Re: Subject: [Harp-L] Re: SPAH Election - An Observation

[Bob Cohen <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mar 19, 2012, at 8:36 PM, EGS1217@xxxxxxx wrote:

> When you're at a Convention there is absolutely NONE of this nonsense going 
> on, in fact - this is the very first time I've read a post from ANY 
> candidate  for SPAH office write something so denigrating about another.  So take  
> it for what it's worth.

Are you suggesting Warren or I have written something untoward about Winslow?  Or that the issues raised are some how inappropriate? Would you please be so kind as to point out specific examples?  Whether successful or not, our intentions have always been to respectfully state our belief SPAH can be more than a convention and that it would benefit from an entrepreneurial management culture. If we have genuinely crossed the line into ad homenim rhetoric, I apologize in advance and will make the necessary changes. I got involved in SPAH because I love the harmonica and harmonica players, not to be unkind or stifle people with different opinions.

As you've pointed out, the convention, thank God, is free of politics. It's a week long harmonica party. And the folks currently sitting on the board have done an excellent job planning the party and playing host.

SPAH is also a business that has to sustain itself over time. It is also a non-profit organization with a specific mission. What you're seeing here and elsewhere are discussions about those aspects of the organization. And there are differences of opinion.

Dues paying members are the owners of the organization in addition to being party goers. Indeed, at any given time only about half attend the convention.  Most choose to party, which is great. Others, like Warren and me, gravitate toward organizational citizenship and are willing to take on behind the scenes roles. 

I've read the articles of incorporation and the by-laws, SPAHs founders gave the members the responsibility of shaping the organization's policies by virtue of their vote. Democracy is messy. In his speech to the House of Commons in 1947, Winston Churchill said, "Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or  all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

It's probably impossible to compete for office without offending people because contested elections require voters look in the mirror and ask "Who am I?"  "What do I stand for?" And after going through that exercise, lines in the sand get drawn and we tend to dislike people and ideas on "the wrong side."

Messy or not, SPAH will benefit from the contested election, regardless of who wins. Why? If for no other reason then those who participate in the process will have hand the opportunity to thoughtfully consider the status quo, which by the way is Latin for "the existing state of affairs." That's our true gift to SPAH. Winning the election pales in the light of the process.

Best,

Bob Cohen

---------
Vote for Bob Cohen and Warren Bachman for SPAH President/Vice President
Find us on the web at http://www.bobjcohen.org
Not a member? Join SPAH now: http://www.spah.org/index.php/join-renew