On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:46:25 -0500, Allan & Bridget wrote:
>I hope that this makes some of you feel a little better about the ARRL's
>position on the matter...obviously the VEs are upset about this as well, and
>the petition did seem to drop out of the sky rather suddenly, in spite of
>the fact that we knew this was going to eventually happen.
Given how fast some countries dropped the code requirement after the
WARC was over, this doesn't seem so sudden to me.
>Meanwhile, however, I would suggest that we all start putting on our
>elmering badges and get to work.
<snip>
>From my experience, a good deal of elmering takes care of lot of this,
>and I think in this area we have fallen a bit short.
This I'll certainly agree with. Whatever the coming rule changes are,
I think that far more harm will be done to the hobby if we react by
pulling back and merely berating those enjoying the effects of the new
rules than by the rule changes themselves.
I suppose it may be a bit gauche to quote oneself, but lately I've been
feeling the urge to repost a 3-year old newsgroup post of mine.
Somehow it seems like it may be even more appropriate nowadays:
-----------------------------------------------------
From: Ben Coleman (nj8j@mindspring.com)
Subject: Re: The Truth About Welfare Licenses
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Date: 2000/04/24
On Thu, 20 Apr 2000 13:58:02 GMT, pogopossum@my-deja.com wrote:
>As for going the 'dumbing-down' route - I am in full agreement with
>you. I would only point out that this is not a new and sudden
>phenomenon - either in radio or in society at large.
And I might ask if the decline applies equally to those "Real Hams",
just in a different area. As you indicate, those of us who were
beneficiaries of the last round of 'welfare licensing' often could
depend on the friendly, encouraging, and patient help of the "Real
Hams" of our era. Has that gone downhill?
It takes little intelligence or effort to sit yourself on a pedestal
and berate those you consider below you. With a few exceptions, rare
enough to be regarded as 'personalities' ("CQ CQ CQ. No lids, kids, or
space cadets"), I don't remember the "Real Hams" of my ham youth doing
that. My perception is that there's a lot more of that going now than
there was 25 years ago when I first got licensed. I regard that as
just as much of a decline in standards as any changes in the test
requirements.
For those of us who have been in this hobby a long time, it might be
good to ask how we compare in attitudes and activities to the hams who
helped us when we were new. Passing license tests is no longer our
task - we've pretty much done that by now. Our task, as was the task
of the experienced hams who came before us, is to help teach, train and
encourage new hams to become good in both operational and technical
areas. If we can't do that, with just as much friendliness, patience,
and encouragement as was shown to us, if we can only sit back and
cynically berate new hams for not being 'up to snuff' in our sight,
then we're just as much a part of the 'decline in the hobby' as lowered
exam requirements might be. Perhaps more so.
Ben
-----------------------------------------------------
--
Ben Coleman oloryn@benshome.net | The attempt to legislatively
http://oloryn.home.mindspring.com/ | micromanage equality results, at
Amateur Radio NJ8J | best, in equal misery for all.
|