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An Election Day Appeal
Topic Started: Oct 20 2010, 04:49 AM (147 Views)
Hadisthe
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Chief Distributor of Awesomesauce

One of the most famous quotes in mainstream culture in the United States is from President John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech, given in 1961. "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." This is one of my favorite quotes, and I have spent a great deal of time contemplating it. The obvious meaning is that we should work to help our country in any way we can rather than demanding more and more every day. When I look at it, I see an intermediary--the country. Taking him out of the equation, we are left with an awkward statement: Ask what you can do for you. At first consideration, an awkward statement is all those words are, but when you really think about it, it makes a significant amount of sense. What can you do for yourself?

All events are simply effects of corresponding causes. Every time we ask ourselves what can be done to solve a problem, we naturally wonder why no one else is doing anything or who is responsible for it, but in reality, it is all ultimately up to us. That is not to say that each person has the power alone to change whatever he or she desires; it is to say that we, as a group, hold the keys to our respective nations or, in this case, our region. The most prevalent way we wield this power is through the electoral process. In Equinox, we choose our leaders from amongst our peers, and when we do so, we decide what our region can do for us, what we can do for ourselves.

The state of the region, as I perceive it, is marvelous. Vibrant, our community is constantly changing and ever thriving. Despite a slight decrease in activity over the last several months, Equinox remains among the most active regions in the world, and it certainly reigns as far as culture and community go. However, nothing is perfect, and there is always room for improvement. I believe that the most noticeable change in our region has been a mere shift in priorities. Whether it was a conscious effort or not, we slowly shifted our energy from the region to our individual groups: the Senate, the Cabinet, our guilds, et cetera. Although this is not exactly a bad thing, it is a cause, and the effect can be seen when you look in the right areas.

Participation in regional culture activities is noticeably down. Recruitment efforts are nearly extinct. The Senate repeatedly has difficulty accomplishing goals simply because guilds refuse to spend the time to cast a vote. Post counts rise, but seemingly magically since most of us cannot see the posts made. These are not results of inactivity, but rather of a shifted activity. All of us are active within our own spheres, but what if we were able to bring those spheres closer together? By simply checking in on the Senate Public Discussion or perusing the Citizen Think Tank, you can have an opportunity to share your opinion on matters ranging from cosmetic to vital almost every day, combining your daily conversation with political participation. By talking to your guild and organizing a team effort for cultural activities, you can participate in a fun and eclectic range of games and competitions, combining your guild camaraderie with regional cultural activism. By inviting a friend from The North Pacific or Europeia or Lazarus or anywhere else, you can introduce a fantastic community to a new person, combining casual friendliness with the most effective recruitment method there is.

So what is my point? My point is that you are the masters of your own destinies. You are your own providers, and you run Equinox every day just by sharing your mind, your art, and you guild. You develop the region with every single thing you do here, including the way you vote. And now, I think it is time for a little bit of campaigning.

My name is Jason Forsyth. I am nineteen years old. I am an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. I work as a sales associate at a local hardware store. My NationStates career began in September 2006, and my nation's name is Hadisthe. Since then, I have served as a king, I have been the speaker of legislative bodies, I have been the chief ambassador of multiregional organizations, and I have commanded large armies. I have done many things, and I have accomplished many goals. I have worked hard for over four years to build and maintain a reputation. Now, I want to be your Chancellor.

If you elect me to the Chancellery, you will be doing for yourself the greatest thing you can. During my term, I plan to work directly with and reinforce the staff of the Equinox Monthly Telegram, to encourage guilds to found and maintain their own news publications, to train all cabinet members with a basic leadership course designed to hone their abilities to deal with confrontation and problem solving, to push the Cabinet as hard as imaginable to do every single thing they can to excel in their respective areas, and to develop methods and manners by which to make it as easy as it possibly can be for them to perform so well. I have formulated a plan and a timeline that will enable me to do this efficiently and properly.

