Get out of the way already!

D called me this morning. D lives in Washington State. He and I are members of a globe-spanning association. Don't read a lot into that. I am a member of several associations/groups with global membership.

He called to talk about the association, how things are going with it and my role within that association. Mostly he called to talk about what I'm doing and how he wants to help. No complaints, no criticism, just D saying "Lemme help."

Thank you, D.

Anyway, one of the things we touched on is how this association needs to attract younger members. This seems to be an issue everywhere as young folks don't join organized groups as much as their elders did and do. (Egad, it strikes my soul to use the phrase "younger crowd" or "young people.")

One thing he and I agreed on is this association has some older members, around since the beginning, and they are keeping new folks away. Their attitudes are just ... self-righteous, condemning and dismissive.

Potential younger members show up and encounter these attitudes. Their reaction?

"I don't have to deal with this." So saying, if only to themselves, they walk away. Forever.

Reality check time. The old guard ain't gonna be here forever. New and younger people will take over, if this or any other association continues to exist.

THE PAIN

I know the pain of that kind of attitude and even attacks. I ain't young, but I am new and REALLY new to a position within the global group. I took over from a gent who'd been there for 20+ years.

Some of the old guard resent this. They are taking it out on me. They do not like what I am doing.

So be it.

D, whatta guy, offered to step in on my behalf. D was there at the beginning. He knows stuff so many others do not. He just wanted to know who has problems with me. He offered to set them straight.

Wow. Thanks again, D.

I said I'd rather not say who is mad at me as I do not want to cause more division and problems. As long as they are just mad at me, all is good. I realize they are seeing their control slip away and they cannot accept this. I'm just a convenient target.

Cool. Target R Me.

Here's an important item. No one else was willing to step up and do the work I do. No one. They even offered to pay a pretty significant salary.

GET OUTTA THE WAY

It is time for them to get outta the way, sort of. Them who? Pick a group anywhere that has been in control for decades. It is time for them to let go. Let the younger crowd step up. 

If the next set of leaders are not allowed to step up and start assuming leadership roles, the association will fail.

I have seen it happen.

I used to be a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association. I was driven out. I was young (early 20s), new and with some ideas the old guard did not like. At the time, SEOPA was second in prestige only to the national outdoor writer's association. I also did not fit in with the clique running the place. 

I know some of you are shocked to read that (heavy sarcasm).

Some years ago SEOPA folded. A big part of that collapse was the old guard and that clique who wanted things done their way. Doing it differently was simply not going to happen. Rather than relinquish control and accept others, they chose to let SEOPA shut down.

That national association? It had a major split around the same time. Again, the entrenched members refused to move. A second national association was created. Even combined, neither is as strong as the single national association used to be.

So be it.

MOVING ON

Before you get excited and starting pointing fingers at me, know this. I am moving on.

I have backed off. I have stepped down. I have excused myself. I have let other, much younger people take over.

Sometimes I stepped back, knowing there was no one to take over. Things fell and failed. That hurt. It should hurt. Rather, I should feel that the failure was the best thing to happen. Whatever failed did not need to exist.

Sometimes, I did not leave completely. I hung around to help if asked. I am still on the sidelines in some places. I'm there to offer support, advice and input.

If these new folks have new ideas, I give them ideas on how to do it. 

They may come up with something the old guard tried and failed at. Cool. I tell 'em we tried and it flopped but y'all are new so let's see if it works now.

I do not tell them how to do it, unless specifically asked. Even then, I say "This is how we did it. How do you want to do it?"

Mentor. Sage. Old man on the mountain. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, kinda thing. Also, very ready to hand the reins over because it is time someone else jumped on this wagon's driver's seat. I want to sit inside the coach and take a well-deserved nap.

This brings me to another idea.

DON'T TRUST

"Don't trust anyone over 30," is a statement often attributed to a bunch of people. Jack Wienberg said it first. As of this writing, Mr. Weinberg is in his mid-80s. Does he still endorse that statement or has he backed off it. I did not look because I do not care.

His statement is an attitude and opinion I shared in my teens and 20s.

Now nearly double that age, I see the foolishness in it. However, that foolishness is a reaction to an entrenched mindset of older folks who say "Change is bad."

Young folks have always rebelled. They have always challenged their elders. They have always tried to force change. We did when we were young!

“[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances.
...
They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.” 

Rhetoric Part 12 On Youthful Character, Aristotle, 4th Century BC

 And yet, the world has continued to move right along.

I am desperately trying to not be that person on either end of those quotes. I want to welcome the new and see where it takes all of us.

Some days I am better at that than others. I need to at my best every single time. Working on it.

And the truth shall set you free

Or, as I often say, if the truth hurts, yer living wrong.

Such is the case with PBS and NPR and public broadcasting all the way around. Congress is set to cut the "public broadcaster" free. A bill that passed the Senate and likely will pass the house is eliminating funding for these agencies.

Liberals are screaming.

Good.

Unless you think I'm being partisan here, lemme say I rejoice when conservatives start screaming. Why is for another blog some other day. We're here right now to celebrate our tax dollars no longer going to support this outlet for left idiotology.

