Of all the things that George Bush has ever said that I disagree with, perhaps the thing that bothers me most is how he derides and degrades the American tradition of seeing and seeking a better future. He mocks it as the “vision thing.”
But just remember what the Scripture says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
I hope nobody in this great hall tonight, or in our beloved country has to go through tomorrow without a vision. I hope no one ever tries to raise a child without a vision. I hope nobody ever starts a business or plants a crop in the ground without a vision. For where there is no vision, the people perish.
One of the reasons we have so many children in so much trouble in so many places in this nation is because they have seen so little opportunity, so little responsibility, so little loving, caring community, that they literally cannot imagine the life we are calling them to lead.
And so I say again: Where there is no vision, America will perish.
Of course, amateur radio is just a hobby, but doing great things always starts with a vision. If you have a vision for what you want to do in amateur radio, there’s more of a chance that you’ll do something fun and exciting. That could be providing emergency communications or building a software-defined radio or even writing amateur radio license study guides. It might seem that encouraging you to have a vision about a hobby is taking it a bit far, but seriously, you will have more fun with amateur radio if you think about what drew you to the hobby in the first place and then set some goals. Doing so will keep you engaged and help you do cool things.
K3NG says
Vision is critical to keeping amateur radio going into the future. We beat our heads against the wall trying to figure out how to attract young people into the hobby. Some say there’s a problem with too many old people in amateur radio. I’ve come to realize it’s not an age problem, but more so with attitude. Too often there’s no vision, and more an attitude of “I got mine” and preserving the status quo. Vision creates a window into the future of what amateur radio can be. While some visions may be idealistic or unrealistic, it gives us something to aspire to. I think this is what attract newcomers to amateur radio.