[VP] The first few days, and personal reflections
Jefferson Locke
My Fellow Americans:
First, allow me to introduce myself, in case you have no clue who I am. I am currently serving as Vice President of the United States under John Killah this month. Let me begin by telling you how honored I am to be in this position, and that I promise you that John and I will work as hard as possible for all of you. When John asked me to run, we discussed some of the things that we would like to do this month, and communicating with the american citizens was, and will continue to be, a top priority. With that said, I plan on writing two articles a week to touch base with you all, and let you know what we are doing in order to make this country the best it can be. This will be the first article of many that I plan on writing, for it is our strong belief that a country can only grow stronger by having an educated citizenry, one that knows what its government is doing and thinking. While you may not agree with some of the decisions that we make (as pleasing all of the people all of the time is tantamount to climbing mount everest without making use of ones hands and feet) I can promise you that we will only make decisions based on what we think is best for the long term health and prosperity of this great nation.
The first order of business in any presidency is to basically get things set up. It’s a little like playing chess: before you can truly do what you plan on doing, you have to set up the pieces. We have been working over the first few days to get everything transitioned over from the last administration, and to put the new members of cabinet where they need to be, in regards to forum access, IRC access, and giving them the tools they need to succeed. We have a strong team this month, and I look forward to watching them work together and grow into their roles.
With that said, this is certainly not an ordinary month. It’s not usually the case in which someone takes over the “big chair” while in the middle of a military operation. We are currently, as I’m sure that you are all aware, in the process of liberating S. Korea and Japan from Taiwan. This, known as “Operation gangnam style” was started last month under President Fingerguns, and is a top priority for this administration. Yesterday, there was a loss for us in Northern Taiwan, and today they are attempting to take Central Taiwan from us, but it is looking good for America and her allies, as we are currently up 56-21, and in command of the current battle. With this win, we will regain the initiative and be able to fight on our terms instead of theirs. Keep pushing America, we can and WILL succeed in this.
Now, to be clear, I know that there are some detractors that are either not fully in support of this war, or that think that the war is going poorly for us. Now, for the first group, I have to say that honestly, it’s okay if you don’t support the war. Would I like it if you did? Absolutely. However, again, it is impossible to get all the people of a nation to agree on a steady course of action. There are differences of opinion in all things that have to do with government, and that is not only okay, but it is encouraged. Differences of opinion keep this game interesting and fresh. If we all were to fall into group think, there would be no point in elections, parties, and all that jazz. It would simply be a matter of sitting around with nothing to do, and nothing to debate. It is certainly not your responsibility to take what we (the government) say at face value. Honestly, to do so would be a great disservice to this country and to yourself. Instead, if there are disagreements, it is a patriotic duty to disagree, and it is our job as the government to present you with the data and attempt to persuade you using solid logic and reasoning. That is another reason for these communications: We want your feedback. We want to know if you do not agree with a course of action we are taking, so please tell us, and tell us why. My door is always open to you, so you may PM me at any time. I will not always have an answer, and I will not always agree with you. But I promise you that I will listen, and attempt to find an answer to your questions or concerns.
The second group, the ones that think the operation is going poorly, I can certainly sympathize with. It would quite frankly be disingenuous of me to say “it has gone according to plan” because it has not. One of the things to remember about a campaign such as this is that there will always be ups and downs. It is in the nature of the game for that to happen. However, I can honestly assure you that we are doing everything in our power to make this a success. This operation will be successful, not because of myself and John Killah, but because of you. The American people are known for being strong, resilient, and resourceful. We are known as a nation of people that accomplish great things through hard work and ingenuity, and this campaign is no different. It will take some time, and there will be setbacks. But WE WILL WIN. Again, not because of John Killah, and not because of myself, but because of all of you. There is nothing that we, the citizens of America, cannot accomplish provided we work together.
With that said, on a personal aside if you will allow me the opportunity (I throw myself at the mercy of the reader here), there is something that I think I need to work on, and that we all can as a nation. This game is really a game of personal connections. The actual game aspect of it pales in comparison to the friendships and bonds that we make as a community. It is for this reason that we all take things personally when they do not go the way that we would like them. I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days now, in terms of myself, so I will state what my intentions are, and then hope that others follow suit. I am guilty, as is everyone really, of taking things a little bit too seriously sometimes, getting worked up, and saying things that sometimes should not be said. It’s a heat of the moment type of thing, something that as humans we are all guilty of, as being human is to err, unfortunately. With this, I have certainly said some things, some in jest, and some honestly not, that either have come off the wrong way or that were ill informed based on things from the past, notably things that revolve around the more radical members of the AFA. (And please, bear in mind that I make that distinction because not all members of the AFA are radical, as Candor has so eloquently pointed out in his articles, along with other players as well). Notably, what got me thinking about this was seeing Candor run under the banner of the AFA for PotUS. I wrote an article the morning of the election about it, and stated the line that his run was a “desperate grab for power from someone who has been trying to get it for months now”. Let me explain a little background on this before I continue.
