[PotUS] Let's Do This Again

Day 4,570, 19:17 • Published in USA USA • by Tyler Bubblar


Before I begin this article I would like to wish you on this Memorial Day (May 25, 2020) not a Happy day on this most somber of Holidays but peace and comfort. Memorial Day is unique in the Pantheon of American Holidays. It is more than expected to wish someone a Happy Birthday, Thanksgiving, New Year, Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, Hannukah/Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, however, Memorial Day is the most solemn of holidays on the American Calendar. We honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom and safety of others. It is not a day associated with happiness so much as one filled with reflection and gratitude to those who not only served in the Armed Forces but laid down their lives for not just their brothers and sisters in the Military but the people of their nation and of whatever nation they died fighting in.

The United States of America in the real world is far from a perfect place, however there is a reason for two centuries plus she has served as a bastion of Freedom and Liberty to the world. We do not always live up to our creeds, but we are very aware of them. Many thousands of Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors have laid down their lives in service of the Creeds and Ideals of the United States of America fully realized or not. I recognize that Christianity is not the espoused religion for everyone, yet there is a scripture in the New Testament; in the Book of John that I always think of when I reflect on Memorial Day and the meaning of it. It reads as follows: “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” For all of the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the furtherance of freedom and liberty for others I say thank you and honor what you have done for me and mine. To your friends, families, and service members I offer naught but my wishes that you find peace and comfort on not just this day, but every day.



Approximately a month ago I launched a campaign focused on restoring the processes of the Executive. Somewhere over the course of my departure from eRepublik in September of 2018 and my reentry in March of 2020 many of the Domestic programs and Departments of the eUSA fell by the wayside. I was gone during those long months of wipe and atrophy so I do not know personally what we as a community experienced. Nor do I know the levels of activity and interest the Country Presidents of that time had to work with. Therefore I do not say this as a form of judgment or condemnation. In fact I have great respect for those who remained during what was undoubtedly the most difficult of times in the annals of eUSA history. That said I believed we had an opportunity to rebuild, revamp, and revitalise our community. That is what I set out to do.

It is my belief that we are well on our way to reviving a culture of engagement and activity here in the eUSA. We had some curveballs thrown our way with the Invasion of Asteria in the midst of the campaign last month. However, I have long believed that what sets apart a successful Administration from a not so successful one is the ability to adapt when things do not go according to plan. So we adjusted and sought out an agreement with the Leadership of Asteria in order to hopefully avert another community weakening wipe. We were successful in reaching an Accord. I am told the various TW partners we have agreed to with Asteria and Pacifica will be in place by June 5th. So we will have over the next few days some transition before we settle into our new normal for the next 6 months. The Agreement we reached is not perfect but it is one that will allow the eUSA to continue to focus on our Community and grow stronger. For the immediate future while boycotts play out we will have our bonuses and TW partners to grow the ranks of our Legends.

We have also seen firsthand a Domestic team that is absolutely on fire. I have gathered as diverse a group as possible and watched with no small amount of pride as that group has bonded and meshed for the betterment of the eUSA as a whole. This Cabinet is unique amongst the other four groups I have had the privilege of leading in that many were players I did not know well on a personal level. In spite of that I reached out to some of them and some of them reached out to me in order to get involved. It is my belief and hope that many of the members of the May 2020 Cabinet will now be friends and Allies as a direct result of their time working together for the betterment of the eUSA as whole. If that is indeed the case then if all else fails we have left the eUSA and her community a better place than we found it.



For those who have known me for the majority of my time here in eRepublik it is likely painfully obvious that I have not changed much in terms of my views, values, approach to leadership, and attempts at bettering the eUSA. In fact as I have written these various articles over the last month I have been struck by the strongest feelings of deja vu. Inevitably I will visit my Google Drive in which I have saved every eRepublik article I have ever written and found something almost identical to what I have previously written. During the writing of this article I found something I wrote 6 years ago that still represents how I feel about eRepublik, the eUSA, and our community. I will quote some of that article now:

“The ultimate hubris of humanity is that they and their accomplishments will last forever. The Romans at the height of their power would have never believed that one day the barbarian hordes of the north would one day march into Rome and a barbarian chieftain would seize and marry the Empress of Rome to legitimize his rule. The Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Spanish, and British all took stabs at Empires that would last forever. No mention need be made of Nazi Germany and its 1000 year reign that wasn't. Similarly nothing in eRepublik lasts forever. The Federalist Party is the oldest continuous Party in the eUSA (and among the oldest in the world), we can claim oldest continuous because the USWP briefly merged into another Party. We are making a good stab at longevity and in a bit I will go over how and why.

