Join the new world

http://www.rpgbrain.com/eRepublik/eao/eao.jpg" width="100" height="78" align="left" border="1" /> The eAmerican Observer
_Issue 5 - eRepublik Day 735



Trust is a Precious Commodity
http://www.rpgbrain.com/eRepublik/eao/issue5/backstabus.jpg" align="left" border="1" />There have been two developments in the eRepublik news recently that have underscored a very important fact. Having trust in your partnerships is a rare and precious thing. While one of the issues has been settled, the other has yet to be resolved. How they turn out will have far reaching implications in eRepublik. The first situation was the dispute between ePortugal and the eUSA over a contract. The second issue is the ePolish PTO effort on ePeru. I will discuss each of these in successive articles.

The first issue was ePortugal suing the eUSA for 5000 gold concerning their contract to return ePortugal held territories to the eUSA. In the terms of the contract the eUSA was to give ePortugal payments of 100 gold each month for five months. In return ePortugal would withdraw from the eUSA native territories it held on a timetable. The contract was first breached by ePortugal when they did not return Maryland to the eUSA on time. A later breach was alleged by ePortugal when the eUSA reportedly did not make a payment on time. Both breaches were alleged to be approximately one day late.

It is possible to argue many different reasons why the position of ePortugal was incorrect in this dispute. To completely understand, you would have to be familiar with contract law. But the terms “good faith” and “reasonableness” are used profusely in such law. I will dispense with the tedious legal arguments and cut to the chase here. The claims of ePortugal do not display good faith. Especially in the light of having the eUSA grant them leniency when they were also late by a similar period in upholding their side of the contract. The sword cuts both ways in a contract. If one day was breach of contract when it was appropriate for ePortugal to benefit, it was also breach of contract when ePortugal did not fulfill their responsibilities.

By exercising diplomacy with a dose of hypocrisy, ePortugal has displayed that they have no intentions of dealing with the eUSA in a fair and equitable manner. They were willing to graciously accept the leniency of the eUSA, but did not return it in kind. It does not matter what the terms of the contract are. Trust and diplomacy dictate that partners treat each other equitably. This is obviously not the thinking in ePortugal, which makes them a dubious partner to any agreement.

The ePortugese are shown to be snakes in the grass, waiting to strike. They are not to be trusted. They have chosen a path that degrades relations between our two great nations for nothing more significant than some money. The leadership of ePortugal has been exposed as ungrateful for the diplomatic gestures and good faith that is extended to them. You can now be certain that any relations that you have with ePortugal will only be manipulated for their best advantage with no concern for equity. Especially if their eHungarian masters can benefit from it.

The citizens of ePortugal should be very disturbed that their leadership has been so short-sighted. This entire episode has damaged the diplomatic credibility of their nation. That is especially true now that the gamble has backfired and ePortugal has gotten nothing for their greed. Not only has ePortugal gotten nothing in return through this gambit, they have managed to nullify the non-aggression pact with the eUSA in the process. They have created a tone of antagonism with the eUSA and placed their nation in a more dangerous position. They sacrificed their international trust only to lose even more in the process. That is not sensible leadership. There was not anything to gain for ePortugal here. It was a failed effort form the moment it began because it was never reasonable, despite the feeble arguments to the contrary.