- Pronouns
- he / him / his
President Writinglegend Isn't Good Enough To Run Unopposed
HEM Tiberius
Europeia was rounding off her most successful three months ever as the upcoming Presidential contest heated up. Activity had surged, making the summer of 2009 a whirlwind of growth and excitement for the region. The new Civil Service and City Council had given new members ways to immediately get involved, and the newcomer dominated Federalist Party sparked new life in the region's political system.
Presiding over this remarkable growth was President Pope Lexus X, who was asking the region for a fourth term in the Goldenblock.
The "envy of Nationstates" in an enduring "Golden Age!" Bold statements indeed. Was Lexus merely using hyperbole to boost his own campaign??
As it turns out, empirically, not so much. Europeia had recently become the largest game created region, a title we held throughout 2009 and early 2010. Having spent most of 2007 and 2008 hovering between 150 and 200 nations, we now precariously approached the coveted 1,000 nation mark. Our forum activity had tripled from only a few months prior, as did our total number of citizens.
President Lexus, and his predecessor, President Asianatic (who somehow never gets enough credit..) created the greatest expansion of activity that Europeia has ever seen in our history.
But re-election prospects weren't looking good for Lexus.
Despite extensive popularity, early polls showed now infamous Senator Cordova I ten points ahead of Lexus. Cordova bumbled through the first few weeks of the campaign, bringing his numbers back down to earth, but polls still showed a race that was way too close too call. At the 11th hour, Cordova dropped out of the race, and most political commentators expected Lexus to finally coast to re-election. But there was such a demand for a contest, newcomer and City Council Mayor Klatonia was thrust into the race.
Klatonia had "wowed" many Europeians with his quick knowledge of the region, and deep ability to think critically. Despite this, he had only been a citizen for three months before being dragooned into running for President. Are you expecting a Lexus blowout? Not quite.
Polls had Lexus leading Klatonia by a single vote, and as it turns out, that's precisely what his final margin of victory was.
Pope Lexus X was re-elected by one vote. A even crazier twist still? That single vote was mine. Even though I was running on the Klatonia / HEM ticket, my personal friendship with Lexus tugged at my heartstrings. Twenty minutes before polls closed, I finally cast my vote: against myself.
As of today, President Writinglegend is running unopposed. He has received universal acclaim, strong approval ratings, and virtually no real questions in his campaign thread.
Writinglegend is a good President. He has made me extremely proud, and I am always eager to greet him as "Mr. President" when he queries a Skype convo with me.
But President Writinglegend is not good enough to run unopposed.
President Pope Lexus built the modern incarnation of Europeia with his hands. He combatted espionage from foreign infiltrators, he worked with the new City Council, he single handily sent over 10,000 recruitment telegrams and founded the very idea of a cultural "festival".
And Pope Lexus X still faced an opponent.
Because back in 2009, we dared to dream bigger. We dared to think about how to be better. We dared to challenge the status quo with the idea that it wasn't quite good enough. Lexus was revered as a giant, even then, but people still smiled and said "I can beat that..."
We have become complacent. We have somehow institutionalized political laziness and apathy. We settle for "good" because "great" requires risk-taking and effort. We are afraid to hurt anyone's feelings, because somehow EuroChat has become more important than EuroPeia.
Even as we have a historic Constitutional Convention going on, we keep searching lustfully for excuses to keep everything the exact same. We have no desire for adventure. We want to believe that in a game that only functions by keeping members interested, "change for the sake of change" is always a bad thing. After all, we've lasted eight years on this, right?
We're lasting, yes. But are we prospering?
Writinglegend is a good friend of mine. He works hard for us, and he doesn't have to earn my respect -- he has it. But he should have to earn my vote.
Because after all, if President Pope fucking Lexus X did, why doesn't he??
HEM Tiberius
Europeia was rounding off her most successful three months ever as the upcoming Presidential contest heated up. Activity had surged, making the summer of 2009 a whirlwind of growth and excitement for the region. The new Civil Service and City Council had given new members ways to immediately get involved, and the newcomer dominated Federalist Party sparked new life in the region's political system.
