You are more eloquent than I, but I agree with what
you say 100%.
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> 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)
>
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