the Office of Militia Support and the simultaneous cutbacks to our USAF Military Units, there is simply not that much cash available to properly support any more citizens than we already do. And so it goes without saying that there are hundreds of active citizens looking to do meaningful damage for the sake of our country and alliance.

The problem used to be that all these private militias were competing against one another, sometimes with animosity, to attract the non-USAF-affiliated citizens. This often led to grudges and selfish competition. At its worst, it even led to poaching or subversive methods of sabotage in order to get an MU off the ground.

But in this new association of militias, it is understood that members of the association will be working together for mutual support and empowerment.

So US-AIM is a great idea because cooperation > conflict.



US-AIM is also a great idea because it makes the job of the PoTUS easier.

Really, with how awful the ingame messaging system works; given that only a percentage of citizens can be expected to use IRC regularly; because the eUS Forum has such an unfortunate reputation as a trollfest; and because every MU seems to have its own way of doing things, the task of communicating with the entire fighting force of the eUSA is nearly impossible.

But US-AIM has created a means for communicating efficiently with a broad spectrum of citizens. In this sense, US-AIM is making the Country President's life easier, almost doing part of her job for her (or him).

US-AIM is a great idea because communication > silence.



US-AIM is also a great idea because it expands the political voice of the general population.

And yes, I realize that I am doing two things right here. First, I am changing my mind about something. I had thought that US-AIM should remain intentionally NON-POLITICAL. And second, I am also conceding a point that has been made by those opposed to US-AIM who decried almost immediately that this would get political sooner or later.

Well it has occurred to me that US-AIM is destined to be political right from the start whether anyone wants it to be or not. It is political not by design, but because every friggin' thing in this game is political. Seriously. There isn't much else to do in this damn game but politics of one kind or another (and I am including the politics of non-involvement as being just as "political" as the politics of involvement). You are political because you play this game. Get over it and move on.

And I am not suggesting that US-AIM is suddenly a political voting bloc. Gawsh, if it becomes that I'm OUT.

But it is going to be impossible to avoid the reality that US-AIM is actually an interest group. And while it was formed for apolitical reasons, its existence is a new political reality.

Because US-AIM is so very diverse, and because US-AIM does not pool any financial resources, and because US-AIM does not include any Military Unit that is politically affiliated, I expect that it will remain fairly benignly political. I expect that it will remain clear of corruption. I expect that its political value will derive more from its size than from any formal stance. But US-AIM is political.

And that means that a whole host of people are engaged in the politics of this country who formerly were not. Good.

US-AIM is a great idea because politics > apathy.



I am thrilled about US-AIM. I can say honestly that I had little to do with its formation. Yes, I had some input on a few concepts that I felt were very important. But in large part it was the CO's who worked in concert to fashion something that was organized enough to encourage adherence but loose enough to remain... wait for it... FUN.

And yes, I am pretty proud of Easy Company for being able to be a part of this thing.

We would not have been able to participate in such an affair if we had remained affiliated with a political party without compromising our commitment to one or the other. I am strongly decided that our independence looks better now than the day I first made such a mess of it. The view through our windshield looks a whole lot better than that in our rear view mirror.



Last thing: I am calling upon those who serve in the US Government to embrace US-AIM for the incredible potential it represents. I am calling upon our new President to appreciate that she has been hand-delivered something that could potentially be an enormous boon to her presidency. And I am calling upon those who took issue with the way US-AIM announced itself in battle to put that behind them and DREAM A LITTLE BIT FOR PETE'S SAKE.

Because we're all innocent when we dream...
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