Let none speak ill of the dead, for Anandja was harsh but just, and what she did, she did out of love for the country. And though she may have been an extremist, some things are worth defending. For her fighting spirit, I name her a Kampioen, an honor to be received posthumously by her closest living relative, Malliki Tosha.
But the new age will be different, and that is why I have chosen as my patron deity Ikol, God of Tranquility. Under his benevolent eye, we will heal the scars of the past, tie up loose ends, and restore the sense of brotherhood for which Shireroth was once known.
Let no one interpret this to mean I will be a pushover. I have a reputation as a compromiser, and it is not false, but only Nixon could go to China. If, after all compromise is exhausted, anyone continues to threaten the new order, I will deliver an imperial smackdown they will not easily forget.
...but this won't be my first instinct, nor even my second. I want people to start being nice to each other. I will do my best to enact policies to promote this niceness, but in the end, it has to start from inside. People need to hear that little voice saying "I'll bet it would be funny if I totally started a huge flamewar on this one topic everyone else thought was setled," and realize that this is the voice of Balgurd.
Informed by that vision of peace, and by the will of my patron deity, here are the policies I will be pursuing:
FORUM COLORS - if I get this accomplished, and nothing else, I will still consider my reign a minor success. We must create a less garish and more professional forum style, which will co-exist side-by-side with our current style as an option for people who are currently dissatisfied. We have the mock-up ready, we have the political will, and we have Ari Rahikkala, our brilliant Minister of the Interior who has always been willing to accept the many burdens we lay upon him. We will get a new forum style and we will get it within the next three months.
HOUSES AND DUCHIES - We are in a conundrum. A large chunk of our population is deeply attached to the new house system and has invested their blood, toil, sweat, and tears into setting it up. Another large chunk, equally fervent, detests it and wants a return to the Duchies of yesteryear. I will not reverse the creation of the House system, but I will compromise. My gratitude goes to Andreas the Wise, who is already discussing the groundwork on which a possible compromise might be based. If you are not in Kildare, but you have an opinion on the issues brought up in that thread, please private message me. I envision bringing back Duchies in a ceremonial and cultural capacity, while leaving Houses to handle politics and the Landsraad - but that could change.
COUNTIES - During Anandja's reign, I proposed the Spheres of Influence system, which would allow people to develop counties held by the Imperial government. Now that the system has passed, I will execute it faithfully and use it as a tool to restore intrigue and friendly competition to the feudal system.
THE ECONOMY - I have asked Andreas to brief me on this issue, and I will formulate a policy when I have all the information. For now, I believe that everyone should have the right to opt-out of the economy. I also believe the economy should be a friendly, fun institution that no one should have any reason to want to opt-out of. I disagree with Erik Mortis' recent attempts to force-kill the economy, but if we can't find a way to make it enjoyable I'm not above letting it die a natural death.
THE COMMUNITY - Many people, most recently Daniel Farewell but most tragically Isabelle Allot, have noted that our current system encourages drama, rebellions, and ragequits. Change on these issues must come from within, but the central government can help. I have previously mentioned my own system for ragequits - waiting a week before doing anything rash - and I will ask people to voluntarily make a formal committment to do the same. I want to talk to the Minister of the Interior about adding karma to our forum, a system that allows users to offer instant and intuitive feedback on posts and which has worked amazingly well in discouraging trollish behavior on those communities where I have seen it applied. But both of these are ultimately band-aid solutions. The root cause of our drama, I think, is the perceived inability to express feedback and enact change in any way except displays of strong emotion. I have some plans to change that, but I need to develop them further.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS - These will not be my priority this summer, although I will stay Minister of the Exterior unless I can find someone else to take the job. The Eagle-Bagel Pact is growing stronger, creating a cohesive bloc that borders us both to the east and the west. While striving to maintain good relations with both Eagle-Bagel partners, I also want to see Shireroth formalize alliances with our closest friends like Batavia, Nelaga, and Gralus in case push comes to shove. Our armed forces are currently our greatest weakness when compared to great military powers like Ashkenatza. I will be talking to Minister Osmani in private to assess the state of our forces and to encourage reform in this area.
My MSN is scott@shireroth.org , my AIM is GSquid314 , and my gmail talk account is available upon request by private message. I want to talk to all my Ministers when they get the chance; I'm usually online between 11PM and 2AM GMT and at random other points throughout the day.
I also want to talk to anyone who has complaints. If your complaint is "I feel unhappy with Shireroth", there's nothing I can do. If you have a specific complaint, like "I want line 4 of Section C of the lawbook repealed", then I may be able to help you. If you have a specific complaint, please PM it to me or come to me on AIM/MSN with it. I don't want the first time I hear about your problem to be when you start a rebellion or ragequit over it.
Let me repeat that change must come from within. I will do everything I can to make this country more peaceful, including trying hard to correct my own far-from-perfect behavior, but in the end there's no Imperial solution to a personal problem. We must look deep within ourselves and pray to the gods for counsel.
I have chosen as my coat of arms the Shield of Ikol, and it will be the Kaiserial crest and the symbol of the Golden Mango Throne until I abdicate. I urge all Shirerithians to meditate upon it, for within it lies the inner strength we need to pull ourselves back together as a country:
If not, how about upgrading my Dragon membership or something? I've been third grade forever.