For a long time now it would seem that the eUSA and even beyond have resigned themselves to managing the decay of the game. When I took over as Party President for the very first time the Federalist Party boasted 600 members. This was down from the near 800 we had when I joined the Party 4 months before. Some of that decay was as a result of ATO efforts. As the largest Party we had the responsibility of moving bodies around to prop up flagging Top 5 Parties and/or save them from outside PTO attacks. We did not always get our people back after asking them to move. However even then the decay of the game was beginning to set in. We have weathered it better than most. (Today May 25, 2020 we have just over 100 hundred members)

I first ran for PP on a platform of butter. I had noticed in the month or two prior to my run that we were not trying as hard as we had been. FedRadio had disappeared, Party meetings had ceased, game night had stopped, IRC activity was flagging, and forum activity was flat-lining. So it was that I vowed to bring back FedRadio, created the Fun Zone here on our forums and created a Fun Zone Director position. Somewhat of a "if you build it they will come" type of plan. I am pleased to say that a year and a half later much of what I have built is still here and has been expanded upon by other Party Presidents. This is why I am synonymous with Butter in the Federalist Party.

Last month when I decided to run for a 4th term as Party President my plan was to focus on the process. Sort of a Back to the Future model. We had become very top heavy. Departments that once employed 4-6 relatively busy people were staffed only by 1 very overworked Director. This setup caused more than a few problems. Nothing hastens burnout like being overburdened to top it off with the way things were going few viable candidates for promotion were available. Also since so few were active in the day to day work of the Party activity in general suffered. The game right now is downright awful, but that does not mean that we as a Party need to follow suit.

I am quite pleased that we not only have 4 candidates for PP this next month, (myself included) but that we have so early in the process had more than 20 Feds offer up nominations. What I am also pleased with is that the process is beginning to work. The FBI has worked tirelessly in the background to update our accesses and keep our elections clean and sacrosanct. The Recruiting Department is humming along messaging and befriending new players, unfortunately due to the state of the game we are merely treading water, but others lose ground. Most importantly to me AnkaLeader reports that the staff of Recruiting are all pitching in. The Fun Zone has 3 people working to bring games, and other activities to you the membership. Full disclosure my CoS Dave Gulya has done a fantastic job of getting interested Feds into work. If you are interested in who is working in the Departments please feel free to check it out. http://fedparty.forumotion.com/t7029-december-2014-cabinet

I am asking for another month to continue the mission: Focus on the Process. Things are beginning to turn around and I believe with another month of work we will effect as lasting a positive change as can be expected in this transient game. The apparatus we are setting up takes time and effort to build and no small amount of attention to maintain but it is worth it. What I believe has always set our Party apart is that we thrive on seeing our members grow and succeed. When I came in and excelled it was a personal victory for many that took an interest in me. In turn when I have seen and in a small way helped others succeed I have taken that as personal victory. I know this has been a bit of tl;dr however I thank you for taking the time to read it!”



As you can see I am not all that different in terms of rhetoric and approach than I was when I announced my intent to seek a 5th term as Party President of the Federalist Party way back in 2015. Much like then I am coming off what I believe to be a strong start in reversing a long term trend of apathy and atrophy of involvement. The Departments are beginning to hum, the team is in place, and we are in tune with one another. We are poised to deliver you the community of the eUSA a June to remember. I have and my team have done this so many times before. I fully recognize that so many other leaders of the eUSA have more in many areas to offer than I do. I am not on the same level as Josh Frost, Gnilraps, Emerick, Cerbiswar, Wild Owl, Scrabman, and many others. Yet I have always believed one of the keys to success is to know your strengths and more importantly know your weaknesses. There is a dynamic team in place to shore up my strengths and weaknesses. I believe we have done an excellent job this month in serving the eUSA community. Therefore I am announcing my intent to seek a 6th term as CP of the eUSA and asking for your vote on June 5th 2020.



We are on the right track. Given another month I believe we can strengthen our community, rebuild a culture of inclusion and engagement, and position very strong leaders of the eUSA. I have had a wonderful journey in the eUSA. I do not seek additional time as CP in furtherance of myself. I ask for more time to realize and grow my vision of our community. I told you two months ago when Paul Proteus was running for President that our community was only dead if we allowed or believed it to be. I told you a month ago that we could still build an Executive from every major group that wanted to be involved and that group would not just gel but mesh and become a team. This month I believe we have proven both of those premises. Our Community when it works together is the most unique and worthwhile group in all of eRepublik. Therefore I as always thank you for taking the time to read and ask for you to consider voting for Tyler Bubblar on June 5th 2020.