Let's Say You Come to a Fork in the Road...

Day 908, 15:55 • Published in USA USA • by Cody Franklin

I don't know how many of you know about the law of identity. For those of you who are so blissfully unaware, the law of identity states, quite simply, that A is A. Furthermore, according to the law of non-contradiction, A cannot be non-A; that is to say, contradictions cannot exist in reality; and, when one attempts to advocate a contradiction, even going to far as to base his actions upon it, only destruction can ensue.

Destruction is precisely what I've been seeing for the past few weeks. A lot of people have been having a lot of problems. Our President, HR, pointed out a few of these issues in a recent article. It's this kind of chaos which drove me to lay down the game for a few weeks. I abandoned everything: my paper, my job in the State Department, my two-clicking, and so forth. I had to take a step back to see this game for what it really was: a game. And I can't say I was having a great deal of fun. It had become more of a job than a stress reliever.

That's the horror of it. It's been said several times before, but I believe that it again bears repeating: this is, without a doubt, a game. eRepublik is, in a sense, its own kind of reality. Being a game, it is intended to be a relief from the stress of everyday life. It is supposed to take the struggles of existence and simplify them into a convenient, user-friendly interface. Knowing this, it's senseless to bring real-world cares and concerns into this digital, virtual, fictional world. People base their way of eLife on "how it works out there", and they complain in confused frustration when things down turn out as expected. It's a dreadful, almost pitiful condition.

This is the contradiction which people are advocating: that the New World is the Real World; that what works in the outside world must work in the inside world (which is based loosely upon the outside); that the virtual is the actual; that A is non-A; and, so long as we continue to treat A as non-A, we'll continue to see the same results: destruction, discord, and disharmony on both an international, and, not-so-surprisingly, an intranational scale. I'm not suggesting that we hold hands and sing Kumbaya, but we do need to pull ourselves together and let loose from the serious business which our political, economic, and military leaders have so painstakingly drummed up.

I could, I'm sure, write a long, scathing article which criticized the way we do things here, and how we ought to change; but, I won't, partially because it wouldn't change anything, and partially because this is the second time I've written this article. I accidentally pressed F5 when trying to type in a web address, and I probably spent a good 30 seconds swearing at my laptop. Sure, it doesn't actually matter; but, having put a fair amount of time into it, I was pretty pissed to see the whole thing disappear. You can imagine my colorfully-worded annoyance. This article is probably far lower in quality than its predecessor, but oh well: you can deal with it.

Regardless, the best advice is often the most concise. So, I'll just give it to you straight.

Option A

Option B

So, let's say you come to a fork in the road. One path leads to paradise, the other to perdition. It should be a no-brainer, right?