Candor is someone that I think is a good person. I have stated that on numerous occasions, and we had him on fed radio when he was running for CP..........two months ago if memory serves me (and a lot of times it doesn’t) well. At that point, he was running under the idea of having a round table, which included giving the AFA a seat at that table. While I thought, and still believe, that giving them a voice in government is not a good idea, we talked about this, and I came away impressed, albeit still in disagreement with Candor. He is someone that I may disagree with politically, but that I respect as a person. I genuinely like him from what I have seen of him in my time in game. With that said, when I saw him running under the AFA banner, my mind automatically went to the “he’s working with Ajay!” thoughts, without thinking of any other options. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that I was guilty of seeing something based off of a preconceived bias against anything that has to do with the AFA. And for that I was wrong. I hope that Candor will read this, and I hope that he will recognize my humanity, and forgive my lapse of consideration in writing that article and my response in regards to it. And I hope that you, the reader, will join me in working towards taking things in this game less personally. Let’s build a stronger America with honest debate and the exchange of ideas, not with trolling and insulting one another. And yes, I include me in that, because as you can see above, I am as guilty as most.
Country>Self. I pledge to work on myself from here on out to make the country stronger. If we all make that pledge, there is no threat that will ever topple us.
If you need anything at all, again, please contact me via PM, or on IRC under Jefferson_Locke. I will do my best to assist you. Except with gold, as I am poor. 😛
Yours forever in service,
Jefferson Locke
Recommended Reading:
| Our Country President’s newspaper | Speaker's Word | DoD Civilian Orders | Dept of Education | Dept of Interior |
| White House Press Room | Pony Express | eNPR Radio |
Join a Military or Militia:
eRebuglik now breaks links to Google Docs.
| US Civilian MU | Air Force Flight Training | Special Forces | Rogue Squadron | Ultramarines | SEAL Team 6 | OWLs |
| EZ Company |The Higher Calling | Sons of Liberty | Bear Cavalry | Pickle's Patriots |
| eUS Training Corps | National Guard | Mobile Infantry | eUS Army | Airborne | Marine Corps |
| Avengers | The ICA | The Chosen Ones| Cannon Cockers |
Make sure you join the official USA forums!
eNPR - the nation’s radio station
Comments
First for personal reflection and American citizens being awesome!
God I bro-love my VP
Jefferson Locke is awesome!
Great article! 😃
Good work JLo
Voted.
Candor is essentially good, but lacks good judgement. His play style is Glove-like, focused on short-term enjoyment, and long-term misery. I hope he takes care not to damage this nation with his actions.
^Would beat the hell out of short and long term misery.
Jefferson - I feel from your article that you have taken the time to watch what is going on around you, in terms of differing points of view and how other groups/citizens are feeling. I see that rather than throwing out a sentence or two about what is wrong with everyone else's feelings (as we are used to lately) you seem to have taken the time to reflect on them and try to understand and perhaps even empathize with them.
While some people can write articles after entry into their offices which scream "Now that I've conned you all into putting me in office I can be the asshat we all know I am", I am rather impressed with both yours and Johns articles.
I hope that you both continue to interact with the citizens in a way that presents as empathy and cooperation, instead of the callousness and loathing we've recently been accustomed to.
Best of luck, we'll be watching...and hoping for the best.
Candor is great o/
Great job JLo. Hoping for a good month.
Good luck guys o/
o/
And you aren't radical?
You want a party that likes me to disown me..... and you won't back down from this....
I am willing to sacrifice my own personal ambitions for the sake of the group.... which was not appreciated at all by the elitist voters.
Strength and Honour
The whole world is watching
Thank you Jefferson, and good things for all of us to think about. It's a big game (game) and things are always in flux. And in a social strategy game, there is almost always so much more going on than any of us is aware. It's always good to consider that no one has every perspective covered all the time. I know I certainly don't.
Kemal: I don't mind some Glove-ish rub, lol. But I most certainly play a long game, not the short one you believe, though I can't hold it against anyone for thinking otherwise. That said, everyone plays a role and thank goodness most people are fairly consistent and predictable. In my own way, I suppose I am as well.