As a formerly devoted fan of NPR, I listened oviaGeorgia Public Radio. I loved the Saturday morning shows especially. I often just sat in my truck weekday mornings because I had to hear the whole news report. NPR calls 'em "driveway stories."

Now, not interested. I cannot stand the hard left agenda being pushed there. I also cannot stand a hard right agenda being pushed.

Don't take my word for it.

THEY WORK FOR NPR

So how about taking the word of some people who work for NPR?

"I didn’t use to count myself among them. But over the past year, under the leadership of a divisive new CEO, instead of taking criticisms of its coverage to heart, NPR instead doubled down on agenda-driven journalism. So, as someone who had spent most of his career at the network, I didn’t support defunding. I instead suggested that NPR could build back credibility by voluntarily giving up federal support. Obviously that didn’t happen."

Uri Berliner, longtime senior editor at NPR

https://instapundit.com/732620/

I used to listen to Uri. I found his stories to be great journalism. I'd listen again, if I could find a nonpartisan place to hear him or at least a place that gave equal coverage to both sides.

So you do not want to believe Uri. Cool.

"You know the stereotype of the NPR listener: an EV-driving, Wordle-playing, tote bag–carrying coastal elite. It doesn’t precisely describe me, but it’s not far off. I’m Sarah Lawrence–educated, was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother, I drive a Subaru, and Spotify says my listening habits are most similar to people in Berkeley. 

"I fit the NPR mold. I’ll cop to that.

"It’s true NPR has always had a liberal bent, but during most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding. 

"In recent years, however, that has changed. Today, those who listen to NPR or read its coverage online find something different: the distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population. "

https://www.thefp.com/p/npr-editor-how-npr-lost-americas-trust

Listened to Sarah Lawrence too. Was not as impressed with her as I was Uri.

THE SEPARATION BEGINS

My departure from public broadcasting was not overnight. The separation began slowly. It sped up.

Turner County had an important story, one with national and perhaps global significance, an ethanol plant. The plant went belly up. Beside the point.

I called Atlanta to Georgia Public Radio to brief them. I even did a short segment for that day's news cast. It aired.

I offered to do more, free! No charge. Call in once a week with major news from Southwest Georgia.

The news director at GPR said "It's not important enough." That is the policy to this day. If it does not happen in Atlanta, Savannah, Columbus and sometimes Macon, it just ain't news to GPR.

The first crack formed.

Over in Irwin County, a major news story came out thanks to the Ocilla Star and editor Luke Roberts. A federal investigation looked into the illegal immigrant detainees at the privately run prison. The feds were looking at what they said was an unusually high number of hysterectomies in the women there, among other things.

That should be national news. GPR? Nope.

For that matter, it was not worth of the attention of our Congresscritter Austin Scott. Another blog for another day.

If this was native-born Americans, the place would have been shut down.

And the crack widened.

NO TIME 

Increasingly, I noticed GPR had no time for the rest of Georgia. If it happened below the Fall Line, it was not news.

I get that. GPR's money mostly comes from the big cities mentioned above. That's where the biggest audience is.

Except according to  the very business model of public broadcasting, that is just flat wrong. Public broadcasting is meant to bring information to everyone, equally. Money was not the issue, the semi-annual fundraising campaigns aside. They gotta get money from someone to keep the lights on.

And the crack widened.

THE MAUL HITS HOME

A maul is tool used to split logs. It is really heavy and it is more of a wedge than an axe. I've used them.

NPR slammed that maul home a while back reporting on another "mass shooting." Rather than give straight information, the reporting crew interviewed people who whined about how bad guns are.

That was it. On that day, I turned off NPR and walked away. Ain't been back and don't plan to go back.

CONSTITUTION

It comes down to a matter of rights and Constitution. That grand old document says nothing about taxpayer funding any media outlets. Well, I can't find it anyway. If you can, please point it out.

So, eliminate it.

If you demand taxpayer funding for such media, cool. Work to Amend the Constitution. I'll fight you over that. If it passes, I will fight to repeal it.

FREEDOM

This is freedom for public broadcasting across the nation. If this passes, public broadcasting outlets are no longer tied to the capricious whims of an elected body that does not truly represent constituents. Ahem. Is anyone at PBS reading this?

PBS is now free to find its own way and its own source of revenue.

Taxpayer funding, as those at PBS constantly point out, is a very small percentage of their income.1% to 10%. The rest comes from donations and, yes, advertising. PBS will tell you it is not advertising, but recognizing the support these companies provide. PBS does not accept advertising, they say.

Looks like a duck, talks like and duck and walks like a duck, pretty sure it ain't a rhino.

Cut those "support" announcements and see how long those companies would continue to give money.

YOU GIVE

Like PBS, NPR, GPB or whatever it is in your state? Give 'em money direct from your wallet.

YAY! Good'un onya mate. You go! Go shawty, go shawty!

Just do not steal from me to fund them. Let me decide where my money goes.

If PBS believes its liberal base is enough to support its mission, then let 'em prove it. Let them live it exactly the same way private media companies around the nation do every single day.

In case you don't wonder, cantservatives are more giving than liarberals. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34429211/