[DERP] Haphazardous

Day 4,623, 21:38 • Published in USA USA • by Derphoof




In foreign affairs, appearances are everything.

Appearances tell both allies and enemies if you are trustworthy, dependable, and honorable, among other things.

What is being done today diminishes our appearance and standing in the world. However, that’s not all. It doesn’t just diminish us; it leaves us weaker, via a rash an unnecessary course of action.





I’m going to take a step back, towards something I mentioned in the halls of Private Congress.

Many nations, and their players, have a view of the United States. It’s pretty set in stone, in my opinion. That point of view is that the United States is a bad ally. I would disagree, but this is the general consensus around the world. Having the United States on your side is nice, but it is seen as transactional.

“They’ll leave us at some point,” they imagine. “They’ll always flip-flop.”

I told Congress that old folks have already made up their mind. There aren’t new folks to persuade otherwise, to take up the reigns, that aren’t poisoned by that idea. The US is always going to be extra damage, and a means to an end. Not a long-term ally.

From my memory, that starts with the end of Terra, and the US involvement in CTRL. That poisoned the well with the TEDEN allies. Then, we were admitted to CoT (containing some historical enemies). That gave TWO more reason to go to war with CoT, especially after USA-Serbia tensions boiled over. That poisoned the well with much of the rest of the world.





Some administrations have worked within this reality, some have tried to force relationships, and some have tried to fix the perception of the eUSA in the world.

In the past two years, administrations have mostly fought to fix the perception of the eUS. I’d say this mostly started in earnest under Carlos. That’s when it sort of took off, and saw some success.

Lost, looking for a place in the world after the gangbang of 2018, administrations found some help, cooperation, and future in the nations that would become CODE. While they had been sitting on American cores, they saw the US as a possible piece to the puzzle against Asteria. So their side began to help us out, and we went along with it.

The eUSA seemed to prove itself to these countries, earning their trust. America was finally freed on March 10th, 2019, and accepted into the new CODE alliance soon thereafter.





This is not to say that everything was great in the past year. There have surely been ups and downs in this relationship of nations. However, there was always a plan. The eUSA planned to cozy up to Anti-Asteria after the invasion, and planned to join this new group after leaving Pacifica. Between administrations, there was always an understanding that this was the place for us, at the time.

Has that time come to an end?

As the eUSA tried to fight off an Asterian invasion earlier this year, CODE was in a boycott of the admins. It still is, to my knowledge. While principled on their part, it greatly frustrated those in the eUSA. Then, to my understanding, our allies in CODE didn’t like the resulting NAP with Asteria.

While that generated frustration, the new accusations have only exacerbated that frustration.

Tyler decided to impose an embargo on Ireland, after purportedly receiving information that Irishmen had tried to goad Asteria into attacking us. I have not seen any proof of this, and it sounds weird, but an embargo is not an improper retaliation for such an action.

From Tyler’s post in public congress, it appears there were other concerns. Among them: The previous SG ragequit as a result of the alliance bickering; Only a few countries showed up to elect the SG, indicating that they did not care; Meetings frequently turned into shouting matches; Constant complaints towards the admins… etc.

Tyler has stated that he feels more “disdain, distrust, and discourtesy” now, more than ever, in any alliance. So, the straw that broke the camel’s back, was when it appeared that a vocal faction CODE was taking the side of Ireland… A nation that isn’t even IN THE ALLIANCE. They left back in April.





I won’t lie. If I were in Tyler’s shoes, it’d be very tempting to leave CODE after all of this. My emotions would probably lead me to consider proposing the “leave alliance law.” However, I have problems with this decision to leave CODE.

This all seems rushed, rash, and extremely haphazardous.

I know Tyler had indicated his previous displeasure with CODE, but there were a couple of big things that happened lately. The “few” nations that showed up to elect an SG had chosen Yui, an American citizen, to lead the alliance forward. I assumed this was a good faith effort to try to patch things up and bring the alliance together.

Yui had only been in the position for SIX DAYS, when Tyler decided that the only option was to leave.

The other thing is that the USA has an NAP with Asteria for the next FOUR MONTHS. There is no reason to take drastic action, when your country has no threats in the near-term future. It is bizarre to me that we would NOT use this time, with a favorable SG at the helm, to try to mend the divisions in the alliance and move forward.

It may be very frustrating, but I’d argue we must see it out as long as we could.





Due to the eUSA having a poor historical perception, I’d argue that the eUSA should stay in CODE as long as possible. It shouldn’t simply leave when times get weird and tough. After all, we’re in an advantageous position with the SG and NAP. Leaving now says that we’ve given up on what we helped to start. It feeds into the image that the eUS is a “bad ally.”

If CODE really seemed to be an unsalvageable wreck, then propose its dissolution before leaving. Force the nations to commit to each other, by vote. If they vote it down, commit to each other, and its STILL a mess, THEN leave.

As it stands, it doesn’t look like much thought went into this. The vote went up in the middle of the day, without much explanation; only with a plea to vote for it in the country feed. Congress has not been informed of any plan of action moving forward, or what our next steps could be. This is what concerns me the most.

You want to leave? Sure, fine. I’ll hear it out. Convince me

Tell me what’s next.

Tell me what we do from here. Where do we go? What relationships do we seek? What status do we have with our allies in CODE? Are we staying with them? Have we been talking to anyone else? What of Asteria? What happens in these four months when the NAP runs out?





There are so many questions, but no answers to be found.

An explanation doesn’t mean much right now, as Congress seems to be approving it. I just want some answers, in Congress.

What’s next, Mr. President?

What’s next?