\o/
First, JLo is one person that I have come to have great respect for of late. Not saying I agree with him 100% but he is defiantly on the 'Good Guy' list.
Second, although I was never served as a United States Marine (or in any branch) I believe in their core values. God, Corps, Country, seems to have morphed to God, Country, Corps. This is wrong in my opinion as I agree with the post made by a real Marine*. The oath administered to new officers of the military begins with the line "I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC...".** That word "domestic" is a tricky item for today's govt. If the people in charge 'order' the military to do something that goes against the Constitution (or any other illegal act) the military have sworn an oath to ignore the sitting govt. and ultimately to even fight against it. Semper Fidelis!
Citations:
*http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?103401-When-did-it-change
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Uniformed_Services_Oath_of_Office
That said, I have some problem with this statement "...it is our strong belief that a country can only grow stronger by having an educated citizenry, one that knows what its government is doing and thinking." When are the people to experience this? Jason tried to make a big deal of this very thing and I called him on it. He never directly responded to me. This sounds like a wonderful idea but I do not see JK's administration posting to the public boards, nor do I see Congress. Also IRC logs of conversations with FA need to be posted somewhere.
Meanwhile I will be faithful to my "Corps" first (that would be Pickle's). This is only a game, if it were RL I would actively be opposing this rhetoric. "Educated citizenry" is a definite YES, knowing what the govt. is "doing and thinking" 100% is not possible unless you want your enemies to know what you know. Prove me wrong
Better article then what JK produced. Almost like you read my last article 🙂
Feel the AMPs!!! Destroy AFA
Thank you for the update. And good read, you make some great points.
Need votes or subs or FB likes ? order them here: http://goo.gl/yXezH
100 % legal
Good to see an update from the Executive branch, added bonuses for sound logic regarding some statements included.
Negatively, the article above engages in demagoguery by insulting Candor with your seemingly narrow perspective; moreover, the above statement seems rife with platitudes which detract from the diplomatic tone of the article.
No vote, It would be wiser for the Vice Commander in Chief to Spend money on our Military rather than article votes; Subbed
@Kemal; Regarding Candor, there are very few who would consider publishing 200 articles short term enjoyment; though i suspect most would deem the task of publishing 200 articles "Long Term Misery"
Squirtious Maximus
Day 1,908, 19:12
'First, JLo is one person that I have come to have great respect for of late. Not saying I agree with him 100% but he is defiantly on the 'Good Guy' list.' x2
'..."Educated citizenry" is a definite YES, knowing what the govt. is "doing and thinking" 100% is not possible unless you want your enemies to know what you know. Prove me wrong'
Not sure what you mean here. Although I agree that government can not reveal 100% of their doings, they can however reveal 75% - 80% of their discussions. One example is military operations, though revealing government thinking previous to operations is stupid; once it has started an article should be released explain the history of why an operation is taking place -100% of the thinking could be released including any 'private congressional' thread related to the action.
no vote...but subbed...good article BTW
Great article J-lo ! p/h
@Ichabod Adams, although JK & JLo have toned down the rhetoric (tip of the hat BTW) from what Jason S. started there still remains the erroneous belief that the govt. is the people. This could not be farther from the truth. The people in effect 'hire' the govt. to do the countries business. I've said before that Democracy doesn't work. It would be ridiculous to take a vote of the general populous before any little thing is done. Here as in RL we have a representational form of govt.
I agree with your statement "...though revealing government thinking previous to operations is stupid; once it has started an article should be released explain the history of why an operation is taking place...". While you're specifically referring to military operations I believe this is so for almost all of govt. business. In short, govt. 'openness' should be to explain what has been done and then public opinion be sought to see if this is inline with what John Doe wants. If not, THEN the govt. goes "Whoops!" and redirects the efforts to better serve what is wanted. Of course not all public opinion is always correct. Taxes for example. Everyone that works wants 1% income tax, people that make stuff want 1% VAT, people that play markets want 1% import tax and no embargoes, govt. supplied military wants ALL your money. Which opinion is correct, eh?
I guess I'm too simple minded to make sense to people anymore. Forget Ajay, forget Henry, just elect people that you trust to do the damn job. AND YOU PEOPLE that get elected just do that damn job you've been given and don't forget why you are there, TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE. ~pickle waves cane in the air~ DAMMIT this is not rocket science, it's a stewpid browser game.
It's all in the delivery
Well done, buns
Very well written Vice-President! Looking for more!