Come as I you are

Crestignac will now open its doors to all identities. The Duchess made the announcement at a ceremony held outside the Grande Maison de l’Accueil, attended by representatives of the territory and citizens who had come as they thought they were.

The phrase was initially met with silence. Several people immediately felt it applied to them. The others waited to find out whether it applied to them too.

La DdC clarified that this new doctrine was intended neither to define citizens nor to impose an identity upon them. It would simply allow them to discover the one she had already recognised in them.

According to the Duchess, the old phrase, “Come as you are”, placed an excessive burden of responsibility on each individual. How could anyone be asked to come as they were when there was no guarantee they knew exactly who they were?

La DdC refuses to leave the people of Crestignac to face so important a question alone.

A Service of Prior Recognition will therefore be tasked with observing each citizen benevolently, then confirming the identity in which they may freely recognise themselves.

No justification will be required. Any citizen who does not recognise themselves in the recognised identity may submit a request for their disagreement to be officially recognised as inconsistent with who they are.

The new policy is a direct extension of the doctrine “Your choices are your own”.

Having guaranteed the people of Crestignac ownership of their decisions, La DdC now intends to guarantee them ownership of their identity. In both cases, the principle remains the same: what belongs to the people must be returned to them in a form sufficiently clear for them to accept it.

The Duchess reiterated that she never doubted her compatriots’ choices, since doubting their choices would mean doubting them. Nor could she doubt who they are once she has recognised it.

Asked about the construction of the phrase “Come as I you are”, Monsieur Buskin, Minister of Education, rejected any suggestion of grammatical error.

In his view, the use of the pronoun I guarantees the Duchess’s personal presence in everyone’s identity. As for the verb are, it remains plural in order to respect collective diversity.

Buskin announced that this rule would be taught as soon as the curricula had been adapted, freely but compulsorily.

The doctrine will apply to all identities, all generations, all styles and all forms of life. Couples, singles and nouples will be welcomed according to the same principles, provided they present themselves in their officially recorded configuration.

Citizens will remain free to change their appearance, convictions and aspirations. Any development will be recognised as soon as it has been identified in advance by the administration.

Those arriving in a form that does not yet correspond to who they are may naturally leave, then return once they more closely resemble themselves.

An official campaign will accompany the policy. The midnight-blue “COME AS I YOU ARE” T-shirt, adorned with nothing but the golden warthog, will be available at the La DdC boutique.

The garment may be worn by anyone, in any size, provided the size chosen corresponds to the one that has been recognised as theirs.

The ceremony ended with the solemn opening of the doors of the Grande Maison de l’Accueil. Citizens were invited to enter freely, in the order assigned to them.

In Crestignac, everyone has the right to be themselves. La DdC simply ensures that no one abuses it.