I've thought about hams' place in the scheme of things for a long time, and today I've had some new thoughts I feel some urgency to share given the way our world is turning.
For the sake of discussion, let's filter out best we can politics, religion, economics, all the rhetorical angels and demons, and try focus on how our technical brother/sisterhood might be instrumental in preserving and protecting what's good about life --the core goodnesses that spring from sovereignty of the individual.
When, as Yeats described, "Things fall apart, the center cannot hold," when belief in central authority decays, regardless of political flavor, individuals need to stay in touch more than ever. The Net nourishes that need, but its feeding tubes can be selectively pinched, and its mains shut off, so it seems, with no more than a wink and a nod.
That leaves hundreds of thousands of individual ops with rigs and antennas...and not a few with off-grid power. Us. The donut eaters, the county hunters, me and you, as Mad Magazine once characterized its staff, the usual gang of idiots. For all the uninentional humor of "When All Else Fails," the goofy whacker hype seems, gasp!...true. Sure, central authority knows where we live. Sure, a burst of EMP here, a jammer there, you geeks can probably a supply a mile long list of how we all could be shut down -- and yes, I'm aware just how cheezy romantic and self-flattering such scenarios can be. But I'll bet effectively shutting us down...and, here's the kicker...plus individuals we empowered with hybrid hacked phones and tablets...might not be so easy. And right now, while our active numbers are legion and growing, there's still AC power and big bandwidth. Hmmm.
No, this is a not a call to soldering guns. I think this would happen organically. Just like gardners will garden, cooks will cook, hunters will put meat on the table and teachers will get back to A, B, and C. Our clan, I think, would communicate the info and inspiration we'd all need to share. Plus a lot of bullshit. Ain't nothin' new under this sun.
About those empowered individuals. Every new licensed ham is one of those. And if at some point, the FCC gets shed like a snakeskin, the brother and sisterhood would carry on, just like it did before the Federal Oligarchs muscled-in.
About those hybrid hacked radio phones and tablets. Now I'm moving from out of my depth to open ocean. I tried to think what could be done outside the internet, without cell towers, little radios networked independently, with current, familiar phones and tablets as the interface. I dunno. Perhaps your mind doesn't boggle.
Now I'll shut up. Burst my bubble, chime in, take the thread and run, please. Of all places to ask for incoming, this be the place.
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Originally Posted by W3WN
