Gamers Gone Wrong

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Enough with the virtual protests and Pac-Man cakes. It's time to put the "game" back in "gamer"

Human beings are social animals, and when they work together towards a common goal, amazing things can happen. It happened when the pilgrims set sail from Plymouth... to Plymouth. It happened during the civil rights movement. And it will happen again soon. There's a rush that comes from feeling that you're part of something bigger than yourself, something important, that transcends your personal needs for some sort of greater communal good.

But nothing kills the high of getting involved with politics, protesting for change, or just interacting with others in general than doing it within the janky confines of Second Life. It's not that we hate Second Life. It's more that news about virtual protests and virtual press offices for candidates strikes us as an incredible waste of time.

Do you have strong feelings about the direction our country is taking? Chances are that logging in to join a make believe protest to discuss pressing issues like the Iraq war with a cat man dressed like a clown isn't going to bring about any radical changes.

So why do people bother? Because it's easy. But the truth is that real change takes work and risk. And with nothing at stake, it's not going to happen with the convenience of a few keyboard clicks while tucked away behind the safety of anonymous avatar. Whether you're conservative, liberal, green, libertarian or whatever, you've got to get out and participate in the massively multiplayer game known as real life if you really want to get something done. Then, when you've had your fill, you can ditch the glorified chat room known as Second Life for a real game.