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P.O. Box 160223 Nashville, Tn 37216-0223 615 262-1119 - Office
| February 2003 I keep hearing that patience is a virtue. I suspect in a lot of things that is true. It better be with my 401K and I hope it is with the investment in my house. It hasn’t been too much of a virtue when looking for a spouse as I’m still looking and I’m well past that ‘spring chicken’ stage. I’ve never had kids but I gather from those of you who do that patience is essential. Patience is required for some things – hunting deer and elk – I know this for a fact. It is required for getting through family gatherings during holiday seasons. It is essential for certain types of cooking – none of which I’m too familiar with. Patience is the art of ‘doing nothing’ for a purpose. There are times I wish I had more patience. It might have kept me from making a fool of myself or doing something that in hindsight was stupendously ridiculous. However, there are times when patience, or its insidious cousin of ‘doing nothing for no reason’ are the enemy. Sometimes patience isn’t the right course of action – like now. We are in a battle, actually, a series of battles that require vigilance. Thomas Jefferson said, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." Then there is one of Murphy’s Laws, “Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse” While we weren’t looking our patient adversaries were waiting us out, waiting for an opening, ready to exploit our inattention and trusting nature. We believe people will deal with us in the way we deal with them – logically, open, above board, using the facts as they are rather than as they can be construed. While we were doing this they snuck up with HIPAA, EPA and End of Life legislation. It’s no longer a battle in individual states about freedom of choice. What good is the right not to wear a helmet if you don’t want to if the bike can’t be licensed? They patiently wait us out and incrementally achieve their goals. No matter the cause, it’s always ‘for the children’ or ‘if it saves just one life’ or something that takes just a little bit more liberty away but for a good reason. P.J. O'Rourke said, “There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.” The problem is that in this society no one is ever responsible for themselves anymore. It is always someone else’s fault. Once it becomes the fault of someone else this begs for intervention by a regulating authority – read: government. What does this have to do with patience? All that has to happen for them to win is small victories. They are very patient. We can’t afford to be. It’s like a snake eating a mouse. Ninety percent of the mouse may yet need to be swallowed by the snake but it is no freer than if it was completely consumed already. It’s just a matter of time. I recently heard a candidate for office in Kentucky ask the question, “What is the role of government? It is to protect you from me and me from you. It is not to protect you from you or me from me.” Now is not the time to be patient. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to contact legislators, open up dialog, and get involved. Now is the time to work with your motorcycle rights organizations. Now is the time to stand up to ridicules regulations like the EPA has proposed. Now is the time to raise money for your chapters or charters. Now is the time to increase membership. Now is the time to support the efforts of those protecting your Right to Ride. For if you do not, are you sure there will be another opportunity when you fell like getting around it? Until later, just ride. Steve |
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