The Times They Are A-Changin'

[New Kervoskia]

The Times They Are A-Changin'

A NationStates Retrospective

The lecture hall at the end of the universe

14 November, 2012

In a crowded room on the edge of the world history's being relived and anyone who's been around a while will tell you it's good to look back sometimes. At the center of room stands Kandarin, who the years seem not to have touched, fielding questions from those with an open mind and a willing ear.

There are no indispensable people

It's hard to imagine The Rejected Realms without Kandarin. He was in the big seat when I joined and, hell, I thought he always would be. But the world changes and sometimes delegacies do too. This was a shot heard 'round the world. How could he hand it all over to Naivetry? Who the hell does he think he is? And how do you justify giving up so much power, power you've held since near creation, to someone with relatively little seniority?

There are roles that need to be filled, and there are no indispensable people. No region - or organization in real life - can run well for long if someone is truly irreplaceable. I had to recognize that I was not necessary. But it was necessary to find someone who would approach the role with the same essential attitudes. For that to happen, someone with the same attitude toward the game needed to be in the delegate seat. That was more important than honoring people's expectations of importance-through-seniority. I've never asked other regions to make major decisions based around that. So I did what I knew to be right for the region rather than honor NS' implicit expectations of gerontocracy.

And democracy?

If TRR had a long-standing history of democratic decision-making that would have been different. But the only tradition being opposed was NS' implied tradition that only seniority matters. I didn't - and never have - considered that a valid basis of decision-making on its own.

Setting the groundwork

Alot of people over the years have looked at the delegacy in The Rejected Realms and said "Someday". But it's not just a big chair, it's a responsibility, a heavy one. The burden would weigh down the best of us down. Kandarin knows better than anybody.

Lots of people have thought they wanted the TRR delegacy for what they thought it was. Few have wanted it for what it actually is. No one else present (in particular, any native-elder candidate available) would have been able to take the actual responsibility of the position. The backlash helped to prove that. There was no established way of measuring regional consensus on a wider level. By introducing a newcomer, I helped set the groundwork that would allow one to exist. Having the same delegate for 7+ years was educational for me and good for the region's reputation in the rest of the world. But it wasn't good for the growth of regional political institutions.

Impractical morality

Politics is a bloodsport. It's not enough for you to succeed, your friends have to fail, too. You can lose yourself prettily easily in the myriad games, doubly so in the GCRs. To survive you gotta be practical. After all politics is the art of the possible. So how do you walk the line and justify your actions to yourself?

The ultimate measure of morality is the worth of human beings. Practical considerations like politics are, however flawed, set up based on some attempt to protect that. In NS, "impractical" is often synonymous with "bad for the agenda of my group/region/alliance". To which I can only say that consistently doing the right thing means that you *will* be in opposition to your group/region/organization at least some of the time.

Before the crowd goes home and the last throws of daylight turn into dust, Kandarin stands up. After thinking for a moment he looks at the audience, some tired, some in awe, and gives them the essence of a lifetime in NS.

A group that cannot handle honest dissent some of the time is one with no good future. Can those groups take real dissent? To rehash an old aside, this is why TRR, Nasi and Equilism were the most influential regions in the ADN-era. Those were the regions that could take internal dissent without squashing it or asploding.

The other piece of advice - one that I made sure to live by throughout my time in NS - is that your reputation is a currency.It is not there to be hoarded or avoided. It is there to be gotten and spent.Keep your word, keep others' secrets, act faithfully and honorably and don't start conflicts over little things. Build your reputation against the day when the right thing to do will also bring you dishonor. Because you'll have to spend it someday. Spend it well.

We can only try.

Permission has been granted by the speaker to reproduce these quotes. To join the conversation, come to #auditorium_one on IRC for more Q & A sessions

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Written by New Kervoskia

The Trans-Pacific Times

NationStates Broadcasting Company (NSBC)

Copyright 2008

[Darkesia]

Well done, NK. I'm sorry I missed Kandarin's appearance.

[Westwind]

Well done indeed, thank you !

I supported Kandarin's choice at the time, and still agree with him. Got me in some arguements with some other TRR friends unfortunately, when it came to that 'seniority' thing.