[Psml] USPS MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT CHANGE?

Sun, 3 Sep 2006 12:32:31 -0400

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=0D=0AIt seems to me that the key component in getting people to respect th=
e offices held in the USPS or the ensign or even the squadron burgees is pr=
ide of membership. If you have had to accomplish or be something special to=
 be a member, you are more inclined to be proud of your membership and prou=
d to fly the flags and thus respect even more those who have gone on ahead =
and learned even more than you for advanced grades and all the electives.

Conversely, without having to accomplish or be anything special to join the=
 USPS, there is no sense of accomplishment and thus no pride in belonging, =
and this is followed by an eroding respect for the organization and its ear=
lier values since they are less and less a part of what the USPS stands for.

Were it widely accepted that you could get a college degree for the same le=
vel of work as a High School diploma and for about the same cost, how much =
value would people place in having a college degree? When we remove all or =
most of the requirement for membership in the USPS, we should expect that t=
here be a proportional drop in the value held in membership by those in and=
 outside of the USPS.=20

Now that states begin to require base boating education to operate boats fo=
r all boaters, we should not be lowering our standards, but rather perhaps =
raising them. Who among us would pay annual dues and volunteer time and eff=
ort to join a safe driving club if it required no more expertise than a dri=
ver's license and had no more prestige than than any state approved driver =
would have? Why then, should we expect pride in membership in the USPS when=
 the bar is the same as the minimum to operate a boat at all?

I was fortunate to be in a boating family when growing up during what is no=
w probably the heyday of the USPS, the mid 1970s. I passed the many week be=
ginner course with charts and so forth as a 13 year old so I could be an ap=
prentice member. I was very proud of that distinction then. We had a very a=
ctive squadron where everyone flew the flags, even me in my 12' outboard th=
at I set up for and passed the Courtesy Examination then exclusively admini=
stered by the CGA. I do not now own a boat and do not foresee where I ever =
will again. I am involved now because I believe there is a need for what I =
grew up in, and consequently helped start our new squadron here in the Gold=
en Isles of Georgia, (www.gisps.org) I hope we can find a way to make membe=
rship something to be proud of again, something to be sought after; not som=
ething that "comes in a cereal box" when you pass the minimum requirements =
of the state to operate a boat. I would never have paid good money to join =
the USPS when I was a kid if it just meant that I was equally to be respect=
ed as everyone else, regardless of effort or sacrifice.

The USPS has to make a fundamental decision about whether it wants to offer=
 a membership that is simply a more expensive reminder of meeting minimum s=
tate requirements or whether it wants membership to be respected and sought=
 after. I hope we opt for the latter, or I have wasted a lot of effort here=
 to begin something that will never be.

-Lt. Com. Karl E. Peters  (Administrative Officer and Webmaster, Golden Isl=
es Sail and Power Squadron)
(912) 638-1638
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It seems to me that the key component in getting people to respect the o=
ffices held in the USPS or the ensign or even the squadron burgees is pride=
 of membership. If you have had to accomplish or be something special to be=
 a member, you are more inclined to be proud of your membership and proud t=
o fly the flags and thus respect even more those who have gone on ahead and=
 learned even more than you for advanced grades and all the electives.
 
Conversely, without having to accomplish or be anything special to join =
the USPS, there is no sense of accomplishment and thus no pride in belongin=
g, and this is followed by an eroding respect for the organization and its =
earlier values since they are less and less a part of what the USPS stands =
for.
 
Were it widely accepted that you could get a college degree for the same=
 level of work as a High School diploma and for about the same cost, how mu=
ch value would people place in having a college degree? When we remove all =
or most of the requirement for membership in the USPS, we should expect tha=
t there be a proportional drop in the value held in membership by those in =
and outside of the USPS. 
 
Now that states begin to require base boating education to operate boats=
 for all boaters, we should not be lowering our standards, but rather perha=
ps raising them. Who among us would pay annual dues and volunteer time and =
effort to join a safe driving club if it required no more expertise than a =
driver's license and had no more prestige than than any state approved driv=
er would have? Why then, should we expect pride in membership in the USPS w=
hen the bar is the same as the minimum to operate a boat at all?
 
I was fortunate to be in a boating family when growing up during what is=
 now probably the heyday of the USPS, the mid 1970s. I passed the many week=
 beginner course with charts and so forth as a 13 year old so I could be an=
 apprentice member. I was very proud of that distinction then. We had a ver=
y active squadron where everyone flew the flags, even me in my 12' outboard=
 that I set up for and passed the Courtesy Examination then exclusively adm=
inistered by the CGA. I do not now own a boat and do not foresee where I ev=
er will again. I am involved now because I believe there is a need for what=
 I grew up in, and consequently helped start our new squadron here in the G=
olden Isles of Georgia, (<A class=3DRVTS6 href=3D"www.gisps.org">www.gisps.=
org</A>) I hope we can find a way to make membership something to be proud =
of again, something to be sought after; not something that "comes in a cere=
al box" when you pass the minimum requirements of the state to operate a bo=
at. I would never have paid good money to join the USPS when I was a kid if=
 it just meant that I was equally to be respected as everyone else, regardl=
ess of effort or sacrifice.
 
The USPS has to make a fundamental decision about whether it wants to of=
fer a membership that is simply a more expensive reminder of meeting minimu=
m state requirements or whether it wants membership to be respected and sou=
ght after. I hope we opt for the latter, or I have wasted a lot of effort h=
ere to begin something that will never be.
 
-Lt. Com. Karl E. Peters&nbsp; (Administrative Officer and Webmaster, Go=
lden Isles Sail and Power Squadron)
(912) 638-1638

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