[CW] Dumb down not justified - excuse the abortion, I accidentally hit `send' for `spell check'

[W2AGN]

On 6 Jul 2003 at 18:49, Ronald KA4INM Youvan wrote:

>    The novice 40 meter assignment deep within the European broadcast
> band has historically been devastating to novices trying to upgrade
> to general, for those that didn't have room to put up an eighty meter
> antenna especially those that "home built" a 80/40 meter transmitter,
> very common in the 50's and 60's.  Do you remember being rock bound?
>    I remember adding a 500 Hz crystal lattice filter to my receiver
> in the early 60's and I found a few QSO's tucked one or two hundred Hz
> from the carrier of radio Moscow for a lack of free room between the
> sidebands of the high power BC stations.  * BFO not needed or desired
>    Without room for QSO's the daily practice couldn't occur so they
> couldn't reach 13 wpm within the year, so we lost many fine hams.
> I have talked with hundreds over the last 40 years, asking mostly
> about antennas over my house or on my car, they said: `I was a novice
> when I was a kid, but I couldn't get my code up to 13 within the year
> so I had to give it up.'
>

<snip>

You have made a point in favor of that which you argue against. I started 
out as a crystal-controlled Novice in February 1958 (Age 14). I made MANY 
contacts in that "unusable" 40M CW band with my old Globe Chief and 
Knight R100A (later replaced with an NC-183D). Sure it was sometimes 
difficult, but to some, the challenge made it fun, not an excuse to give 
up. I passed my General in September of the same year. 

I firmly believe, although I am called an old curmudgeon and misanthrope 
for saying so, that we are better off WITHOUT those who chose to "give 
up."  I believe Darwin had a similar theory, he called it "Natural 
Selection."

Unfortunately, challenges are considered "politically incorrect" these 
days. Anything that prevents the laziest, or, dare I say, dumbest person 
to get what he wants is frowned upon, and probably overturned in the 
courts at the behest of the ACLU. Illiterates graduate from High School 
(and College, too, if they can play Basketball). It is sad to see the 
same movement "giving away" a hobby and pursuit I have enjoyed for 44+ 
years.

---
+-++-++-++-++-+   John L. Sielke
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