Board of Discrepancies
[03/27/2002] [The Isolated Knight] Ah, the Board of Directors, that god-like body that tells us when to wipe our feet and what will be done with the game. For almost 20 years now, the organization has been ruled by a faceless body that seems to be bent on re-electing itself every year or so, kinda like the Senate. It's this group of people who decide when the rules come out, what land will be a kingdom or who shall be punished for daring to stand up and ask for more. The BOD has a helluva lot of power, I give them that. But only as much power as we allow them to have. Please read along as we learn a few sentences for Corporaese: 1.52 The B.O.D. will have no power to change, alter, or otherwise affect the rulebook(s) or Corpora.
1.53 The B.O.D. will work with the Monarch and Prime Minister in areas where the group has dealings with various government agencies and their institutions and laws.
1.54 The B.O.D. has no status in the order of precedence, and no jurisdiction over internal group functions. Amtgard Corpora, Copyright 1983-2000, Amtgard, Inc. What, exactly, does this mean? Basically it means the powers that be are abusing their own laws. Let's look at them one at a time. 1.52 The B.O.D. will have no power to change, alter, or otherwise affect the rulebook(s) or Corpora. Basically, in a nutshell, it means that the BLBOD are not the ones who ultimately decide when the new rules come out. It also means that they and all the other kingdoms don't have the right to dick with the laws. It's a two-edged sword. Unfortunately, we have allowed them to bypass this passage at will, with Barad-Duin and now the Wetlands. Of course, the Wetlands should also not have changed the wording of the corpora, either, since it isn't allowed due to this passage. 1.53 The B.O.D. will work with the Monarch and Prime Minister in areas where the group has dealings with various government agencies and their institutions and laws. This is pretty straightforward. The Burning Lands have no rights of primacy outside their own borders. Yes, they have the right of primacy in lands that fall under them, but they can't bloody well tell Goldenvale to do something they don't agree with. They're the ones who deal with the corporate bullshit, and ONLY the corporate bullshit. Not other lands or the rules or anything else. Even more damning is the last line of our little triad. 1.54 The B.O.D. has no status in the order of precedence, and no jurisdiction over internal group functions. To me, this ranks right up there with "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". This means, through all available evidence, that the current system of leadership is violating its own laws, not just abusing as stated earlier. The current Corpora of the Burning Lands is one huge, archaic contradiction, sorta like Ben Franklin's old 'Daylight Savings Time' joke that gets pulled on us every spring. It's brutally obvious that it was written at a time when a people thought that Amtgard would never catch on much past El Paso. They probably never dreamed that there would be lands in the far corners of the country and is spreading across the world. It's time for us to see our manifest destiny here. We shouldn't take orders from a select oligarchy that wields as much power as we the people allow them. Many of you are people who believe in an IKBOD. I don't personally see how that would help. Why trade in one set of tyrants for another? Yes, I've heard Snicker's and Feral's arguments about how they'll give the power to the people. I know they believe it and think that their fiery altruism will get us all through these dark times. Their belief in the general goodness of people almost cracks my cynical casing. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. There is a solution, a very simple one. Why do we need to be a central body? Many kingdoms have their own Board of Directors that handles their affairs. Why not let THEM handle the way things are done, since they have to live in their kingdom? What we need to do is re-write the corpora, and create a system of laws that allow every land to make its own decisions. And recognizing the need for some higher power, why not choose an arbitrator to handle disputes? Maybe from the knights, and make it a position that does not require someone to be at Clan, or Rakis or any of the other events that people seem to think are the penultimates of existence. Elect that person every two years, regardless of kingdom or affiliations and let them be the ones who advise and assist new lands. Let this person be the one to call for a new iteration of the rules when the time comes. The kingdoms deserve more power than they get. The only problem might be some kingdoms that do not take an active part in the lands they sponsor. These kingdoms would actually have to keep in contact with lands that might not be the home of the king/queens significant other, or where they might have good friends. It would also mean that other kingdoms would have no say in what lands in their "territory" join what kingdom, as I have heard rumors of going on in the west. Only when the laws are changed in such a way that makes them fluid and easily understood can our organization get better. Only when kingdoms stop being petty little lands and start taking responsibility for their actions and the actions of all the lands under their banner will we grow. Talk all you want about changing the world for the better. Tell the Burning Lands you'll leave if you don't get what you want. Your words and empty threats make you no better than they are. Shut up and do it already. Be that one person that stands up and says to the fathers in El Paso "non serviam." The first step in change is taking action. The first action should be to tell the Burning Lands Board of Directors that they have no power over you. Remember that in the film Labyrinth, it was the only way Sarah could defeat the Goblin King. It may be the only way we can get our game and run it as it should be, a democracy free of the oligarchs in El Paso.
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