Len shared an email response from Dave Volek, the inventor of Tiered Democratic Governance.


Len

Congrats on getting Riverbend under one TDG. This is indeed a milestone—and it's great you had a party to celebrate.  

I am not surprised that you people are in competition with another TDG. There will be various social and political forces—some good, some bad—that will bring up new TDGs within existing TDG areas.

Sitting from Canada, I'm not in a good position to determine which TDG actually employs the TDG principles better than the other. So I'm not going to cast myself as judge.

Rather I'm going to recommend both TDGs meet and reconcile their differences—and eventually merge the two TDGs into one.

If this merger is not possible, then let time be the judge. If one of these two TDGs is on a better path to TDG governance, it will flourish and grow. If the other TDG is not on a good path, it will eventually wither and die.

I hope this helps.

Dave


Orville quickly replied to the executive committee by email: "Knowing Ron Govelin, I don't think reconciliation is possible. I think we should just ignore his group."

And that is where we left this situation.

I failed one course in the first semester and three in the second. I could not have recovered those courses and finished the three-year diploma in three years. My parents decided not to support my college attendance until I matured.

And I should say that I really didn't enjoy my nursing courses. I had to agree with my parents that I should stay away from academics until I found some passion.

So I moved back to my parents. I found a job as a receptionist for an accounting firm. Not great pay, but I enjoyed being the first impression for many of the firm's clients.

I wanted to socialize with other young people. And my parents, recognizing that I was older, let go of the reins. As long as I used a taxi to travel to and from nightclubs, they didn't say too much.

Riverbend had two nightclubs where young people could meet and socialize: Ezzie's and Spin City. These two clubs were in competition with each other, trying to be the place for young people to be.

Like our high school, young people from all demographics went to these clubs. There was no poor club or rich club. There was no white club or black club or Latin club. If we wanted to socialize, we had to socialize with each other.

I had a few one-night stands. Well, not a full night. I always got my lovers to drive me home before my parents woke up. Then one night I fell asleep in a young man's bed. I got a cellphone call at 7:30 in the morning from my mother.

"Where are you?"

"I'm OK, Mom. I'll be home in a couple of hours."

My lover drove me home. I don't think his car tires stopped turning as he dropped me off at my house. I showed up in front of my mother with a rumpled night club dress, ruffled hair, and smudged make-up. My mother had one thing to say: "If you want THAT kind of lifestyle, you can't do it from THIS house."

It was time to leave home.