Post by Danihel Laurieir on Jan 14, 2007 13:35:11 GMT -6
My fellow legislators and citizens, I rise to say…
What a stroke of good luck it is for the Kingdom of Talossa that it counts a man such as Sir John Woolley among its citizens!
When King Louis abdicated, the Kingdom might well have found itself without someone worthy to sit on the throne.
Indeed, until quite recently I thought this was exactly the situation we found ourselves in.
Let me explain what I was thinking.
The Kingdom—it seemed to me both before and immediately after the abdication—had on the one hand some citizens with long and deep connections to Talossa, and on the other hand some citizens (mainly newer ones) doing incredible amounts of quality nation-building work.
A man or woman fit to sit on the throne of Talossa should—I figured—combine both the qualities of long-standing connection and of productive Talossifying. According to my own sense of things, no Talossan met both criteria.
And then Lord Hooligan Hoppered his bill.
Even though I knew in advance that there was some interest in electing Sir John King, I was still caught off-guard in terms of my own expectations when that happened.
And even though, like most Talossans, I was well acquainted with Sir John's exemplary temperament and with many of his excellent contributions to Talossa culture and government, I couldn't stop regarding him as a relative Talossan neophyte—and therefore not qualified (in my view) for the job.
The argument that Talossa must fill the throne quickly was also made. This argument struck fear into my heart, and motivated me to organize the Defenders of the Throne party.
Didn't my fellow Talossans realize that putting someone unfit on the throne would damage the Kingdom? Didn't my fellow Talossan realize that Talossa has never tolerated unfit Kings for long and that Talossans would prefer to live in a Republic than be ruled by a King they didn't respect? The Talossan throne has never been just a pretty antique ornament of state. The throne is the symbolic heart of Talossa. The man or woman who sits on the throne must be worthy!
(And because worthiness in the Talossa context—that is, contributing to Talossa's culture and government and devotion to the idea of Talossa—is not necessarily a heritable characteristic, the notion that Talossa must remain a hereditary monarchy despite its actual historical experience is flawed and dangerous…but more about that another time.)
Another factor played a role in my attitude as well. I didn't like the idea that the next King of Talossa might not come from Milwaukee, where Talossa began and lived so much of its life.
It took me some time to recognize that I had this feeling, and I'm not proud of it. I suppose—to be generous to my self—it's not all that surprising that I felt this way: While Talossa's connection to Milwaukee is about much more than the territory, the territory is also—of course—central to Talossa's identity.
So that—the unexpected arrival of legislation to name a new King and the concerns about a neophyte not from Milwaukee sitting on the throne—gives some sense of where my thinking about the monarchy and the candidacy of Sir John started.
Why do I now consider Sir John worthy to sit on the throne?
The explanation is simple, really.
Reminded by the testimonials of others about Sir John's achievements, his generous and alert temperament, his Talossan creativity and his obvious devotion to the Kingdom, I started to see—too slowly, I suppose—that he would sit nicely on the throne despite (or maybe because of?) his relative freshness and outlander status and that I could be proud of seeing him there.
It strikes me as extremely fortuitous that the Kingdom has a man worthy, ready and able to serve as King now.
With Sir John on the throne, Talossa, will—I am certain—head into the future with a vigor and creativity we have not seen in a long, long time.
While I may have wished for a different process to find and elect a new King, the process that Lord Hooligan started—and subsequently guided with great sensitivity and political adeptness—is now underway and may as well be used. And I think we must make a few other changes concerning the monarchy, including the elimination of its heritability. But that is a separate debate.
Now, it's time to elect a new King.
Lord Hooligan, if you don't mind, would you please add my name to the list of sponsors for your bill, the Act to Elect a King?
Long live Talossa!
What a stroke of good luck it is for the Kingdom of Talossa that it counts a man such as Sir John Woolley among its citizens!
When King Louis abdicated, the Kingdom might well have found itself without someone worthy to sit on the throne.
Indeed, until quite recently I thought this was exactly the situation we found ourselves in.
Let me explain what I was thinking.
The Kingdom—it seemed to me both before and immediately after the abdication—had on the one hand some citizens with long and deep connections to Talossa, and on the other hand some citizens (mainly newer ones) doing incredible amounts of quality nation-building work.
A man or woman fit to sit on the throne of Talossa should—I figured—combine both the qualities of long-standing connection and of productive Talossifying. According to my own sense of things, no Talossan met both criteria.
And then Lord Hooligan Hoppered his bill.
Even though I knew in advance that there was some interest in electing Sir John King, I was still caught off-guard in terms of my own expectations when that happened.
And even though, like most Talossans, I was well acquainted with Sir John's exemplary temperament and with many of his excellent contributions to Talossa culture and government, I couldn't stop regarding him as a relative Talossan neophyte—and therefore not qualified (in my view) for the job.
The argument that Talossa must fill the throne quickly was also made. This argument struck fear into my heart, and motivated me to organize the Defenders of the Throne party.
Didn't my fellow Talossans realize that putting someone unfit on the throne would damage the Kingdom? Didn't my fellow Talossan realize that Talossa has never tolerated unfit Kings for long and that Talossans would prefer to live in a Republic than be ruled by a King they didn't respect? The Talossan throne has never been just a pretty antique ornament of state. The throne is the symbolic heart of Talossa. The man or woman who sits on the throne must be worthy!
(And because worthiness in the Talossa context—that is, contributing to Talossa's culture and government and devotion to the idea of Talossa—is not necessarily a heritable characteristic, the notion that Talossa must remain a hereditary monarchy despite its actual historical experience is flawed and dangerous…but more about that another time.)
Another factor played a role in my attitude as well. I didn't like the idea that the next King of Talossa might not come from Milwaukee, where Talossa began and lived so much of its life.
It took me some time to recognize that I had this feeling, and I'm not proud of it. I suppose—to be generous to my self—it's not all that surprising that I felt this way: While Talossa's connection to Milwaukee is about much more than the territory, the territory is also—of course—central to Talossa's identity.
So that—the unexpected arrival of legislation to name a new King and the concerns about a neophyte not from Milwaukee sitting on the throne—gives some sense of where my thinking about the monarchy and the candidacy of Sir John started.
Why do I now consider Sir John worthy to sit on the throne?
The explanation is simple, really.
Reminded by the testimonials of others about Sir John's achievements, his generous and alert temperament, his Talossan creativity and his obvious devotion to the Kingdom, I started to see—too slowly, I suppose—that he would sit nicely on the throne despite (or maybe because of?) his relative freshness and outlander status and that I could be proud of seeing him there.
It strikes me as extremely fortuitous that the Kingdom has a man worthy, ready and able to serve as King now.
With Sir John on the throne, Talossa, will—I am certain—head into the future with a vigor and creativity we have not seen in a long, long time.
While I may have wished for a different process to find and elect a new King, the process that Lord Hooligan started—and subsequently guided with great sensitivity and political adeptness—is now underway and may as well be used. And I think we must make a few other changes concerning the monarchy, including the elimination of its heritability. But that is a separate debate.
Now, it's time to elect a new King.
Lord Hooligan, if you don't mind, would you please add my name to the list of sponsors for your bill, the Act to Elect a King?
Long live Talossa!
