This blog may periodically publish thought pieces from past and present Electors. This piece is from a current Elector who is the President Emeritus of the U.S.G.L. Electoral College, writing on the why the Order has secrecy in governmental meetings.

Serving on the Electoral College comes with certain challenges. One of the foremost on the outside is the secrecy that the College operates under. This secrecy is absolutely vital in order for us to preserve confidentiality when we are deliberating upon sensitive topics. Would you want your dirty laundry aired before everyone for an OTO issue? Probably not.

Anyone of the V° and up can attend meetings of the College. However, the College reserves the right to clear the room for an executive session if the topic at hand is particularly sensitive. We take your privacy very seriously, and we expect the same of those who attend the meetings. Breaking that seal would make our work impossible. There is a good reason why OTO governance is not transparent despite profane corporate trends to the contrary.

That’s of small comfort to the Man of Earth Triad. Nobody wants to hear “trust us” with no further information forthcoming. That’s especially true in a society that is rife with scandals. I would like to share a perspective on the work of the College.

I attended meetings of the College for years before offering my service. I was deeply impressed with the attention, care, and thoughtfulness that went into even the most minor decisions. The moment that made me decide to offer service to the College was an extended debate about particular wording of an announcement in Agape. They wanted to ensure precision of language so that the routine announcement would be perceived correctly both immediately and in the historical record. The amount of thought and passion in that discussion deeply impressed me. The person next to me was bored to tears, but I was inspired. If the Electors put that much thought into a routine announcement you can imagine how much goes into larger decisions.

I hear similar sentiments consistently from new members of the Lovers Triad who attend meetings of the College for the first time. When it comes down to it we’re all on the same team striving for similar ends. I sincerely hope that all members of the Man of Earth Triad stick with it and advance to the natural stopping place of the V°. I look forward to the day you will be able to attend a meeting of the College to see the care put into our deliberations for yourself.

David Hill
President Emeritus