Political

1. What influences your policy views the most?

Lilburne: My policy views are primarily influenced by fairness, I hope. As much of a trope as it is, I believe in the idea of equality of opportunity: that everyone should have an equal chance to succeed through hard work.

2. How would you summarize your approach to social issues such as LGBTQ rights, abortion and capital punishment?

L: Well those are three different things, and I approach them all in different ways.

With regards to abortion: I do not believe abortion is a good thing, but believe that nobody but the mother has the right to make that decision. I would like to see a reduction in abortions, but the best way to do that is to make sure that everyone has free & confidential access to contraception and that women considering abortion are fully informed of the process and its consequences.

I do not believe in capital punishment, because I do not believe anyone has the right to take the life of another, regardless of what that person has done. I think that rehabilitation is a key element of a criminal justice system that has been sorely lacking in the United States. We should be helping wrongdoers to become better people, not exterminating them. Put simply: I believe both ideologically and theologically that people can be redeemed and that everyone should be granted a chance to better themselves, whether they deserve it or not.

Regarding LGBTQ rights I have little to say other than that the state should treat every single one of its citizens equally, that people should have the right to identify however they so wish without being discriminated against and that it is frankly ridiculous that in the 21st century certain people are still arguing that individuals should not have bodily autonomy and basic freedom of expression.

3. What do you see as the biggest difference between you and your opponent?

L: Well at this stage in the race it’s rather difficult to say with any clarity, given that my opponent has not yet produced a platform. So without going into ideology or policy, the most noticeable different between myself and my opponent (and indeed, the two tickets as a whole) is the experience factor. I have served in cabinet under a total of four administrations, as Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Secretary of State and most recently under the current administration as Secretary of the Interior. Having covered a variety of cabinet roles and worked with a total of five different presidents, I feel I have a much better understanding of how a president acts and how to effectively manage a cabinet than my opponent, who has a worrying low amount of experience in dealing with cabinet matters outside of his current role as VP and his previous post as Chief of Staff.

4. What do you see as the issue most neglected by previous Presidents on VC?

L: Well my flagship policy area is the economy, but I would argue that the economy has not been neglected per se, but rather has simply been mismanaged. In terms of actual neglect, I’d have to go with tax avoidance as the issue most neglected by previous presidents. It is probably the foremost issue when it comes to government revenue, yet I cannot personally recall a VC president so much as mentioning the issue, and to my knowledge there has not yet been a directed effort by the executive to clamp down on this gaping chasm in our current fiscal policy. I have even raised this with previous administrations as a cabinet member to no avail, so I’m very excited at the prospect of being able to tackle this issue through an administration of my own.

5. What is your favorite piece of legislation or executive action taken on VC and why?

L: I know it’s cheesy and even a “joke” bill, but it has to be the Carrot Post Office Act. Not just because I like Carrot, but because I love the way that this virtual community comes together to support each other. I’ve spent a lot of time on main chat over the past few months, and whatever happens this election I’m so glad to be a member of this server and to have found people from a range of political backgrounds that I’m proud to call my friends.

Personal

1. What motivated you to join VC originally and what has kept you engaged?

L: Originally I wasn’t actually particularly motivated to join VC, to be perfectly honest. I wasn’t seeking out a government sim and hadn’t really considered joining one before one of my friends invited me (and then promptly left the server). Why I stayed, and what has kept me engaged, is the community I’ve found in this server. The roleplay and simulation aspects are enjoyable, and I really appreciate the effort that people have put into running the simulation, but ultimately what keeps me on VC are the people I’ve met there.

2. What is your favorite book?

L: Good grief! I honestly can’t choose. There are so many books I really love, but if you’re going to force me to pick just one I’d have to go with the ultimate cliché of choosing The Bible. Obviously, it’s the central text of my faith and has arguably been the most influential book (or rather, collection of books) in human history. It contains a little bit of everything: poetry, philosophy, fables, life advice, ethical guidance, historical accounts and even romantic literature (Song of Solomon makes for an awkward bible study!). It’s a cliché answer, but I couldn’t choose any other book.

