Independence Day Speech From the Throne

[King Txec]

Independence Day Speech from the Throne

We, TXEC by the Grace of God King of Talossa and of all its Realms and Regions, King of Cézembre, Sovereign Lord and Protector of Pengöpäts and the New Falklands, Defender of the Faith, Leader of the Armed Forces, Viceroy of Hoxha and Vicar of Atatürk, Azul àd ár citaxhiens es cestours:

Today marks the 45th anniversary of the founding of our kingdom. Tucked away in his bedroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, King Robert had an idea that would long outlive his own involvement. The modern Kingdom of Talossa owes much to his brilliant idea, and we can celebrate the longevity of a radical experiment that has far surpassed its original design and purpose.

I speak to you today as not just the King, but also as a long time citizen. In the over twelve years I've been blessed to bear the title of citaxhien, I have witnessed tremendous change, not the least of them being my own Accession not even one month ago. The ideals and people of Talossa inspire me every day and it is my most sincere hope that our continued prosperity will continue to inspire and give hope to all of us and those who have not yet come to us.

Forty-five years is a long time, especially in a micronational sense. As I pondered what I would say to you today, several themes germinated in my thoughts. I have in mind two major themes for this new year, where we witness not only a new calendar year, but also the first year of a new reign. So, without further ado, I want to speak to you today about community and about partnership.

I would like to begin with the first of my two themes. Talossa is a community, we all know that. What is sometimes lost in the "virtualness" of our kingdom is that behind each keyboard is a real person. How many of us have actually met, in person or even virtually, another Talossan that is not part of our own family? We live in an amazing era where if we can't be physically in the presence of another person, we can be there with them virtually. I firmly believe that when we can see one another, we become more empathetic to each other. When we can hear one another, we can more readily understand different perspectives. When we rejoice in one another's success and mourn for one another's loss, we become more human.

Talossa is a kingdom made up of people who long for connection and belonging.  It is not hyperbolic to state that each and every one of us is here by choice. We can choose to engage and we can choose to disengage. We can choose civility and kindness or we can choose rancor and hostility. We can choose to see each other as merely a political idealogy, or we can choose to see each other as being of value to the kingdom. I know that when we choose civility, when we choose to find value in each other, when we choose to engage, we are stronger. Therefore, I am declaring 2025 as L'Anneu D'Comunità, or in English, The Year of Community. Throughout this year, beginning with the newest holiday in our calendar, Flip Molinar Day, I urge each and every one of you to spend as much time as possible seeing, hearing, listening, and communicating with other Talossans. At a later time, I hope to work with the government on ways to recognize the efforts of all of you in this regard.

This year has another theme, that of partnership. I intend to spend my first year on the throne working alongside our elected and appointed officials to restore connections, rebuild trust, and strengthen our vital institutions. The government of the day and those who fill the ranks of our civil service have long toiled in relative obscurity from my somewhat battered throne. Those who volunteer their time and their skills to our kingdom deserve attention and cooperation from their king. I have had perhaps unique discussions with my Seneschal about holding regular audiences with her as well as with her cabinet. I hope as well that this new tradition will be a feature, not a bug, of this new and reinvigorated Talossa in successive governments throughout my reign.

As most of you know, I've personally held almost every top level office in the Royal Civil Service (and even held four of them at the same time for one particularly hectic era for me. I've served as Seneschal, in the cabinet, and on the courts. I recognize the value of hard work and dedication, and our civil servants and elected officials work hard. It is my hope that throughout this next year, the government and I can find common ground while also honoring those who give of their own precious time.

I don't wish to belabor this speech much longer but I do want to close my first Independence Day Speech with a call to action for all Talossans. What we have is precious and we should cherish it and allow it to flourish and grow. We should be working together as a community to foster new citizens, speak and use el GhelÞ as much and as often as possible, and weed our garden of threats to our joy. We Talossans have a forty-five year history that is rich and developed and unique. Viensiçeschti par ün stadeu xhointeu. As Talossans, let us be united in common cause.

¡Noi Vident! ¡Noi Auscultent! ¡Noi Celevrent!

Txec, Regeu da Talossa

[þerxh Sant-Enogat]

Our King has rightfully chosen to highlight two important themes, community and partnership.
To facilitate "real life" connections between citizens, I'd like to remind everyone about the opportunities offered by  the Talossan International Welcome Network.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

I would also remind Talossans of the Talossa Talks project started when I was Seneschal during the 58th Cosa. I am disappointed by the lack of participation as it is easy and I had a really fun and enjoyable discussion with Audrada. If others eventually participate please do share your video chat with me for FT as it might spur additional participation and they are fun to watch.

[GV]

Talossa has outlived Ben's involvement by nearly twenty years.  We are five years not only from the fiftieth anniversary, but also "outlapping" Ben's own time of involvement, which is unbelievable to me.

Three people are directly responsible for this happy state of Talossa's enduring: John Woolley, Fritz von Buchholtz, and Miestrâ Schivâ.

John's and Fritz's efforts are well-known, but politics among other things has obscured Miestrâ's critical contributions to our national life: she kept the 2004-2012 Republic of Talossa intact, doing more than anyone to preserve that community, which was critical to making reunision happen.

I personally thank her for her energy which at times ca. 2010 was directly responsible for my not falling off the Talossan log completely and forever.

Happy anniversary, all!  May Talossan endure another forty-five years and longer than that.

- GV

[C. M. Siervicül]

¡Sa viva el Regipäts Talossan! Happy Independence Day!