Friendship, Hardship, Hope, Sacrifice

Day 956, 21:09 • Published in USA USA • by Chocolate McSkittles

Wise players know that eRepublik is cyclical. Empires rise and fall. The balance of power between PEACE and Atlantis favors one side then the next. Individual countries become megapowers then laughable.

The eUSA has always been a country of great potential, thanks in part to our large internet saavy population, and everyone knows it. Even our enemies would gladly see us "swap sides" and change the balance of power in this ceaseless war.

Yet, for far too long I have simply watched the eUSA slip into decline, allowing this great potential to be untapped. For a while, after the invasion last summer, it felt like we were on our way. As we clawed back our regions one by one we pulled friends into our eWorld and built the game and the community with an intensity and energy that has not been seen since.

By running for President I inherently made a promise to carry America to greater heights. I personally feel I did a pretty good job. Unfortunately, thanks to the unfortunate fact of this game being absolutely terrible thanks to piss poor management, even my best efforts could only stem the tide of players leaving in the face of V2 and the monstrosities inherent.

Seeing that the status quo was not working, I became distraught. We have done everything we can to recruit and retain new players, down to mass PMing every single individual who starts playing in hopes of reaching them and handing them free goods. Our newbies are taken care of in a manner that would astonish anyone who started a year ago.

Yet its not enough.

You see, because of how terrible this game is, we've become a society that largely consists of "World War 3 babies" who became hooked to the game because of the original action and intensity that it provided, and simply play because its habitual or for "old times sake". While I do not personally fall into this category, I see the appeal and recognize how last summer was the single largest saving grace in eUSA history.

For a long time now, there have been outbursts of general discontent with the status quo. We want action. Prolonged action. A campaign if you will. A goal.

Many have even gone so far to suggest that Americas salvation lies in the repeat performance of the destruction that was last summer. If we all looked deep inside, we would probably all find ourselves agreeing with this in some sense. With our collective skepticism of V2, we want risk. We want a reason to keep playing. We want glory.

Yet, no President is willing to step up and put their legacy on the line to achieve greatness. We refuse even to attack other nations for ours or our Allies sake, living in fear of future repercussions. Who would will risk our status quo mediocrity on a gamble for greatness, one which could lead to the potential destruction of the entire nation? That would look absolutely horrid on our wiki page, and clearly wiki glory is all that matters.

The status quo must end, and I will make it possible. My last acts here as your president will be to martyr my legacy and good name on eRepublik to provide you the opportunity to achieve new levels of greatness.

As you may or may not have noticed at this point, I made some interesting strategic decisions today.

Our allies in Croatia have always been there for us, devoting everything they can to our friendship. I cannot in good faith go about my presidency without doing the same for them in their time of need. This was our opportunity to begin to repay them for the numerous times they've put themselves on the line for us, and they didn’t even suggest the possibility of it - I acted entirely at my discretion. I did this without the council of advisers, the JCS, or EDEN, and the burden of the decision lies entirely on my shoulders, having made the decision I felt best.

But that’s not all. As you read this, even before a possible retaliatory invasion on American soil begins, there is a magic sweeping across the new world. Presses are activating. Forums are buzzing. People are logging on IRC. Strategists are thinking, businessmen are planning, writers are writing. In this desert of dreary "calm", this perfect storm that could be approaching is a perfectly interesting scenario to speculate and rebuild interest and community around.

America is already trying to come back to life.

Eventually, temptation may prove overwhelming and enemy troops will flood our borders, pillaging everything in sight and causing quite a mess. It will be destructive. You will lose regions. You may even lose a war, although that would be rather unfortunate.

You will not lose your spirit.

The eUSA will be revitalized like never before, breaking the shackles of lethargy and springing into action. She will begin to fight with more passion than ever before, recruit with more intensity, and participate with true interest. There may even be hope that infighting will die down as we learn that our true enemies lie outside, and that petty power squabbles are insignificant in the big picture...but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

Sup Hank.

Chocolate McSkittles