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Bill: Unity in Diversity Act
Details
Submitted by[?]: Liberty Alliance of Talmoria
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This bill asks for an amendement to the Constitution. It will require two-thirds of the legislature to vote in favor. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: March 2940
Description[?]:
| A BILL to change the official governing language of the Republic of South Talmoria to English, a language with no cultural ties to any major ethnic group in the nation to prevent de facto cultural dominance of one group over another. SECTION 1. TITLE This bill shall be referred to as the Unity in Diversity Act. SECTION 2. FINDINGS WHEREAS for a decade, a majority of the Talmorian population was oppressed by an apartheid government that treated them as lesser human beings and degraded their culture due to their ethnicity. WHEREAS the culture and customs of a minority of the population were elevated to a heightened status within the government. WHEREAS with the end of these policies, all men in Talmoria have been elevated to an equal status and should have a government which reflects that. WHEREAS it is wrong to force the customs of any one group on another or the forcibly separate them by means of the government, thus making it wrong to enforce the customs of the majority on the minority. WHEREAS the language of English has previously seen use in the Talmorian government, but is not in common use and has no cultural ties to any major ethnic group in the region. WHEREAS the government should be easily accessible to all people while remaining culturally neutral, necessitating that should its language not be widely spoken that documents be reproduced in widely spoken languages in the nation. WHEREAS the nation has no need for an official language for anything beyond the use of the government, and the government should endorse that no language be spoken by its mandate. SECTION 3. PROVISIONS 1. The official language used in the naming of government institutions shall be English. 2. All government documents published in English as a result shall be reprinted in the languages of Talmori, Asli, Hulstrian, and Afrikaans. 3. All government institutions shall be required to be able to carry out all types of business in Talmori, Asli, Hulstrian, or Afrikaans and shall not force citizens to carry out government business in English or any other language. 4. The Talmorian government shall endorse no official language on the part of the nation as a whole. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change The title of the head of government, who chairs the cabinet.
Old value:: Eerste Minister van die Republiek
Current: President of the Democratic Republic of Talmoria
Proposed: Prime Minister of the Republic
Article 2
Proposal[?] to change The formal title of the Head of State.
Old value:: Staatspresident van die Republiek
Current: President of the Democratic Republic of Talmoria
Proposed: President of the Republic
Article 3
Proposal[?] to change The official title of the legislative assembly.
Old value:: Volksraad
Current: National Assembly
Proposed: Assembly
Article 4
Proposal[?] to change The national motto.
Old value:: Eenheid, Krag, en Vryheid
Current: Liberty, Egality and Solidarity
Proposed: Unity, Strength, and Freedom
Article 5
Proposal[?] to change The official title of subnational entities, also known as regions.
Old value:: Staat
Current: Region
Proposed: State
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 08:16:52, May 16, 2010 CET | From |   Christen Demokratiese Party | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: Yep, disregard everything that I and others built into this nation over the past year. Disregard the wiki, disregard the past, completely disregard all the hard work people spent coming up with a Talmorian culture/history and create a anglophone nation which is about 90% of nations on Talmoria. We expect that the other parties will support this out of spite. |
| Date | 08:25:29, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Social Democratic Party | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: Or maybe there might be an IC reason he'd propose that. Seems to me out of everybody he's gone pretty out of his way to get the history/culture right. |
| Date | 08:27:41, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Liberty Alliance of Talmoria | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: Could always wait for finalization and explanation. |
| Date | 08:33:20, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Christen Demokratiese Party | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: I will support this bill if everyone else does. There is no point in me arguing a fight I cant win. I already got off to the wrong foot with several people here so I am not going to continue to oppose you. My intentions were clear when I made the "OOC: RP rules" bill, I cant enforce anything on anybody. It was only suppose to be there as encouragement. Though it seemed it had the opposite effect. |
| Date | 08:36:14, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Liberty Alliance of Talmoria | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: You haven't even seen the reasoning for the bill, you realize. Considering I have drawn heavily from your history to form a historical basis and even membership for this party, it would be downright stupid to just toss it as this point with so much vested in it. It should also be noted that a country's official language is not always the one spoken or written by really anyone. Kazakhstan, I believe is a primary example. So hold your horses and stop assuming the worst. |
