Thanks Mark for your encouraging words.
Yesterday, I spent some time at the website of another Medium contributor. Ray Kratz is a climate change activist. He has laid out his position quite well. He is a acquiring an email list. He may try to mobilize that list. If he is asked to speak at a public function, he will be willing to do so. Ray has taken his activism to a higher level than most Medium contributors.
About a year ago, I had a discussion with Scott Tarlo, the owner of Politically Speaking. He believes that most political writing on Medium is mostly cathartic in objective ("venting" if you want). There really isn't that much bettering of the world happening here.
And I have to admit that I get some personal satisfaction after I publish here---even though my readership is still low. And after 3.5 years on Medium I am still an echo chamber of one.
So what I am doing when I'm not writing and reading on Medium? And you qualified that question with the adverb "recently."
The answer is "not much."
One could point out that I am just as guilty of all these Medium contributors who spend hours at the keyboard but none in the real world Well I do have a few excuses:
1) My income has dropped from lower-middle-class to working-poor. This state has an effect on one's community outreach. The internet is much cheaper than attending meetings.
2) I have a seven-year-old son with a minor learning disability. I need to put and energy to "this project."
Having said that, I will joining my local chamber of commerce in the new year. My primary reason is to network to get some writing contracts. But I need to get out of my bubble and talk to other people. I can do chamber meetings while the kid is in school.
As my son gets older, I might get back to serving on boards, which I like doing. A lot depends on the nature of his after school activities.
As for my alternative democracy, I quit telling my family, friends, and acquaintances about this project. If the year was 1960, they would have grounds to lock me up in a mental institution.
And from a local perspective, I think my town is well governed. It would be hard to generate local interest for the TDG.
My province, however, is another matter. But the TDG needs to be built locally before it can go provincially, so there is a Catch-22 happening. I won't be going back into politics to defeat the current government. My limited time and energy s better spent promoting my alternative democracy. This project is looking far beyond the next election--and there is no one else working on something like this.
Another project I am working is a board game. Rather than compete, players must collaborate to move their society from "The Age of Subsistence" through six ages to "The Age of Transcendence". This will require lots of discussion to manage resources. My plan is to have this game ready when my TDG books get some recognition.
