Reunision ten years on

[GV]

Reunision saw almost the entire community of the 2004-2012 Republic of Talossa return or emigrate to the Kingdom of Talossa.  I still count this as one of the greatest miracles of Talossan history.

Those of you who were not around do not understand the depth of feeling on both sides of the Vuode Wall, particularly 'down south'.  This depth of feeling and the intense dynamics of personalities, political sensibilities, and what-not in both Kingdom and Republic helped prolong the existence of the Republic of Talossa by far longer than it should have been allowed to be a going concern, imho.

But I am in the minority on that, and always will be.  Make no mistake: on both sides of the Vuode Wall, the 2011-2012 process to bring about Reunision was brought about not because of altruistic considerations on either side. 

Both Kingdom and Republic was stagnant, and the Republic was positively dying.  Both needed the energy and drive the other could bring, and for the communities of Republic and Kingdom, the entrance of both into the commonality of community was a true shot-in-the-arm.  This was why Reunision was allowed to occur and why, I believe, the King and other key political forces allowed it to go ahead.

The political consequences of Reunision for the Kingdom are outside the scope of this discussion, but this I will say: Talossan politics may be vitriolic at times, but they are as healthy as they have ever been.  We have a true 'two-movement' system, and coalition politics seems destined to be our way of political life for years to come. 

When we made our return on the ominous day of 20 April 2012, I honestly thought something would have happened to cause another - and final - mass exodus of the macronationally-liberal side of the Kingdom community.  So far, this has not happened, and I think many people are to be thanked for the political and pragmatic restraint which made this possible.  Another Talossan miracle in a nation the existence of which is itself a continuing miracle.

There is one group of people who had the most to lose from Reunision, and they are represented in the person of C. Carlüs Xheraltescu: those Republic citizens who had never known anything Talossan but the Republic and who had never been citizens of the Kingdom until Reunision with its Kingdom-citizenship-dates-records aspect.

We in the Republic (including yours truly) were united in including these citizens in the discussion.  This is why as Republic PM, I recused myself from the negotiations and let Carlüs, the DPM at the time, take my seat at the table.  Had Carlüs balked, he could have brought down Reunision by himself, and I think he knew that.  He and all those stakeholders he represented in the negotiations had more than a little courage and faith to come along on the journey we took on 20 April 2012.  Talossa owes them its eternal gratitude (not hinting at honours, John).

Talossa also owes John Woolley a debt of gratitude.  We in the Republic gave the Kingdom many hoops to jump through, and at one point, the negotiations came to within a planck-space of imploding for good.  John was very gracious on that point, and he certainly has my eternal thanks regarding that.

As for the eight years the Talossan Cold War lasted, those who helped make it longer than it should have been know who they are.  I've dished on this matter at length before.

But incredibly, and again, no-one has bolted in mass-exodus.  The Kingdom has held it together and has evolved.  Ben Madison's bedroom kingdom of old survives into the present.  May God allow it to survive into the age to come.

Dare Something Worthy.

Gödefrïeu Válcadác'h
one of the Founding Parents of the Republic of Talossa
20 April 2022

[Ián Tamorán S.H.]

Bringing together is harder than splitting apart.

Each of us has his/her own ideas about how this universe started, and how it is maintained, but the usual description in scientific circles is that of a Big Bang – a huge splitting apart.  Some of us believe that the universe exists by fiat ("Let It Be"), some believe that we do not know, some that we can not know – but whatever our beliefs we can see that ordinary physical matter sometimes joins together – but far more often splits apart.

Talossa split, and ten years ago Talossa joined back together.  But as with all reunions the shape of of the new after Reunison is different from the shape of the old.  Whether those differences are good or bad are part of our political, legal, cultural, and personal discussions and public statements.  Is this a kingdom? Could it/should it be a republic, a dictatorship, an anarchic agglomeration, a group governed only by vote with no full-time appointments, a dating agency, a collection of blogs...? The list is (quasi-)endless. 

But we are who we are, and how we are – a faintly chaotic group almost randomly coming together, like atoms in the physical universe, to form faint gasses, visible flexible liquids, hard lumps of matter – and then redissolving, splitting into component parts, which are not always the same parts that first joined together.  We form political parties, and let them disappear; we start publications, and then these too disappear after some months or years; the one thing that seems to remain is the language – but even that is the subject of learned linguistic discussions, and many different points of view.  A Hebrew-speaking friend of mine observed "two Jews, three opinions", and the like is true for Talossa too.

Talossa will never be the whole world: Àl Glheþ Talossan will never have as many speakers as Esperanto or Danish or Arabic or Mandarin; El Legeu will not be declared and adopted by the United Nations; Talossa's acquisition of Cézembre (L'île Interdite) will not be the subject of external judicial review – but Talossa can be, and should be, a micro-image of the real world, a Petri dish of cultural experiment and international conversation.  We can show the world, in our little way, the negative results of conflict, splitting – and the positive results of coming together, reunion.

Let us celebrate our bringing together, for bringing together is harder than splitting apart.  And more worthwhile.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Let us celebrate our bringing together, for bringing together is harder than splitting apart.  And more worthwhile.

Bravo and well said!

[GV]

Let us celebrate our bringing together, for bringing together is harder than splitting apart.  And more worthwhile.

Bravo and well said!

I would also combine that with introspection on all sides.  Unfortunately not until the Judgement when all shall be laid bare will some battles be resolved.