My two cents worth...

Day 1,919, 02:16 • Published in United Kingdom Australia • by Send love to Plato



How do I start? Well I am tempted to write about how I think we are all guilty of the breakdown of the political system in the eUK...but then it mirrors the real life political animal, so that wouldn't be right.

Part of me wants to lambast the eUK citizens for allowing the country to slowly slide back into a footing where you are holding on to the cliffs edge by your finger tips, slowly you feel the grip loosen and the strain becomes unbearable. So you use all your energy to make sure the guy leaning over gets pulled over first...hell why not? If you are going to go take someone with you. This attitude has opened the divide slightly wider recently and smashed apart any goodwill we had recently within the political system.

Though as I consider this Wayne Kerr (you're mentioned so vote it up!) always says that the political system and hostility was always the same...perhaps. I don't remember the hostility being this vicious but I will take Waynes word for it (that's two mentions so you better set up a multi-account for a second vote).

There is a way around it though...



The top five political parties in the eUK have never been stronger especially in my lifetime, and by that I mean when I first joined eRepublik the fifth placed party had roughly 50 members. Now you need over 100 to break into that elite club. No top 5 no Congress candidates without another party willing to offer a helping hand, which I am pleased to say has happened a lot recently. When I first joined it seemed rare and I still remember how ESO broke the mould to help the little guy get a helping hand, this was a great help to smaller parties and gave them that helping hand up the recruitment ladder. It gave the smaller party something to offer the newer player, a glint of an offer to entice that player to take a gamble rather than take a safe bet and just join an already established large party.

No, the landscape has changed and now you see longstanding parties such as PCP and UKRP fighting hard to try and reclaim past glories, it is a much sobering thought for UKRP when you consider the distinguished members they have within their ranks. I suppose on the other hand it has opened up TUP who have offered that helping hand for UKRP to have Congress representatives, I apologise for any injustice but I don't recall TUP ever doing that in my eLifetime but a great gesture is a great gesture none the less and they deserve the applause and recognition for that act, all top five parties do.

So we all are aware how difficult it is for parties at the top. The scramble to recruit that new player, the one without the avatar who's rank is in the single digits. Some have taken to offering supplies which puts them on a firmer footing than other top parties...does it make them friendlier communities? Are their policies suddenly better and healthier for the country? Does the supplies mean that player is more likely to remain in eRepublik? No, though you can see why the new player takes the offer.



So, where does this leave the parties at the foot of the hill to Congress? I will be honest and say I didn't really appreciate the situation before...until now. Parties like the Workers Rights Party limp along trying their hardest to recruit and keep their current members happy, they are very well thought of but are guilty of not wanting to put several hours a day into a game where they just want to enjoy it more than everything. The game is not that rewarding where you can justify dedicating so much for so little. Don't get me wrong, I mean that there will be some who bemoan their position and say they haven't worked hard enough...I don't believe that at all...they recruit, write articles, play the game in the spirit it was meant to and have made many friends. Their key figure Huey George kick started a trend for Congress men to write reports so the people know what was happening within the walls of Congress, sadly this seems to have slowly died a death again. But the effort was there and still they linger at the bottom of the political rankings.

There are other parties down there who spend more time than they should trying to climb the ladder very slowly or desperately try to retain their numbers. Parties like the Great British Democratic Party and The Independent Alliance amongst many, we all offer something slightly different.



It just needs people to step back and think, do they really get the most from their current party? Does their party really support them? Are their policies what they would choose? Too many become small fish in a large pond for the comfort, hell why not and fit right in afterall the party is already made and eLife is good. Well why not take a step back and become a large fish in a small pond? Take a month's break from being in a large party and move down to a smaller one...anyone...boost their membership and help write an article.

If you are in a party top heavy with members why not try the smaller party where your opinion is heard louder and you are not an individual in a sea of faces. Try learning the ropes at one of the smaller parties and learn your craft, fine tune your spokesman skills or your policy developing Councilling talents? If you put your name forward for the Party President of your party and still each month you struggle to get enough support, well try a smaller party and get the experience whilst sharing valuable knowledge of the workings of a larger party. I don't mean spy and spill secrets...I mean help, assist, encourage and play a part.

Take a tiny gamble and see if it really is more rewarding and enriching to help build up the foundations of a smaller party, to help those smaller parties obtain a firmer hold upon the edge of that political cliff. What do you have to lose? You fail, you go back to the big party you came from. If things aren't the same and you are not welcomed then you have learned a lesson that it wasn't the party you thought it was afterall and you look for that next political opportunity.



Another thing we have to do as a community is support our smaller parties with regards to their articles...Is it really to much to vote up articles such as this? . There have been some great articles by the smaller parties out there which have been ignored while some larger parties have brought votes and consigned that well written piece to suffer a death. Well if you are sick of brought articles then do something about it, take a moment to vote a few...why not? Sometimes these articles are used to help smaller parties become more aware so you can play a part that way, barely any effort and hardly any fuss for just a click and a minute of your time. You could spend the same amount of time voting up someone else's article rather than leaving a comment on an article with brought votes from a writer who will never change their ways, It is obvious which one will be more helpful.

I am not just referring to my own party here as well as I have only been in The Independent Alliance for ten days, so I am in no position to lecture anybody...but remember there are parties at the foot of your country's rankings who are hard working, dedicated and friendly with a wonderful little community just waiting for you. At the foot of the political rankings where venom, bitterness and trolling doesn't exist...IT'S HONESTLY TRUE!!! While the big parties scramble to buy votes and recruit yet another new gamer we are scrambling for enough members to approach one of the big boys for a platform for a Congress seat, it is just as competitive down here as it is up there so don't think it is void of any competitiveness, it is just that we do things different and show more respect to each other.

I have resisted using my party's logo's too much other than small paragraph breakers and the newspapers header as a show that this wasn't a blatant attempt at recruitment and that this is was a genuine article aimed at helping some genuinely great little parties, and if it makes one person realise that bigger Isn't better (don't cry ladies) and they take that step down then this has been more than worthwhile.

AND FINALLY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY
If you are level 29 and below you are entitled to free food from the government, you can apply here NHS APPLICATION by filling out the very simple form. The NHS scheme has no conditions and is open to all new players so please apply as every bit of help is important in your early career of eRepublik.

And in the recent climate of party vote buying outside of election PLEASE remember to vote up Government articles as these are Important!