Presiding over this remarkable growth was President Pope Lexus X, who was asking the region for a fourth term in the Goldenblock.
Pope Lexus X said:Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you once again to ask for your blessing to lead you. We have been on quite a journey together, even though some of you only joined mid-way through! [...]
I have served you to the best of my abilities, and the results are clear. We stand now as the envy of Nationstates. Nations have joined us simply because of our prestige and population! Our activity has never been as high, and for this to occur during the summer months, it really is a remarkable achievement for the region. Europeia's Golden Age has lasted longer than any other region I can remember, and I intend to see to it that it continues to last through the next term and after I have stepped down.
The "envy of Nationstates" in an enduring "Golden Age!" Bold statements indeed. Was Lexus merely using hyperbole to boost his own campaign??
As it turns out, empirically, not so much. Europeia had recently become the largest game created region, a title we held throughout 2009 and early 2010. Having spent most of 2007 and 2008 hovering between 150 and 200 nations, we now precariously approached the coveted 1,000 nation mark. Our forum activity had tripled from only a few months prior, as did our total number of citizens.
President Lexus, and his predecessor, President Asianatic (who somehow never gets enough credit..) created the greatest expansion of activity that Europeia has ever seen in our history.
But re-election prospects weren't looking good for Lexus.
Despite extensive popularity, early polls showed now infamous Senator Cordova I ten points ahead of Lexus. Cordova bumbled through the first few weeks of the campaign, bringing his numbers back down to earth, but polls still showed a race that was way too close too call. At the 11th hour, Cordova dropped out of the race, and most political commentators expected Lexus to finally coast to re-election. But there was such a demand for a contest, newcomer and City Council Mayor Klatonia was thrust into the race.
Klatonia had "wowed" many Europeians with his quick knowledge of the region, and deep ability to think critically. Despite this, he had only been a citizen for three months before being dragooned into running for President. Are you expecting a Lexus blowout? Not quite.
Polls had Lexus leading Klatonia by a single vote, and as it turns out, that's precisely what his final margin of victory was.
Pope Lexus X was re-elected by one vote. A even crazier twist still? That single vote was mine. Even though I was running on the Klatonia / HEM ticket, my personal friendship with Lexus tugged at my heartstrings. Twenty minutes before polls closed, I finally cast my vote: against myself.
As of today, President Writinglegend is running unopposed. He has received universal acclaim, strong approval ratings, and virtually no real questions in his campaign thread.
Writinglegend is a good President. He has made me extremely proud, and I am always eager to greet him as "Mr. President" when he queries a Skype convo with me.
But President Writinglegend is not good enough to run unopposed.
President Pope Lexus built the modern incarnation of Europeia with his hands. He combatted espionage from foreign infiltrators, he worked with the new City Council, he single handily sent over 10,000 recruitment telegrams and founded the very idea of a cultural "festival".
And Pope Lexus X still faced an opponent.
Because back in 2009, we dared to dream bigger. We dared to think about how to be better. We dared to challenge the status quo with the idea that it wasn't quite good enough. Lexus was revered as a giant, even then, but people still smiled and said "I can beat that..."
We have become complacent. We have somehow institutionalized political laziness and apathy. We settle for "good" because "great" requires risk-taking and effort. We are afraid to hurt anyone's feelings, because somehow EuroChat has become more important than EuroPeia.
Even as we have a historic Constitutional Convention going on, we keep searching lustfully for excuses to keep everything the exact same. We have no desire for adventure. We want to believe that in a game that only functions by keeping members interested, "change for the sake of change" is always a bad thing. After all, we've lasted eight years on this, right?
We're lasting, yes. But are we prospering?
Writinglegend is a good friend of mine. He works hard for us, and he doesn't have to earn my respect -- he has it. But he should have to earn my vote.
Because after all, if President Pope fucking Lexus X did, why doesn't he??