Citizens:
Imagine, if you will, the following conversation taking place on an elevator, somewhere in the world.
 "Oh, hello. Hey, that pretzel looks great. Where did you get it?" | |
 "Over at the stand on the third floor. It's pretty good." | |
"Cool. Hey, what's that?" | |
"Oh, that's a pin for Talossa. It's a real country that has an army, and I'm the Seneschal which is like the leader of our real government! And we do limericks in our language and stuff. Talossa... no, with a long "o." No, we don't have a bunker or guns. We have a King though. No, I don't really live there, but in my heart I do." | |
 "....I have to go now." | |
"But we do heraldry! LOOK AT MY COAT OF ARMS!" |
Despite my eagerness and obvious love for my country, Cindi Lauper thinks I am crazy. And she is perhaps not unjustified in thinking so. When asked about Talossa - a thing that is unusual and new to most strangers - all I can do is give a rambling and semi-coherent spiel of nonsense. If this is what you heard, you probably wouldn't want to join, either.
But that's not the way it should be. I am calling for two initiatives that I will personally be the first to engage in.
Firstly, I want some display of Talossanity. We're getting flags and bumper-stickers and shirts and pins back on the market this term with the relaunch of TalossaWare, and ideally we'll be getting a lot of orders. But even if you can't do that, then you can still show your adopted country off. If you belong to a social network like Facebook, then broadcast about Talossa a few times. If you have a blog, write a post about it. If you belong to a message board, put up a thread about it. The bottom line is that I urge every citizen to take the time to show off Talossa in their life.
I have my "I ♥ Talossa" button from TalossaWare, and I will be wearing it on my backpack and on my jacket.
Secondly, let's all develop "elevator speeches" to go with our newfound display. This is a succinct and compelling summary of Talossa, so called because it's short enough to give during the length of an elevator ride. It should be low-key but intriguing, so as to get their attention without seeming too bizarre.
So when someone asks me about my button, I'll be ready to reply with something that won't scare them off. Everyone should have their own version - depending on where you are and what inspires you about your country - but mine will go something like this:
"Oh, 'Talossa' is the name of a country of which I'm a citizen. It's just like bigger countries with a flag and government, but it's small enough so that everyone can participate. It even has its own language and stuff. It has several books published about it and it's been around since 1979, which is also cool. It's a lot of fun! If you want to know more, I can give you the website."I'd love to hear some other examples from participating citizens, and to know people will be helping out Talossa. But I will still be content even if it's only me and my button and my few words.
As mentioned, we're going to be rolling out more gear to get this going, along with the immediately-impending stamp issuance. Talossans may be slow to wake up out of this summer, but we're going to have some serious alarm clocks ringing soon!
Long live the King, and long live Talossa!
Alexander Davis
Seneschal del Regipäts Talossan
