Wetlands, IKBOD, BLBOD, and Me
[08/28/2002] [Baronet Karlriche]I have been reading... and reading... and reading e-mails and essays about the Wetlands issue for months now. I see no end in sight; no matter what Wetlands does now, correct itself or remain as is, the issue will remain and people will discuss it for years and cite it as an example of one thing or another. Why is this? Because no one is looking at the whole picture, only a little bits of it, one at a time, and seeing each of them as the whole. This issue is actually several issues, including (but not limited to): What rights do Kingdoms have? What responsibilities do Kingdoms have to other Kingdoms and the larger Official Amtgard circle as a whole? What role does the BLBOD play in removal of Kingdom Status? What role does the Circle of Monarchs play in the same? What are the criteria for losing kingdom status? Would we be better off with a governing body of elected representatives? And finally, what can I do, myself, to effect any changes on any of the issues that I feel need changing? Do we see a problem here yet? While each of these may be linked to each other, it takes them all to make the entire picture that we are looking at, and so each must be addressed before any long term solution can be made. This is not something that can be done overnight, nor in a few days, or even (probably) a couple of months. It will take time, patience, leadership, and diplomacy to effect any changes on our current system. But it has to start at the bottom. The foundation needs to be solid or everything else will crash around it. Amtgard is like a tree; so long as its core remains healthy, it can grow and prosper, but if the core sickens, the tree weakens, and may fall, rotting from the inside out. So each individual in each group needs to ensure that he is doing everything he can to improve and strengthen his own group. Herein lies the most important of the questions listed above; what can I do? The answer: anything you want, just shut up and do it. We have talked, and talked and talked about getting this done. Each person has a different vision of how it should be; well so did our Founding Fathers, but that didnt stop them. I have recently heard that it will take a group in an established position of authority to take the lead in this for it to work; most of our Founding Fathers were not in positions of authority, they included the riflemen, the brewers, the merchants, farmers, smiths, etc without whom we would not have won. They all got involved. They all united for a cause. Even if they didnt agree on the final product, they agreed to work together to get it done. And so must we. Each one of us, stop talking about doing it, and join together, and get it done.
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