3. What is your go-to movie or TV series?

L: Again, there’s so many that could go in here and I’m definitely going to out myself as a massive nerd with this one (Lord of the Rings definitely deserves an honourable mention) but for my go-to I just keep coming back to Star Trek. I love the sheer optimism of Star Trek’s vision of the future of humankind where, to quote Captain Jean-Luc Picard: “The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force of our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity.” We’re a long, long way away from a world that looks anything like Star Trek (it’s set in the 24th Century, so there’s still time!), and it is a work of fiction after all, but I’d love to live in a world where everyone is valued for their contribution to society and where people didn’t need to constantly compromise our dreams just to make ends meet: wouldn’t we all?

4. How would you describe yourself politically?

L: Well the label I usually stick on myself is that of “Christian Socialist”, because I feel like that best describes how my faith informs by political beliefs. To fully explain my political beliefs would take far too long and I have already written an article for L’Internationale on the subject entitled “Why Christian Socialism?”, which I would encourage anyone seeking to understand my political beliefs to read. Put simply, I believe that the best way to carry out Jesus’ teachings of loving our fellow man is through cooperating with each other to build a world free of oppression.

5. What is your running mate’s best quality?

L: Honestly, working with Wonder thus far has been an absolute pleasure and I couldn’t ask for a better running mate. Throughout this entire process he has been understanding and reasonable and I have the utmost respect for him as a running mate and a friend. From my experience so far, he has shown exemplary leadership and decision-making skills that I am confident will make him an absolutely indispensable Vice President and right-hand man. I think that his prudence in making difficult decisions is his best quality and that I’m sure will continue to serve him well in future.

Individual

1. You have been on VC for more than 7 months and this is your first run for President, what inspired you to throw your hat into the ring?

L: Well, I’ve always been a bit of a policy nerd and have had policies in mind that I’d like to push through for a while now, but really what inspired me to run was the support and respect that I have been shown by the community. For the first few months of VC I was more than content to simply spend time chilling out in main chat and making friends, but soon I started to find myself offered cabinet positions as people considered me to be a competent member of the server. That esteemed members of the server, including the current president, valued me enough that they saw fit to appoint me to serve in their cabinets made me realise that I owe it to the server to put my skills to good use. The best use I could think of for my knowledge, skills and experience was to run for President (as had been suggested to me by various friends on the server for some time), to represent the people of this server at the highest level.

2. Your opponent in this race is a minor. Do you think age dynamics exist on VC and if so in what ways?

L: Much as there’s a temptation to use this as an opportunity to score a political point, I think one of the things I love about VC is that everyone is on an equal footing. I’m good friends with and have had many in-depth and mature discussions with minors on the server. I would hope that people won’t opt to vote for me simply because I’m older than my opponent, but will choose me because they believe I am the better candidate.

That being said, I think it’s worth stating that age dynamics inevitably exist on VC, but not really in sim. While everyone is on equal footing in sim and rp, it would be inappropriate for me to treat my friends who are minors in the same way to my friends who are adults, and there are some things I try to avoid talking about with minors (alcohol use, for instance). Especially when main chat between minors gets a bit ‘sus’, as an adult it can get uncomfortable and sometimes you do feel the need to take a step back from the conversation and rise above it, but generally I feel like minors and adults are equals on the server.

3. Who would you say inspired you the most on VC, political or personally?

L: Well you’d definitely be very high up in the running for that, Gabe, but I’m sure you won’t mind if I give Vita as my top inspirational figure. It was amazing to work as his Chief of Staff and if a Lilburne administration can measure up to the Vita administration I’ll be a very happy man. On top of being an organizational wizard, he was (is?) a genuinely nice guy who always managed to find time for people. I think I’m a very different person to him, and my presidency would likely be very different, but I still look back at his presidency with pride and feel inspired by the way he conducted himself. I was quite disheartened when he left and still contact him from time to time 🙂

4. What position were you happiest to hold?

L: Chief of Staff for Vita, hands down. After my answer to the last question I don’t feel like this requires too much explanation, but it was undoubtedly my best cabinet experience of VC so far (no offense, Mr President).

5. What is your biggest concern regarding VC right now?

L: I’d prefer not to answer that question.