Join the new world

Change happens. It's true. Even though I've only been here a short time (not even six months), I know for a fact that nations switch allegiances and change sides at a regular pace. But there's a reason that change is always a surprise; it's the oddity, not the norm, despite its increasing rate of occurrence. And to be frank, it has to be the rare happening, or else the entire world would be absolutely chaotic. While this world we live in is confusing at best and insanely idiotic at worst, we need some sort of logical reasoning and planning to keep ourselves sane and a step above other, less coordinated nations.



Now, I'll be the first to admit that Canada is not the most organized nation. Our level of infighting teeters on the line between entertaining and self-destructive at times. But when we've needed to the most, we've always been able to stand together and unite under a single objective. And we need to now, more than ever, while we choose a lone path to pursue.



We have three major possibilities as of now (four if you count Asgard). We can either stay neutral, attempt to ease our way back into EDEN, or attempt to join CoT. I like having a wide variety of options, as I'm sure everyone does. I'm sure there are plenty of good people in CoT that we'd get along with. But joining CoT is an atrocious idea, and let me tell you why.

First off, and most importantly, the Canadian public won't accept it. Canada's had numerous debates with the idea, and despite having good relations with our former best buddy Bulgaria, Canadians as a whole detest the idea. Call Canadians boring and too grounded all you want, but the simple fact is that if you don't have public support with an idea, it will fail, no matter how good the idea. Before you can spread plans with other nations, the support of the people is essential to doing anything of significance. Contrary to popular belief, even dictators are elected in eRep, and if a leader has a poor idea, well then, guess who's not getting votes on the 5th?



Alright, let's move that past the first impossible obstacle and say that by some miracle, the people are brainwashed and decide that the idea has some merit. Well, you've passed the acceptance threshold, but the idea still needs to be worth implementing. So what does this plan entail? We drop our EDEN allies, and instead focus on joining CoT, an increasingly respectable and formidable alliance. On paper, not the worst idea in the world, sure. But we're too unstable and maligned on a global scale to even consider the idea.

After signing MPPs with Bulgaria and Indonesia not so long ago, a lot of nations took great offense to such acts, and deemed us traitorous and derpy. Whether we are or not is up to you, but the fact is that our level of international respect is at a dangerous low. Our enemies spit on our graves that we so often dig for ourselves, and even some of our good allies are just a bit suspicious of us. Can you blame them? What we did, signing alliances with our friends' enemies, was a big no-no in diplomacy, and some nations are still hesitant to trust us. Do you honestly think that trying to switch teams not once, but twice, is going to be good for our image? Like it or not, we look like traitors if we join CoT, and suffice it to say, I like being respected. Don't you?



We've worked hard since our misstep with Indonesia and Bulgaria, and started to repair our image. Even though our attack of Spain didn't result in much tangible gain (as if eRep is actually tangible, but you know what I mean), we earned much respect from our peers, who knew we were ready to pay a steep price for our loyalty courtesy of Poland and put us closer to repairing any strained relations we may have had with our allies. We're close to healing our reputation, so why should we throw away all our hard work getting back to this point? Even in our best and worst times, we should never betray our allies, but especially not when we're tirelessly working to restore our image, not when we're so close.

And morals and ethics aside, what actual good does swapping sides do for us? Sure, Poland is scary and in theory, joining CoT might make them look the other way when it comes to us, but the one shred of goodness hardly is worth the cost. America has broken off ties with Poland, and though they still have a friendship with Spain, it's much less likely that Americans will look to conquer us, a long-time friend and brother, for lulz and land bonuses that aren't really bonuses. The prospect of three mighty nations all threatening us was notable, but with America's severed ties to Poland, it's much less likely that we'll see a group permawipe attempt on us any time soon.

With EDEN, there's a legitimate case that there's not much to do in terms of direct war. Sure, we can always attack the Brits, a fair and fun target, but to be fair, it's lost its flair after the eighth war. However, we are still always in position to play our role in a grand war against Poland or against Spain. While we can't do much single-handedly, we're always ready to strike when the time is right. And besides, any wars we have with them will most likely be to support either Portugal or France, two very dear allies of ours that have sacrificed their own well being for the greater good countless times. Should the time come, isn't it only right that we return the favor?



And besides, what interesting wars does a life buddying with CoT give us? If you make the assumption that Poland is no longer a war option (which is one of the major reasons for the idea in the first place), who the hell can we fight? Ireland? Even if you disregard the fact that Ireland is another good ally of ours, they'd provide no more entertainment than a war with the UK. While our relations with the Brits are better than they have been in the past, they're still nowhere near as dear of an ally to us as Ireland is in terms of trust and loyalty. While I'm sure the Brits would make wonderful allies, there isn't the same camaraderie that there is between us and Ireland. Basically, we'd be trading our Irish ally away, but not getting anything in return. And that's no fun.



Even if we did swap sides and also secured a land swap/rental deal with the Brits for Scotland, theoretically giving us more options, it really doesn't. Where does it let us go, Germark and Norway? Germark is too close of an ally of ours to fight, and their unique "2 nations, 1 flag" system (forgive me) makes them a ridiculous hassle to defeat anyway. And if we're honestly swapping our entire allegiance so we can fight a small power like the Norwegians, there's some serious logical flaws.

And even if we let all this happen, is there really anyone who thinks CoT would be much of a help? In Europe, where most of our endeavors would occur (unless we get Alaska, and good luck with that), the CoT members are Switzerland (renting lands to Slovenia, and quite weak), Belgium (nice people, weak nation), Moldova (busy in their eternal war with Ukraine), and Bulgaria (too far away to do any real good). While they might give us indirect support, remember that EDEN can give far better support than CoT ever can, even if CoT wasn't busy helping their members in South America mess with Argentina or Chileans kicking Aussies in the teeth. Unless we're honestly considering a two front war with America alongside Mexico, there's literally nothing that CoT can do that EDEN can't do better already. EDEN being Balkan-focused be damned, they can still do better for us.

So what good does joining CoT do us? I'll give you this much: it lets us fight new enemies and change up the pace, as well as making diplomacy more interesting. But is it worth trading years of TEDEN friendships, a more exciting feeling of war and being the scrappy underdog (don't tell me that holding off Spoland on our own wasn't fun), and the label of being as backstabby as Turkey (no offense, Turks, but you know how it is)? It's a simple answer, really.



Until next time, take care!