The voluntary approach to metrication has one fatal flaw: it leaves it up to
everyday people, who, honestly, have more important things to obsess on.
Bitch and moan though some may, most neither care about metrication *nor*
saving Flintstone Units. They simply don't care very much about the subject,
at least not to the degree we do.
On the other hand, they don't normally feel a need to *prevent* metrication,
either...in fact, the prevailing attitude among persons my age (35±) and
under is, "We probably *should* go metric, but *I'm* not gonna volunteer". So
everyone waits for the other guy (or girl) to go first, and no-one does.
Therefore, I definitely support a federally mandated approach, but not along
the lines of, "okay, everyone, we're all metric in ten minutes." The "Hondo"
approach is worse than the voluntary one, in that we'll try to change
everything at once, screw it up badly, then revert...anytime anyone suggests
trying again, opponents will point to the previous fiasco and declare, "See!"
To do it right, do it painlessly, and do it permanently, we need:
* To devise a firm timetable AND STICK TO IT (pardon my caps)
* To show that it really will be good for business and industry, and even the
general public
* To dispel this downright idiotic notion that metric is "un-American" or
"counter-Canadian" (We didn't invent FFU, either!)
* To not waste time on pointless, trivial "improvements" like renaming
ten-gallon hats, foot-long hot-dogs and Three Mile Island, PA, and
silly acts of "dekaphillia" (Does *anyone* sell a "dek-ova" of eggs in place
of 12? Anywhere?)
* Finally, to reassure people that their familiar IFP won't disappear
overnight and leave them in a lurch; it's a transition, not a blitzkrieg;
grandpa won't have to trash his '74 Buick just because there are no km/h on
the speedometer
Remember, we're not a band of militant nerds hell-bent on dumping the apple
cart:
We're folks who love our respective countries and their people, and want to
bring about a much-needed — and long overdue — improvement to them.
Randi (The Long-winded)
