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Amateur radio is global, infrastructure-independent freedom of speech. Human rights are perhaps the most boring things to market, but they are the pillars of the liberal order.

Unfortunately, it appears that other than RAC, IARU member societies aren't fulfilling their obligation to adequately represent the interests of amateurs throughout their countries and/or separate territories (https://www.iaru.org/about-us/organisation-and-history/member-societies/) - instead defending, or only engaging in controlled opposition to, Officers as they harass our people and eat out their substance.

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Thanks for your insight on amateur radio. I thing we need to take aredn and Lora to high school and college IT classes to recruit new hams to the hobby.

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I feel a need to address this paragraph:

Part of this issue is that many people just cannot (don’t) see themselves as getting involved in Amateur Radio. They go to a club meeting (back when we did in person meetings) and they see mostly old guys, many espousing crude, conservative views, whose only activity is contesting and DXing on HF. Youth, especially don’t see themselves in Amateur Radio. Nor do females, those with progressive views, LGBTQ, those who are using other types of radio (FRS, GMRS, MURS, CB…), those who want to use Amateur Radio as an enabling technology, and those that have modest budgets. Especially folks that are new to Amateur Radio and need help to figure things out in Amateur Radio - mentoring (which Amateur Radio has mangled, for far too long, as “Elmering”).

Bringing politics into Amateur Radio, no matter how well intentioned, is going to lead to unnecessary conflict. Politics need to stay out in the parking lot. Efforts to get those whose politics consist of "crude, conservative views" to change, even for the sake of a hobby they love, will meet with as little success as attempts to get progressives etc. to change theirs in order to benefit the hobby, and will simply cause strife where none is needed.

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Rgr that, also I forgot to say I’m sorry for your loss of your assistant. It is hard to loose a pet.

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