Giving back to our communities?

KD6MSI writes "I would like share some thoughts with my fellow hams that have been on my mind lately.



First a confession: I have been guilty in the past of getting caught up in a bit of righteous posturing. How many of us have found ourselves grumbling with attitude to match. "how dare they [The FCC, congress or whoever] mess with our amateur radio", we say. I have.



I will be stepping onto the soapbox temporarily, but I promise a minimum of posturing. Just a bit of light reading that (I Hope) will be thought provoking.



First, a reality check: We are not owners of spectrum, any more than commercial interests are. We are granted the use of spectrum as a privilege, and we must keep in mind that it is just that. A privilege, not a right. I believe that it is important to understand this basic principle.



We are licensed to share a preselected portion of radio spectrum, mainly because as a group we tend to be more involved in our communities. This activism makes us invaluable to our government because we are a ready resource in time of need (both in our own communities, and the communities of others) and our government need not devote any of it's own funds to keeping the "system" maintained. We do it for them, as part of our hobby. Of course, to a lesser extent, having a pool of technically savvy communication enthusiasts is an important part of any national defense system. But that is a stand-by use of the bands. The spirit of volunteerism is a daily and active role that hams play in every area of life from school ham clubs to the state office of emergency services.



Or do we?



I was drawn to amateur radio, almost ten years ago, by the attitudes and actions of ham friends that I knew. I saw a prevailing attitude that was unique, an attitude that said,



"I am an amateur radio operator. I believe in giving back to my community by volunteering and being active in community, emergency and charitable organizations. I do this because it is the right thing to do, and because I take pride in being a ham. I have been blessed and wish to return that blessing to others."



As I became involved in amateur radio, what really floored me is that I found this wonderful attitude to be typical of hams everywhere.This concept of giving back to others was implicitly understood in a way that was practically universal in the amateur service. And it didn't have to be spoken. It simply was. I wonder, is this still the case? What do you all think? Have we managed to carry on this tradition over the years, passing these values from one generation of hams to another? Or am I "out of touch"?



Do we as a group, understand, that we owe society our involvement? We owe a return on the investment that our country (and the world) has made in us. Giving back to our communities, serving as Elmers, being involved in disaster relief organizations - the list goes on and on - This is vital not only to the future of our service, but is something we should feel proud that we have an opportunity to be involved in, in a very unique way.



Lately I have seen some sniping between hams, perhaps because we are in the middle of some significant changes in ham radio. I like to think that we as hams have a brotherhood that binds us all, (this is not a sexist thing by the way). We should be supportive of each other and kind to newcomers and potential newcomers. We need to be mindful of our history and as much as possible in our busy lives, give back to the community. In the spirit of the service we are all a voluntary part of, the kind of attitude that originally attracted me to amateur radio must be fostered with new hams as well as seasoned ones.



I look forward to hearing the perspectives of my fellow hams.



Be of good cheer, Give back to your communities, Be kind to one another,



Mathew

kd6msi"