After elections wrap up, I will be adding some members to the executive branch of the government. By adding a staff of volunteers, I hope to mediate drastically the workload dropped on our Cabinet. Among the opportunities planned is the position of Chief of Staff, who will work directly with me to find ways, including staff members, to help the Foreign Viceroy, the Minister of Culture, and the Director of Finance to work efficiently and to achieve their individual goals. After the most essential of those volunteers have been found, I will be holding a brief, but hopefully incredibly educational, leadership training session. This quick course will cover methods of dealing with confrontation and of boosting morale. Once that has been concluded, I am going to do the most unwanted thing any Cabinet member will ever know: assign homework. I am going to ask my Cabinet to spend an hour or a night or a full day to make a list of what they would want to accomplish if time were not a limiting factor. Then, I, along with my Chief of Staff, am going to figure out every single thing I can possibly think of each Cabinet member add a check to all of his or her goals by the end of the term. Weekly meetings will be scheduled, hopefully at a time we can all have a conversation, to bring everyone up to date on the happenings of the previous seven days and the plans for the forthcoming. The minutes of those meetings will be released to the public.

The Vice Chancellor, Asylum, will be tasked with working directly with the Foreign Viceroy to improve our Ambassadorial Corps. It is my hope that together, they can find a way to make volunteering to serve as an ambassador as exciting as it ought to be. The World Assembly Delegate, whoever it may be, will receive regular angry telegrams and Private Messages from me until World Assembly issues are posted at minimum weekly. I know from experience that Ferric Sun is an excellent World Assembly correspondent, and I may beg her to work with the Delegate to get this done. The Equinox Monthly Telegram will find more family members willing to help it grow. Oh, and that will be done monthly--short or long, good or bad, or any combination. Period. The Director of Finance will be badgered to insanity to continue devising ways to increase activity and interest within the economy. I plan to keep Kunin on staff, assuming he is willing to remain. The Minister of Culture is going to hate me. I am going to push him or her so hard; it will be angering at first. However, I am confident that the Minister will then realize that I am here almost twenty-four hours a day to support him or her in any way I can, be it assistance in planning, joke making, picture choosing, event naming, or anything else.

My mission is not to make sweeping changes in Equinox by force. I do not want to make decrees or bully the Senate. I want to train and empower the Cabinet to be all that they can be, and I want them to make sure I am working harder than they are. In fact, I hereby charge the Cabinet with making my life as Chancellor busier than all of your lives combined. Do it. I want you to use me, because I am a resource, and I am only free while supplies last.

In short, I believe there is a difference in a boss and a leader. A boss tells you what to do. A leader walks beside you the whole way. I believe I am a leader, and I want to serve you. I have been many, many places in the past four years, and Equinox is my home. I would like nothing more than to serve you, my friends, my guildmates, my colleagues. Do you like what I have described today? Give me the opportunity to do so, and you will be choosing the cause that will give you the effect you want. Give me the opportunity, and you will be making the best decision you have ever made on a ballot.

I would appreciate your votes very much.

Yours in Service,
Hadisthe Vittoria
Jason Forsyth, Eagle Scout


"moral" changed to "morale" because of Viis
Edited by Hadisthe, Oct 20 2010, 06:02 PM.
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Aisli
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Asylum's Pet Tiger

I support this! Yay! :D
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Hierarch Asy
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WHERE IS MY SON?!

*shocked into silence*

*begins the slow clap*
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Nordlijnonia
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Grand Scallawag

Now that's a platform.
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Hadisthe
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Chief Distributor of Awesomesauce

Thank you, everyone. Thank you very much.
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Silmeria
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Aisli's Pirate Wench

I promise to read this sooooon, but I skimmed and you didn't even attack anyone else, which wins points imo : P
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M'aeq
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This one knows nothing

I wish all the candidates good luck. All of them are (or were) good choices (except Mekhet :P )
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Viisbyax
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Cuuuuuriossity will never let me go

Wow. o7

Only thing that killed it was "moral" instead of "morale" :P

I really should get to Eagle, huh? I have a year to do my project and finish up stuff D:
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Hadisthe
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Chief Distributor of Awesomesauce

Viisbyax
Oct 20 2010, 05:54 PM
Wow. o7

Only thing that killed it was "moral" instead of "morale" :P

I really should get to Eagle, huh? I have a year to do my project and finish up stuff D:
I stayed Star for like 3 years before getting Life and then I did my project and like half my Eagle required stuff in the last year.
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