Talossa's culture is one of its greatest strengths, both for longtime citizens and prospective citizens. By our nature, we're a rather eccentric bunch, and that's worth celebrating. But it's also worth celebrating when culture changes,
as long as those changes happen organically. Yes, fifteen, twenty years ago, the Witt of the time was full of bacon memes, booze jokes, and Inigo Montoya. Back then, the internet at large was making rage comics, following Charlie to Candy Mountain, and asking if one could haz cheezeburger
33 should not feel this old, ow my bones. And now it's not,
and that's ok!Talossan culture is driven by the most active people in the country, who of course tend to be politically involved. So if the people influencing Talossan culture are in the Government, then so be it! "Keeping Talossa Weird" is practically a patriotic duty. But arguing that the Government ought to
actively direct culture instead of simply encouraging its development is a
dangerous callback to the Madisonian era — Mad King Ben preferred that government drive culture too; like Mad King Ben himself, these sorts of initiatives are best left in the past.
So how do you encourage cultural development?
Promoting it — either generally, through mentions in things like
La C'hronică or more specific shoutouts — is a good start.
However, rewarding it is likely more effective. For one, the Talossan Honours System is valuable here. However, most of the honours are royal prerogatives; while the URL is always happy to work with the King in identifying Talossans deserving of honours, it's ultimately not under government control -- nor should it be. One thing that
is under government control is the Defense Ministry, and the Zouaves are the best vehicle for government rewards for cultural enrichment. That starts with enriching the Zouaves themselves. We've seen positive changes at the Defense Ministry over the years, but we still have a few things we can get in better order:
- Enlistees are more likely to have their exhibitions recognized these days, meaning they can work up through the ranks more easily. However, we need better guidelines on what constitutes an exhibition in the first place.
- We need public acknowledgement — even celebration! — of successful exhibitions.
- This should be extended to celebration of successful promotions. We've seen some promotions under this Government after a review of past exhibitions, and I want to keep us on a more regular schedule of review and promotion going forward.
- On the topic of promotions and ranks, we also likely need a bit of an aesthetic refresh, both in the Zouaves and elsewhere in the government. It's no secret that appearances are a subject I've had various ideas on over the years! Visually refreshed institutions -- especially when those institutions are largely experienced on a screen -- are necessary to make the country more interesting and attractive to prospective immigrants.
The URL Plan for Culture: Keep it in the People's Hands, but Recognize Their Efforts