Month: December 2019

I would like to discuss an organizational principle which I think should be central to our Res Publica.

That is the principle of Action from Below, Help from Above.

Many Nova Romans have a habit of waiting for permission (or, worse, instruction) before actually doing anything. This is crippling us, and it’s something which I want to see reversed if elected Consul.

Everyone who considers themselves an active member of Nova Roma, and whose circumstances allow it, should be looking to organize, attend, and publicize meetings of our citizens. Not everyone has the interest or wherewithal to create a reenactment legion or gladiator ludus, of course, but is there a museum near you with a Roman exhibit? Can you do a movie night in your home? Do you want to try your hand at Roman cooking, and share the results with some friends? Are you a gamer and want to play Roman-themed board games or miniatures wargames? Do you enjoy costuming? Want to put on a play (even if it’s just for you and your friends)? Want to learn Latin? Want to start a book club? Are you a cultore, and want to hold local rituals?

There are literally hundreds of ideas that people could do to get active, to get together, and everyone doing so moves Nova Roma forward in a way that squabbling on an email list could never do.

You don’t need to have an official group, sanctioned by the Senate, in order to get together. You’re free Citizens, come here to our Res Publica by your mutual love of Rome and all things Roman. That’s enough! If, after some time, you have a steady or growing group and want to do something more official, awesome! If you just want to keep it informal, that’s awesome too! But don’t wait for someone to set up an officially sanctioned municipium or whatever before you get together.

And that’s where Nova Roma could help. I want to see a locator on the website. Something completely voluntary, where people can say, “Yes, I’m interested in meeting other Nova Romans in my area.” And if someone is nearby, they can send you a message, and start working on setting something up. And then go public! Put it on here, and FaceBook, and Meetup, and wherever else you can think to find people. And use this as a way to find new people, too! Nova Roma doesn’t have a monopoly on great people who love Rome. Use this as a way to grow our Republic.

I’m doing this right now. In New Jersey (and northeast Pennsylvania, and Southeast New York); if you’re interested in getting together and getting to know your fellow Nova Romans, and maybe do some fun things, PM me!

If I am elected Consul, I’ll work to make this happen across our Republic.

Valete,

Flavius Vedius Germanicus

Although I have been posting over the last few weeks concerning some of my ideas for how Nova Roma should proceed in the coming year, now that the elections are formally open it seems meet to do something of a recap.

First, for those who might not know me, I have the honor of bearing the title of Pater Patriae, as I founded our fair Res Publica along with Marcus Cassius Julianus, who is also running for Consul this year and for whom I wholeheartedly hope you will also cast your vote. Over the years I have served our Republic in a variety of offices.

The candidates for offices at all levels have many things in common as part of their platforms, which is a testament to the nature of the problems which face Nova Roma in the coming year. With such commonality among the candidates, it could be difficult to choose. Everyone wants to resolve the lawsuit, to have more real-world activities, to get the website back up and running properly, and so forth. Myself among them.

However, there is one issue which does differentiate me and my colleague Marcus Cassius Julianus from some of the others running for office this year. That is our commitment to reconciliation of the opposing sides in the recent strife. Settle the lawsuit and bring the members of both sides back into the fold with a true amnesty that doesn’t inflict any stigma or shame on either side. If we try to curb our anger, we can move forward with the mission of Nova Roma.

And that’s the other way Marcus Cassius Julianus and I differ from our fellow candidates. Nova Roma’s mission.

All of the candidates for office have lots of great qualifications, and most would probably serve well. But we remember the heady days of the founding, when everything was possible and the energy and creativity seemed boundless. We want to bring that energy, optimism, and sense of purpose back to Nova Roma.

I ask for your vote as Consul to set aside the animosity of the past and to bring back that feeling of pride and amazing possibility in what Nova Roma can be.

I hope that everyone who subscribes to Nova Roma’s email list (the Forum Romanum) has learned the lesson of the past week. The endless bickering, recrimination, name-calling (and even name-cursing!!!), and over and over and over recitation of the law suit are just miserable. Nobody save the hardest of the hard core partisans wants to see this stuff in their inbox over and over. Nothing was gained, and a week of what could have been a great week of Nova Romans sharing and talking about cool stuff and planning activities was squandered while a few people reiterated their hatred for The Enemy, and how They were Wrong, once again.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who looked in his inbox, saw yet another email from Nova Roma, and thought “ugh” rather than “Cool!” I remember when it used to be the reverse.

That’s why I, and my fellow candidate for Consul, Marcus Cassius Julianus, are calling for reconciliation, a true amnesty, and a resolution of the lawsuit as swiftly as possible.

Many people seem to miss that last point, but I think it’s worth emphasizing.

Neither Marcus Cassius nor I want to do nothing about the lawsuit, nor do we advocate ignoring it or the law or any such thing. We want to see an agreement between the two parties, a compromise that can be set before the judge and put into effect as a settlement. Something that places the assets currently in the control of the corporation back at the disposal of the government of Nova Roma, and a replacement of the corporation with something more suited to our needs.

That happens all the time in civil lawsuits in the United States; only 2% of civil lawsuits actually end in a trial, and there is absolutely no reason this one should be in that category. It’s part of the normal process of litigation. It’s the best way to end it.

That seems a simple enough goal; end the lawsuit with a settlement, stop re-litigating the lawsuit ad nauseum, stop insulting one another, and get on with talking about things Roman, holding real-world events, and honoring the Gods of Rome.

Some people seem to think those aren’t good goals. Marcus Cassius and I think otherwise, and if you do, too, we ask for your vote for Consul.

One of the things that Marcus Cassius Julianus and I included as part of our election platform was the need for both sides in the current unpleasantness to come together in the spirit of Concordia. I would like to expand on this theme.

I’ve had very recent conversations with friends on both sides of the divide that have demonstrated that feelings are still running intensely high, and that both sides are not only utterly convinced of the rightness of their own side, but the utter wrongness of the other side. Both sides can present long, involved explanations of why they’re right and the other side is wrong. And both seem utterly convincing.

In fact, I’m very sure that there are people reading this who instantly thought to themselves, “Yes, but we’re actually right!”

I’m here to say that if Nova Roma is going to move forward, both sides are going to have to yield.

That means the corporate side is going to have to stop saying the government side is illegitimate. Stop saying the Senate and magistrates have no legal standing, and put the bank account, internet infrastructure, and registered trademarks back at the disposal of the government.

That also means the government side is going to have to stop saying that the corporation is illegally constituted, that any actions taken by the corporation and its officers are illegal, and that people who backed the corporation or voted for the dictatorship have to post some public and degrading mea culpa in order to rejoin Nova Roman life.

In short, both sides have to realize and agree that reconciliation does not mean capitulation.

Both sides are going to have to reach out and embrace the other. The dictatorship is a non-issue at this point; the dictator has left Nova Roma, and the Master of Horse is (literally) dead. The issue that sparked the conflict is moot. Stop re-litigating the lawsuit every time someone on the other side mentions something you don’t like. Just stop picking at “The Enemy” for the sake of propping up your own ego.

And let me be frank; that does not mean there aren’t issues that need to be resolved. The corporate entity needs to be reformed, or reconstituted, or something, in order to bring it back in line with macronational law. The government needs to bring us back to regular order when it comes to elections, and the website is in drastic need of an overhaul. But these are solvable problems, if we just stop ripping each others’ guts out whenever someone tries to fix them.

Look forward, Nova Roma! We have a glorious future ahead of us if we can just come together.