So... _this_ is what a storm in a teacup looks like...

Day 964, 17:52 • Published in Australia Australia • by Ranger Bob

Meh eAus.

If I'd said it once, I've said it a hundred times over the last year or so. Our stength lies in the fact we are a smaller group of committed people. Sure, we don't have the numbers of the big countries (or the time to multi like some 😛), but what we are as people defines us.

I disagree with the famous Mr. Arci in one regard - I think we are far more than Pauline Hanson's and Bogans. FAR MORE. Unlike many countries on here, once upon a time (and for quite a time), we were COMPLETELY WIPED OFF THE MAP.

Did we stumble with this? A little. Did many quit? Yes many did. Did we have a massive baby boom and take the war back to our oppresors? Not really.

Yet, we had all our regions back by October 2009. Some of this was ascribed to some excellent diplomacy, some of this was due to making alliances with the RIGHT people at the RIGHT time, and yes, some of this was blind luck. Like real life, actually.

At the moment, we are politically screwed due to not having any form of meaningful majority in game. Meaning that at the whim of the eIndo PTO force, life for our nation could be very difficult.

BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE ARE OVER.

You still play - many eAussies still play, and regardless of your views on v2 will continue to do so.

Why? If it's all doom and gloom, why bother logging in and clicking at all??

I'll tell you.

Because to many of us, it's more than just about the mechanics of the game (sorry, ERA!). It's about the friendships we've forged, about the fun people have in feeling they can come together as a community and make a difference. Hell, some people just like getting drunk on IRC!

It really doesn't matter what happens over the next few weeks, indeed the next month. Sure, we'll probably get kicked in the nuts a few times - at the moment, a schoolyard bully has us pinned behind a wall, kicking and hitting us for all they are worth while the Teacher is busy looking the other way due to them looking at rebuilding the school.

But don't give up, or think we are out. Eventually the bully will tire, get bored, or move on to other things.

Keep talking to each other. Keep having fun, and above all else, do not quit.

Consider this is the longer run. Last time, we lost all our regions, and last time, the sense of fulfilment for many when we finally had them returned was incredible. IRC erupted into cheers, people were almost dancing and hugging on the streets in real life for something that was only bytes on their PC screen. If we can feel those things in RL, then there is NOTHING we cannot achieve as a group of people - regardless of whether we become south indonesia or north antarctica in the long run 🙂.

So - suck it up, and remember we are more than just a player in mechanics of a game. We are a community.

The storm in a teacup will pass. They ALWAYS do. But let's look back on this in a years time and realise in the grand scheme of things, we didn't dissolve into hissy fits, or crying about how bad we have it. Because so long as we still have each other...

WE WILL WIN!