From: robtelee@yabbs
To: JasonLee@yabbs
Subject: Innovation
Date: Wed Feb 16 00:58:24 1994

In your last post, you mention innovation.  Yes, I would agree that it 
will be a while before society will change.  Yet the means to change are 
with us at the present time.  I have noticed on other boards here that 
change is a constant subject.  You have discussed these changes with other 
members of the cyber-community.  I would venture to say that as you grow 
older, some of the changes you advocate will not seem as radical as the 
ones advocated by the next generation.  The changes advocated by my 
generation were considered radical for their times.  Some, however, that 
have been implemented are considered "mainstream" today.  According to the 
generation coming up now, they do not go far enough.  Change requires time 
and a consensus, not just a slap-dash approach to problems.

Innovation, is considered heresy by some.  "Why change if our system 
works?",  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  These are common quotes used 
to resist the innovation you so ardently strive for.  Our system is geared 
toward change.  If change is gradual, it is tried and utilized and 
adopted.  If too radical, no one will even give the changes a fair 
hearing.  This is the beauty of our system.  The Constitution has survived 
for over 200 years without any major changes since the original was 
passed.  This only emphasizes my point that change, for the most part, 
must be gradual.

Consider first the amendment that gave the vote to eighteen year olds.  It 
was first proposed during the height of the war in VietNam.  The reasoning 
behind it was that if one was old enough to die for one's country, one 
should have a say in who would make the decisions on who and what to die 
for.  It was eventually passed for just that purpose.  But the change of 
mind-set was a gradual process, that took a few years.  Now, the vote by 
eighteen year olds is considered mainstream, not the radical proposal that 
it was in the late 1960's.

Another example of change was the amendment that ended slavery in the 
United States.  This issue had been in the forefront of American politics 
for a good fifty years before it eventually led to a civil war.  Even 
afterward, the ideas embodied in the basic concepts were radical and 
considered heresy by some of the leading politicians of the period.  It 
was not until the Brown v. Board of Education decision that ALL citizens 
were granted equal access to ALL facilities.  Again, this was a concept 
that took time to evolve.

You may be correct in thinking that there may not be a reason to make 
"American Graffiti" for the 1980's.  Some, however, may disagree with you 
and consider that period as one of our better times.  One has to look at 
the entire spectrum of events that took place during that period.  
National pride was emphasized and strides were made to make the US a 
better nation.  There were other things that were not handled very well.  
Iran-Contra, AIDS, and the problem of crime come to mind.  But, I feel 
that we are making progress.  In order to change what we do not agree 
with, we must be patient.  Radicals who are too strident do not get what 
is needed.

Your comments, as always, are welcome.

Robt E. Lee