| Date | 16:23:56, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Collegia Rei Publicae | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: I would suggest waiting for some kind of explanation. For getting off on the wrong foot, I'll be honest: at least, with me, it's a case of taking a completely new player, going down an exclusionary path. I deliberately excluded you from the *first* cabinet for a "shoe is on the other foot" feel, and would have been willing to consider coalitioning after the next election. (Yes, politics is petty). Now, between your insults, childish behavior, and remarks such as "homosexuals are a disease which must be purged" and calling us "socialist parasite", and similar things? I don't think many of us here are inclined to work with you at all. I, for one, will be refusing to join any cabinet in which you play more than a minor, pittance role. |
| Date | 18:43:32, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Liberty Alliance of Talmoria | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | Floor Leader Dhakir Abadi (VAT-Leshako): Ladies and gentlemen of this body, for a decade the people of this nation have suffered under a cultural siege by a minority of its populations, determined that the color of their skin gave them the right to oppress and separate their fellow man and degrade their heritage and culture, enforcing their own upon them. This was wrong, my friends, but it would be just as wrong for a majority to do the same to that minority. We are all people, entitled to our beliefs and customs so long as they do not harm another, and the government should not pick and choose which are superior and which are not. The bill we have proposed will remove the cultural endorsement that is our language and replace it with English, a language with no cultural ties, a language that will elevate no group above another. Let me be clear: the business of the government dealing with the common man will not change, as it is mandated that our facilities be able to carry out their duties with the speakers of any language. It endorses no group but embraces them all, and I hope that we can pass this bill and bring unity to our people through our diversity. |
| Date | 21:29:13, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Christen Demokratiese Party | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: Im gone and left for another nation. Pass this bill already and stop pretending like this wasnt your plan all along. |
| Date | 21:35:45, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Liberty Alliance of Talmoria | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: Yes. As a party which has been against apartheid and one with as much an ethnic as an ideological basis, it was my ultimate plan to implement multi-lingualism. It was in the party description. It's a shame to see you go in spite of everything, but I plan to stick with the provided history regardless of your presence. Best of luck. |
| Date | 22:43:08, May 16, 2010 CET | From | Volkspartij voor stabiliteit en gelijkhe | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | While it's certainly a noble intention to promote policies designed, on their face, to promote multilingualism and equality, I don't see how mandating the naming of institutions and the incurring of additional cost in the printing of new signage is somehow suppose to make up for years of inequality. If we want to be serious about promoting equality, we need to do so through programs designed to give those on the bottom a helping hand up rather than change a name here and there as a form of apology. Our actions here should be what promote a nation where all are equals, not our names. |
| Date | 00:39:30, May 17, 2010 CET | From | Liberty Alliance of Talmoria | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | Abadi: Oppression was not based on wealth, but on cultural ethnicity. A minority of this nation determined that they were more worthy than the rest of the people because of the color of their skin and the tongue that they spoke, and we are determined to never allow the government to sanction such behavior again. While we disagree with the policies you are hinting at, you are free to propose those AND vote on this bill. |
| Date | 04:00:24, May 17, 2010 CET | From | Volkspartij voor stabiliteit en gelijkhe | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | Ah of course. We can deny the history of this country by changing our names and leaving it at that. I'm sure the oppressed would be pleased by that sentiment. |
| Date | 05:55:47, May 17, 2010 CET | From | Christen Demokratiese Party | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: Lol at the new parties who joined like a week ago pretending like they know Talmoria's history. The "Afrikanner" language is spoken by both the major ethnic groups both Asli and Trekkers (Whites). Changing it to english makes zero sense all it does is strip away the uniqueness of this country and make it like 90% of the other nations on particracy. |
| Date | 14:32:12, May 17, 2010 CET | From | Liberty Alliance of Talmoria | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | OOC: I thought you were leaving. |
| Date | 02:20:08, May 18, 2010 CET | From | Social Democratic Party | To | Debating the Unity in Diversity Act |
| Message | Party Chair Lars Hardil (SDP): "This reform is long overdue and is necessary to turn the page on the past. English, while not spoken by a predominant portion of our population, can serve as a unifying and neutral language for our nation as we move out of apartheid and into a new era of liberty." |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | ||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 250 | ||||
| no | Total Seats: 0 | ||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: Cabinet ministers who disagree seriously with the head of government would usually be expected to resign. Parties within the cabinet may attempt to manoeuvre to replace the head of government though, for example by proposing a new cabinet bill or voting for an early election. |
| Random quote: "This country has far more problems than it deserves and far more solutions than it applies." - Ralph Nader |