Join the new world

I thought the title sounded catchy-anyways.


I am writing what may turn out to be a mega or a short article about what I've learned about politics the American Way. Throughout it I put in major points that I hope you can pay attention to 😉. Now, Sir Ekim wrote a fantabulous article about partisanship, so if you want to get an in depth on that-I suggest you look there, but I want to talk personally about my experience.


My Personal experience with Parties and partisanship

Someone mentioned that part of the reason we have partisanship is because people role play roles that aren't necessary because they find it fun.


This is true.

I for one find it great fun to be a congressman and to use unnecessary congressman sounding like terms and slogans. I mean, if it wasn't fun, I wouldn't be doing it.

When I started out at level 7, I looked at the parties and first joined the Libertarians because Geno Garon a rl friend of mine was a member. I soon found the party kinda boring (no offense to the party intended) and began a search not for my friends party, but my own party. I wanted a smaller party that I could get involved with. Soon I signed up for the AAP. A party I felt small enough to feel at home but big enough to help me get heard.

I was right, in my opinion.

(This article is not intended as propoganda for the AAP, but do realize i do highly value my party and it comes out in my story. And don't worry the boring stuff is over)

I loved my party because it gave me a sense of identity and belonging. A place where I felt useful, where I could exert my energy and time and make a name and a reputation for myself before anything else was available to me.

(Point #1) parties give people a sense of identity especially when first starting the game. I mean, without parties, this game wouldn't have been nearly as fun for me. And to begin with partisanship kinda helped build the comraderie within me.

At the same time, I wanted to take the stand for unity from Day 1. I wanted this to be a national game where sure, we can argue, but in the end we look out for all of us and realize we need everyone.

After becoming Party President, I really tried to reach out a hand for unity and for awhile I feel like it worked. I may be wrong, but the AAP (though this was generally true before) was liked by all of the major parties. Even the CvP I had managed to develop (and still have) good relationships with their leaders.


So what happened?

I can't tell you what happened first, but some random person came up with some random story about me that was probably slightly true. I then projected that onto the entire party and walla! It wasn't even fun anymore it was just bitterness.

Futhermore, I felt like every attempt I made, every article I wrote, to promote unity, was used to accuse me of some ridiculous things. You wouldn't believe the resistance I've faced to movements I've tried to start simply to create unity!


(Point #2) Nobody likes their reputation being muddied, but certainly not by half truths. There is room for calling people out, it needs to be done very carefully. I have tried to do it carefully, but I rest assured I could do it better.


(Point #3) We lost a nation (Croatia) because we were focused so much on our intra congressional runs. I urged my team to think for ourselves and our candidates-and not unrightly so. I always will. Some of my party members put amazing amounts of energy and time into developing a team to help with congressional runs. But let's face it-we weren't looking out for nation first, party second.


I don't want to lose the fun and enjoyment of developing identities within different parties-but we need to look out beyond silly differences of left or right onto more serious differences of ally and enemy.

(Point 4) I know that I have gotten carried away in my defense of myself and backlash against those that I have felt attacked me, and for that, I apologize.

To those that I have offended unintentionally, intentionally, or otherwise. I am sorry. I certainly cannot claim I am the perfect Interparty relations secretary. Before I took that position, I indeed WAS (I think) very unbiased in my opinion, but flak I got for extending my hand out to everyone made me bitter. Those who dislike me-whatever your ideas are of me, give me another chance and I'll do the same.


Respect in dialogue creates understanding, not personal attacks. I've said this before and I should remember it more often.

So let's make a deal, USA...
Main Point: let's start with a clean slate for every party vs. every party. I can't promise I like you all. In fact I can promise some of you I don't. But we can all point fingers all day long and get nowhere. We need each other, and need to respect each other, to the best of our ability.



Primaries:

Originally, I didn't like the idea of Primaries and I still fear the loss of the identity of parties that I enjoy so much. Still, nation first is what I believe we need. So I now support the idea of primary voting before the actual elections to ensure against an eUSA PTO and to free our voters for other missions.


I'm still not totally comfortable with the idea-but we can find ways of having our party fun while working together as a nation. We need this to become a great force in this, i emphasize, game!

So I welcome the idea and look forward to a nation that works together thorugh primaries to not squelch voices but to build a stronger unified country.


Plans:


The Jedi Council has been slow in the upbringing mostly caused by my own laziness. Granted, I have been busy, met resistance, you name it-but I still haven't pushed the on button as often as I should have. To that end, I have asked all PP's to send a representative name to me to be added to the moderator list of that area in eusforum.com and that-

the first case we will try will not be directed at one person or one party but at all, a call for a meeting of the Jedi Council to discuss the tenets of the primary system and also a brainstorming session for how we can maintain unity while maintaining identity that makes parties so much hecka fun for me and others. All PP's are going to be moderators as well as one other person from their party that they choose.

We can discuss multiple instances of when partisanship has been done unfairly. I can name more than one instance against myself. I prefer us to bury the hatchet altogether. However, those that want to can bring up to the Jedi Council their personal complaints on whatever party politic issue they so like if they feel that the issue simply needs redressing.

In general, I would prefer to see the Jedi Council used as a neutral meeting grounds for how parties CAN get along as opposed to how we haven't in the past.


Aren Perry,
AAP Party President
Secretary of Interparty Relationships



P.S. I used plenty of italics and what not to keep your attention 😉. Clever, eh?