On Leadership

[Kaiser Ari i]

I'm going to come right out and say that despite knowing of the circumstances of Ruhan Zarathustra Erudinzadeh and all of the Shirithian leaders who ever were forced to be inactive in this nation against their own will, I do not believe in temporary dukes. To my mind, a temporary duke is a mere stopgap, someone who is given the power over a duchy to prevent a possibly destructive development or to keep a watch over it for such development.In Shireroth, that isn't needed. It is a part of the unwritten covenant between the duchies and the imperial government that the duchies are protected. Exempting harmless things like small, mostly silly recwars, the Landsraad, the Ministries, the Kaiser and indeed the whole rest of the nation are there to protect duchies both from external forces and the decay caused by time. This protection comes basically for free, as all you need to give to Shireroth is your loyalty and a bit of your time. Thus, it is a gift to be cherished - and used. When a duchy is weak and stagnated, it can still trust that the imperial government will at the very least seek to keep its history intact through archiving - and, quite often, do more through referring new citizens to it and otherwise helping the duchy to keep active.When you can trust that your forum will be visited by a nationful of other people, why should you fear inactivity? When you can trust that the SHINE will keep an eye on all of the nation's enemies, why should you fear attacks from the outside? When you can trust that the Landsraad will turn the good ideas of the nation into actual laws, why should you fear stagnation? When you can trust that the Kaiser will cherish each duchy as an important contribution to culture and the overall spirit of the nation and each citizen as an irreplaceable member of the community, why should you fear being alienated?If you understand why you should fear none of these things, why should you strive to use a stopgap measure against them?The job of a duke is not to keep zir duchy from retarding or falling apart. The job of a duke is to bring zir duchy forward - into growth, into more excitement, into greater niftiness and all of the good things we strive for in micronationalism. Yet growth takes its time, and despite all of the support from the rest of the nation and one's underlings, the responsibility for creating, focusing or tending the growth lies on the shoulders of the duke. This is why such a thing as a temporary duke is not only an unnecessary invention, but a counterproductive one, since it is not possible for a temporary duke to do the job of a true duke. A month is barely enough to get started on a truly unique culture, greater than most micronations will ever achieve... but in Shireroth, with the protections afforded by the rest of the nation, it is at least possible - as long as you have enough time.Because of all of this, Duke ErosDarkstar of Goldshire, I am telling you this: You are the one true Duke of Goldshire. There is no Duke of Goldshire other than you. While you can always abdicate the throne of Goldshire for any reason if you want to, do understand that should you perform well at your duty as duke, as far as I as the Kaiser am concerned, you are under no obligation to ever leave the throne. There are no strings attached in this provision of freedom - whatever future you take Goldshire to will be one of entirely your own choice.This is just one of the forms of protection provided to the duchies by the imperial government: When a duke becomes inactive and it is known that zie is not going to return to bring zir duchy forward again any time soon, we provide a way to mend the situation. If that means ousting a duke who never planned to leave Shireroth in the first place, then that's what gets done. The purpose of this is not to alienate the old duke - it is simply to help the duchy itself.Ruhan Zarathustra Erudinzadeh will, of course, always be hailed in Shireroth as one of our best citizens, and I am sure that when he returns, he will be provided an outlet for whatever he might want to create in Shireroth. It mightn't be a duchy, but it will be something that's worthy as a reward for the works he has made for Shireroth. If he returns at the end of this month, as he told me, I will be there to see to it personally that he is given what a great Shirithian such as he has earned.Now go forth and do what you want to do with Goldshire, Eros. It is your duchy.

[Unknown]

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