Questions about Talossa

[Nathan Whitehead]

Hello, my name is Nathan Whitehead, and I am a high school junior in Sandy, Utah. As part of my IB History of the Americas class, we were talking about constitutional monarchies, and I'm writing a paper about constitutional monarchies, presidential republics, and the differences in the social contract between the two.

In my research, I came across Talossa and three groups claiming to be Talossa. I found the Republic and two entities with the name "Kingdom of Talossa" - one with a King John and one with a King Louis.

I've posted pretty much the exact same thing at the Republic's board (see witt12.talossa.org/index.php?topic=871.0). The people there advised me to post it here as well if I wanted to reach Kingdom citizens, and told me there would be no problems if I did. I apologize in advance if I broke any rules inadvertently by doing this.

I'd just like to ask a few questions, get a few responses, and then see what happens. By this point, I've had to turn in my paper for school but I'm working on writing a paper for personal pleasure (a strange hobby, but oh well) that goes a bit more in depth and can mention the experiment of Talossa. For some odd reason, my teacher advised me against including Talossa in the first paper... something about "not being real."

I'm going to try to compare what I learn from the responses with my analyses of the UK, the US, and nations like Zimbabwe.

• What, in your opinion, is your responsibility to the Government of Talossa as a Talossan citizen/member/whatever?
  
• Are there any times that this responsibility can be removed or the contract broken? For example, if the Government does something that it isn't supposed to do, does that remove you from having to obey the laws?
  
• And, just because I'm a conlang aficionado, do any of these responsibilities include the Talossan language?
  

As far as background research, I've read Ár Päts and I'm going to be reading both the Organic Law, the Constitution, the Statutory Law, and the Federal Code.

I'll make my paper available when I finish it to any Talossan that wants it.

Thank you in advance!

[Dréu]

What, in your opinion, is the responsibility of the Government of Talossa to you, a Talossan citizen/member/whatever the case may be?

To provide fun things to do and to guard my civil liberties.

What, in your opinion, is your responsibility to the Government of Talossa as a Talossan citizen/member/whatever?

To be active!

Are there any times that this responsibility can be removed or the contract broken? For example, if the Government does something that it isn't supposed to do, does that remove you from having to obey the laws?

d**n straight. If the government tries to hush me or something like that I see no reason why I should remain active.

And, just because I'm a conlang aficionado, do any of these responsibilities include the Talossan language?

I would hope so. As a member of the CUG (one of two regulatory committees of the Talossan Language) I really hope that people start learning and using el glhetg to the extent that it becomes the primary language on our forums.

[Flip Molinar]

Jan 14, 2009 20:52:17 GMT -5 Nathan Whitehead said:

• What, in your opinion, is the responsibility of the Government of Talossa to you, a Talossan citizen?
  
  The responsibility of the government to its citizens is bound together in a sort of web where we are all enabled, through equal representation in government, to be heard and to be respected as human beings by having our liberties upheld as well as to aide its citizens in the betterment of themselves socially, economically, and culturally.
  
  
• What, in your opinion, is your responsibility to the Government of Talossa as a Talossan citizen?
  
  My responsibility as a citizen is to not only vote, but to be as active in the governance of the country. It is essential that we at a minimum vote for our representatives, but also propose laws or policies that would benefit not only ourselves, but the nation as a whole. These policies can also be directed at aiding a specific individual or group of individuals within Talossa.
  
  
• Are there any times that this responsibility can be removed or the contract broken? For example, if the Government does something that it isn't supposed to do, does that remove you from having to obey the laws?
  
  Absolutely. Diplomatically speaking, if a government of Talossa does not fulfill the will of its people it can be voted out of office by a Vote of No Confidence at each and every legislative session held once a month. If a government or Monarch becomes tyrannical and refuses to obey the will of the people under any circumstances, the people have a right to rebellion against said tyrant. This, obviously, would be a suspension of the law, but in dire situations such as the example I have given, is utterly necessary to preserve the rights, freedoms,wills, and liberty of the Talossan people.
  
  
• Do any of these responsibilities include the Talossan language?
  
  This is definitely a responsibility of citizenship. Obviously no one is forced to learn it but is responsible for at least respecting the language if nothing else.
  

Hope that helps!

[C. M. Siervicül]

Sorry I didn't get to these questions before now, but around the beginning of the year my time available for Talossan affairs took a nose-dive, and I'm still getting caught up from a 6 week or so period when I wasn't paying attention to Talossa at all. But here are my answers as a citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa:

Jan 14, 2009 20:52:17 GMT -5 Nathan Whitehead said:

What, in your opinion, is the responsibility of the Government of Talossa to you, a Talossan citizen/member/whatever the case may be?

To abide by and enforce Talossan law, to protect and foster Talossan culture and community, and to promote Talossa's interests (including public awareness of our existence) in the wider world.

What, in your opinion, is your responsibility to the Government of Talossa as a Talossan citizen/member/whatever?

To abide by Talossan law, respect Talossa's history and traditions, and make an effort to participate in Talossa's culture and community.

Are there any times that this responsibility can be removed or the contract broken? For example, if the Government does something that it isn't supposed to do, does that remove you from having to obey the laws?

Sure. First of all, Talossa is a voluntary community, so the individual can voluntarily leave it at any time for any reason. But beyond that, a substantial departure from the rule of law by the government, without legal recourse, could in sufficiently grievous circumstances justify civil disobedience or even rebellion by citizens without leaving the civic community.

And, just because I'm a conlang aficionado, do any of these responsibilities include the Talossan language?

To some extent. The language is an important part of Talossan culture and history. As such the government owes it some degree of respect. On the other side, I don't have a problem with citizens who choose not to learn the language, but I think it's a heck of a way to participate in Talossanity.