An Explanation of Why I'm An Independent Voice

Day 845, 18:15 • Published in Ireland Ireland • by einberliner

Hello all,

I was going to begin this article with 'this is my manifesto for Party President of Independent Voices' but I've been thinking and I have changed my mind about that. Not about running, I'll be on the ballot tomorrow, but about writing a manifesto. Instead I thought I'd explain why I'm in Independent Voices in the first place and what I hope to see happen with the party in the near future.

Why It's IV for Donut
In other parties, and I'm not saying all others but certainly some, it's always seemed to me there are just a small handful of people who decide everything. What I liked about IV, and why I've stayed there so long, is that everyone can contribute, and I really do mean everyone because our forums (which have been a little quiet lately, but I'm hoping to do something about that), unlike some others, aren't closed to members of other parties. While individual members may canvass for votes for their preferred congress candidates, and while the party supports those who stand in its name, one month early-on aside as a party we don't vote manage. Individuals may choose to hold their vote back and vote tactically but that's on them, I've never as a member of IV been told who to vote for by party officials. Every member is listened to when a subject is debated.

Similarly every member is welcome to their own stance. Other parties are left or right or have a more specific ideological tilt but in Independent Voices each member is free to stand on their own platform. That's perfect for me because I'm really not left or right. I have things I'm conservative about and things I'm liberal about, and even now I'm learning all the time in this game. I like the freedom Independent Voices gives me to grow and learn without feeling like I'm letting a party down or without having to switch parties all the time as my views expand or change.

My Hopes for the Party
Like I said firstly I hope to instigate more activity on the forum. I've been absent there myself this last couple of months as I had a lot to attend to in RL, which is why I haven't stood as TD either (I won't commit to something I suspect I can't see through) but I've been catching up on the happenings there today and have a few things I'd like to raise there, though I'll wait to see if I'm PP or if it's someone else, as I'll talk to them first if that's the case.

Secondly. We recently, as I'm sure you all know, dropped out of the top five parties and while we're back there now I largely suspect that this is mostly because a number of members of Labor and EA are fighting abroad currently. Now at different times I've heard rumors other parties pay people to join them, never seen any evidence but I've heard rumors that I'm hoping aren't true. This is less because I'm worried for our position and more because that kind of feels like it lacks integrity to me, but that's only my opinion. Needless to say, though, I'm reluctant to take a pay-to-join approach to increasing our membership. I'd rather be sixth with committed members than fifth with people who aren't. Similarly I'm reluctant to aggressively promote our party, given we're neutral, but I have already made more effort myself to befriend more of eIreland, partly because I want IV to enjoy a good relationship with all the other parties, partly because for me one of the best things about the game is other people, and partly so that people who might be curious about IV have at least one person they can talk to about it.

This is just a general overview of my opinion and where I'm at right now and while I could go into much greater depth I know this is already tl:dr for some people lol. I just wanted to let our members know what I'm thinking ahead of the elections and let our non-members know a little more about us. From my POV anyway.

Yours in service, as always,
Donut