I cannot address the problem you have getting posted, but I sympathize.
I will take the liberty of adding the USMA address to this reply. I am
therefore removing the address of "Daniel Jackson" (an alias) because he
has not "played nicely with others" and has been removed from that mail
list. In fairness, I'm removing the other personal addresses; they will
see this via the list.
I'm not aware of anyone getting defensive about USMA. You had asked for
details of what USMA has done and is doing and I responded to answer
those questions, at least in part.
My sense of things, aided by conversations with folks at NIST and
elsewhere, is that it is NOT feasible to get our federal government to
mandate the metric system. Not now and perhaps not for many years. We're
having enough trouble pushing that boulder up the hill to get
"permissive" metric-only labeling. I've seen lichens grow faster.
I will repeat what I said a few times on the list in the past. We need a
"focusing event". Some call that a "tipping point". The Mars Climate
Orbiter loss held some promise of serving that purpose. But it did not
have the impact that "Silent Spring" did on environmental issues or
"Unsafe at any Speed" did on automotive safety. There needs to be a
concurrent political will to persuade the public as a bipartisan issue.
Politics are highly fractured right now and the rare confluences are
focused on other issues. In the minds of politicians and citizens,
metrication does not have the threat of dire consequences if not dealt
with, that energy and health care costs do.
Yes, I'm frustrated, too. My one remaining hope is that permissive
metric-only labeling will result in a shift in the marketplace that will
finally catch the attention of politicians, educators, journalists, and
citizens. I hope to live long enough to at least see the FPLA amended. I
will now take out my frustrations on the weeds in my 10 m by 12 m garden.
Jim
ernie edwards wrote:
It feels a bit weird to be trying to respond to USMA listserv
discussions without the ability to post.... such is life.
Any organization has the inherent reaction to protect itself if it feels
it is being attacked. I don't feel USMA is being attacked and certainly
not by me. I do feel that everyone who is reading this email supports
the need to convert to metric and all of us have different ways of
expressing and providing that action. I would hope the USMA recognizes
using and supporting that energy is in their best interest. If the USMA
wants to provide that type of support that is great but at some level I
really don't care how we get to mandatory metric, just that we do. It
can be through USMA, through an enlightened national political movement
or even one politician that "gets it", a group of individuals, whatever
or whomever that gets us there....
I feel that the longer we go down that "english" road the longer and
harder it will be to change directions and I also know we will change
directions.
I am up in Maine helping out a friend of mine who is meeting with some
contractors for a renovation on a house he owns. Yesterday the older
contractor pulls out his "english" tape measure and takes his notes and
I am sure he would be madder than hell to know I am trying to do what I
can do to get metric mandatory. I am also certain that he wants his son
to carry on his business after him and I see a relationship in what we
are doing to help make that happen . I will always convert in my head
from english to metric but there will come a time, I hope sooner than
later that the future architects and contractors will use metric and not
even think about it.
Some thoughts
Ernie
--
James R. Frysinger
632 Stony Point Mountain Road
Doyle, TN 38559-3030
(H) 931.657.3107
(C) 931.212.0267
