Join the new world

Every now and then, a writer takes a break. In my case, a little bit of RL was going on, along with a mounting sense of frustration about two worrying questions in eRepublik.

As I am continuing a theme with this article and its sequel, I’ll give you a little recap.

After some early articles explaining political parties, military units and the Unity process in the eUSA, for the benefit of newer citizens, I began to explore some current trends and express my growing concerns.

In “The end does not justify the means” I wrote that it is not acceptable to use the methods of cheats to beat them at their own game. Those who state otherwise are not democrats and are better described as absolutists.

In my next article, “Reservations”, I complained about the vilification of a respected American player who dared to suggest talking with the PTOers. Then, in “Misappropriation of Terms”, I highlighted the misuse of symbols, national heroes and the name of “freedom” for abuses of power, takeovers and authoritarian methods. I also decried fake religions and the mindless repetitions of slogans in the name of particular eRepublik objectives.

The time has come to name names, or at least the name of what is a giant distraction at best, and a sinister means of retaining power at worst. I am, of course, referring to SPQR.

“People just want to have fun”. I can’t object to that in principle but it is only a cover. Not everyone wants to play the same game. Not everyone wants the current “Unity” rule absorbed by a conglomeration of the people who have run this country for four years under a fancy name and through role playing.

To quote Bia Pandora, from a shout feed comment she made just before reset:

“I don’t want the same people that put us in this position telling me how they should be rulers over us all, I want them to tell me why I should trust them toasting a piece of bread after leading us into the situations we are currently in.”

I have been watching and attempting to read the atrocious Latin being thrown around by the role-players. I can imagine my own teachers spinning in their graves or having seizures in their retirement at what has been posted. Cicero or Tacitus it ain’t!

Ancient Rome was mighty indeed. It was so strong that it survived its own collapse on several occasions. It kept bouncing back and lingers still in elements of our languages, culture and legal systems. Its language was so structurally perfect that it has survived two millennia and is still used as the official language by a world-spanning organisation, complete with an office that determines the correct Latin for modern words and expressions. Walking around Rome, I might as well be at home, as there is so much Latin in all the inscriptions that I do not need any guidebooks!

All of this glory cannot be reduced to a meme or fancy roleplaying. Empire proved the ultimate doom of the Romans. Having had one party come to absolute power and destroy the Republic, the new system carried within it the seeds of final destruction. Empire is not good for either the subject peoples or their rulers.

I’ll finish with a quote (untranslated) from Tacitus. If you are smart enough, you already know what it means. Otherwise, I’d recommend against using Google to translate, as too many seem to be trying. If you must, type the last few words into a Google search bar and you’ll get the original.

Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.

[Tacitus, Agricola, 30]

More to come …