If I have to describe my past month as Delegate in one word, it would be “unpleasant”. It seems that crisis after crisis has followed TNP these last few months, and as Delegate you’re inevitably involved in all of them. And taking a stance as the Delegate is very different to taking a stance as a regular citizen. Being the Delegate subjects you to scrutiny both fair and unfair, and no matter what you do there will always be people angry or disappointed at you. Serving as Delegate is to be pulled in all kinds of different directions by the disparate views in your own region, and the disparate views of all your allies, and it’s never been more evident in a time when the greater gameplay landscape is undergoing fundamental shifts. Negotiations are…draining. It might feel a bit exciting at first to be making the moves and arguing your case for your region, but soon you would come to dread the back-and-forths and the motivation to respond shrinks and shrinks. The same goes for any intra-regional discussions. When you’re the Delegate, pretty much everything you say is in an official capacity. The weight that places on you is immense. Eventually you come to dread having to say anything at all. You can never know that feeling until you are doing the job yourself. When I first took over this position because of Hulldom’s resignation, little did I know that the incident which pushed him over the edge was only the first in a long queue of unpleasant situations that demanded my attention. And perhaps I haven’t made the best decision every time, but in all honesty, I don’t know if anyone can say what the best decision even is. The worst of it all is the feeling of helplessness you get when you’re blindsided by situations and actions that are entirely out of your control.
It has often been remarked that being Delegate of TNP is like a full-time job. I always thought that was a bit of an exaggeration, but what I’ve come to realise is that the mental and emotional aspect of it very much costs you the same energy as a full-time job. And just like in a workplace, you need some strategies to get yourself through the day when things get difficult. The first thing is that sometimes, you just need to take a break, shut down, and ignore what people are saying around you. It can be more helpful to stay put rather than diving headfirst into addressing everyone’s questions and criticisms. While engaging with citizens is a core tenet of demonstrating accountability and transparency, things can quickly get out of hand if you feel like someone is asking unreasonable questions of you or deliberately misinterpreting things, or that they have taken an accusatory tone. Staying calm is the first order of priority. Rash decisions or words could lead to unintended consequences that complicate the situation further. The next most important thing is to remember that you are not here to make the most popular decision, you are here to make the decision that you believe would help the region in the future. You have to square with the fact that sometimes, resistance is inevitable. You will need to figure out how much you should defend yourself in front of your critics, whether it’s likely to devolve into counterproductive back-and-forths or whether it could be a meaningful conversation.
It might sound like I’m throwing myself a pity party here, and that wouldn’t be entirely wrong. But my main message here isn’t really about myself. Rather, if there is one takeaway I want everyone to get out of this long-winded speech, it’s that we need to cut our Delegates some slack. I have been known in the past to be somewhat of an agitator, especially against certain Delegates who I didn’t see eye to eye with. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I regret what I’ve done in the past, but if I look back at everything with what I know now, I would have certainly been less aggressive. When things get heated, there’s usually someone who says something like “this is just a game”. But we do sometimes forget that games can be - and I would say, tends to be - toxic. Whether it’s a first-person shooter, MMORPG, or well, NationStates, people invariably get into heated situations that they might not be able to extract themselves from. Perhaps it’s part of the addictive quality of video games.
None of this is to say I haven’t made mistakes along the way - I have said the wrong things to the wrong people, and I have put off decisions until they began causing more problems for me. I have not been innocent of taking actions that contributed to inflaming tensions. These are lessons that I will carry with me into the future.
The latest diplomatic debacle fell during my exam period, and I think the effects of these two things combined proved to be too much for me. With the distractions from study and the messaging at odd hours of the night, I found myself on a bad sleep schedule that probably did a good deal of harm to both my exams and my actions as Delegate. Eventually I found myself lacking the motivation to do anything. So I’ve taken the last few days to relax and look away for a bit as much as practical. Another reason I did so was because I realised that all of these diplomatic incidents have consumed me and my Delegacy, and I have to look at what I've neglected - all the goals that I set out to achieve at the start of this term. some of which we have fallen behind on because of foreign events that caught most of our attention. For one reason or another, we have also encountered some notable Executive Council turnovers, which made some ministries more disjointed in their functioning. I’m sure you have noticed that there have been a few necessary appointments that I have yet to make, which I will do now.
I am appointing @Nutmeg The Squirrel as Minister of Culture. Nutmeg has been a deputy in several ministries, and I believe they have demonstrated a wonderful enthusiasm both in the Executive government in general, and in the Culture ministry specifically. Nutmeg has taken a keen interest in planning and organising events, as well as contributing ideas frequently. Culture has taken a rough start this term with two ministers leaving in quick succession, and I hope this appointment will be the start of a more productive time for the ministry.
I have known for some time that @Rom intends to step away from his role as Minister of Defense, and from TNP and NationStates more generally. I want to thank him for his numerous stints in this position, attending to the NPA often in times of need. Rom has stuck with the NPA through many years now, and he has provided invaluable contributions both in our operations and behind the scenes. He has helped us navigate changes to the NPA as we had to adapt to the political and military realities around us. Thank you, Rom, for your service, and I hope this isn’t the last we see of you.
In Rom’s place I am appointing @Comfed as Minister of Defense. It may seem odd to move a new Minister into another new role, but I am confident that Comfed has all the qualifications and just as much of the motivation for this job. Having served as Deputy Minister of Defense last term under Icarus, Comfed has the passion for the NPA, and is eager to help rebuild our military to its former glory. As Minister of Home Affairs, he has already engaged in discussions and planning on improving recruitment for the NPA, and he will be expanding on this work to other aspects of NPA engagement. Of course, it would be remiss not to thank Comfed for his service as Minister of Home Affairs so far, where he has been an active presence even though much of his work has been behind the scenes and difficult to notice. He has laid a solid foundation for rebuilding activity within the ministry.
This will of course mean that a new Minister of Home Affairs is in order, and I am appointing @Lionsmeow to the position. Lionsroar has been an amazing deputy in the ministry so far, and I’m thoroughly impressed by his eagerness to contribute to many of the ministry’s projects. I hope to see him shine ever more brightly in this new role, and I know he will work hard to build on Comfed’s achievements so far this term.
With all the young blood taking on new ministerial roles, I ask the region to afford them a little patience. While I don’t doubt their abilities in the slightest, I also know that it’s impossible to learn and grow without having failed and stumbled. We are almost approaching the halfway point of this term, and I know I have failed and stumbled a fair share already. I want to thank the Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Executive Staffers who have capably carried their respective areas of the government thus far this term, especially during the difficult time for me where I struggled to contribute personally myself. Your work will never go unnoticed to me. With the capable staff behind me, I am confident that we could still achieve so much this term, and I hope the final result will be a term that we can all be proud of.
Sincerely,
Gorundu
P.S. This is being posted as I prepare to board some some long flights, so I'll have very little internet access for the next 24 hours. I apologise for the inconvenience, but the Executive Council is well-equipped to handle most things that may come up in this brief period.
