Becoming a Core Land

So we have a big decision coming up. Next month we have the option to decide to become a core land in Goldenvale. This is a really big step, and I wanted to talk about what it means. Also I wanted to note that this is me speaking as an experienced player, not an officer. I'm sure our Sheriff will have his own opinions and will likely share them.

First off the facts. Becoming a will have several positive and one "negative" effects:

1. Citizens may run and vote for Kingdom Office.
   
2. Vote in Kingdom Althings.
3. Dues are set by corpora, we cannot change the amount.
   
4. Each Core Land shall owe money to the Kingdom at the beginning of the
   Kingdom reign after any incurred costs for the Coronation. Taxes are 20% of
   total dues collected during the previous six months.

So what does this REALLY mean? It means we get more say in kingdom policies. It means we can run for kingdom level office (and earn the titles available at that level, if thats what interests you.) But it costs us $1 out of every $5 in DUES (not donations, or event fees or anything else, JUST dues). I means a little more paperwork for TACDs every quarter. It also means we can request Kingdom Funds for helping with things like event costs, though this is unlikely to get approved unless we are hosting a kingdom event. It also means we are more likely to get "caught up" in kingdom politics. Make no mistake, this can be a REAL trap as different people have different opinions and they get heated in discussion. To me this is the real "downside" of Core Lands status. It is important that we act like adults and keep our opinions separate from our friendships. I can disagree with you, but it does not make me like you any less. That kind of attitude is CRITIAL to our survival as a park if we decide to become a Core Land.

So in my mind the question we should be asking ourselves is not "can we afford to give Kingdom $1 out of every $5 in dues? But can our members (and future members!) be mature and responsible enough to keep differences of opinions from becoming wedges that will split the park. I have seen it happen and it's not pretty. We DON'T want to go there.