A sociologist of the mid 1930's proposed a description for a social condition he observed in changes of the time period, his name was Robert Merton. His assessment was that individuals within a given culture can reach a stage in their development where they become frustrated and lose perspective of the values or virtues available within their existence. He called this disassociative behavior anomie.

Many popular psychologists have decried the decline of our culture, and relate this occurrence with displeasure. They stress that it is responsibility and moral rectitude that is the solution. Is a process taking place in Amateur Radio that has as close a corollary to that malaise and anomie that is seen in the public at large? Ham Radio in earlier times was buffered from this by a sense of camaraderie and destiny of purpose. I believe it also helped that the testing process to obtain an Amateur Radio license was also more meaningful.

I recently had the occasion to be listening to the 17 meter band, and heard an interesting occurrence. We were at this time period on the down hill side of the 28 day Earth-Sun position, and the solar indices was at 94, 7, 4. I heard a "K9" station in the midwest of our country talking with an "ON7" in Belgium. The midwestern Ham was saying that the signal was weak and somewhat watery sounding but, that the stations copyability was adequate. The K9 kept his conversation (QSO) short, and commented that he was sure others would be along that would want an ON7 contact. He speculated that the Belgian station probably also wanted to try to work stations that were further west.

Another midwest KD9 came along and the Belgian station had a brief QSO with him. While they were doing this, several stations began tuning up on frequency, and for the next few minutes any intelligible signals were effectively obscured and "QRM'ed" from my ability to receive. At this point another midwest station came on frequency, made a brief call for another stateside station, and began an in depth QSO about matters which sounded familiar to both. As I listened I gathered that they must have arranged this contact from a just previous 2 meter VHF QSO, and were picking up where they left off.

This latest calling Ham never asked if the frequency was being used by calling QRL before he made his call to his friend. I guessed that he had been one of the Hams tuning up over the top of all communication on frequency. He never checked the viability of longer communication on the band, and merely continued a QSO that could have evidently been handled on 2 meters. He in fact treated the rest of his conversation in a casual manner with no regard for the nature of the wavelength band, the physics involved in the communication, or for that matter any other concept relating to the value of use of these frequencies. I got the impression of someone who has just caused a fatal automobile collision on the highway, and blithely and ignorantly continues his trip without ever looking in the rear view mirror to realize what he has just done!

A few years ago another Ham and I had speculated on the nature of the then new "World Administrative Radio Conference" (W.A.R.C. now W.R.C.) allocated bands. He characterized these bands as the "gentleman's bands". I thought even at the instant he used this description that it suited these frequencies very well. That was almost six years ago now, and the operation is typically not what could be called gentlemanly.

Ham radio in general has I think been disparaged and diminished in its overall quality. I suspect that this has been true for longer than the thirty-one years I have been involved. It may well be that the same political forces that allowed it to be more easily accessed by me, were working even then to accomplish this decay. It appears to me now however that this process is accelerating at a much more rapid pace.

A solution to this might be provided in the thoughts of the modern day psychologists I mentioned earlier. They recommend responsibility, and suggest that all worthwhile values stem from this. I think they are right but, there is even more to be considered. If we do not carefully look at our history and where it is that we as an avocation came from, if we don't attempt to look toward what our avocation has been, we will have no proper perspective to work toward as we seek to advance the "state of the art".

We are supposed to be advancing the CONCEPTS contained in the Federal Communications Commission rule 97.1 A,B,C,D, and E. My particular bias accentuates parts B,C, and D. I would doubt the above mentioned Ham who came on 17 Meters from the 2 Meter band does this in any regard. I suspect he has never given it a thought! I also hear more and more Hams where I would doubt their knowledge, rectitude, and abilities. I wonder where we are going? How is it that our values are becoming shrunken and sallow. I finally wonder if we will see and appreciate what we are losing, before its entirely gone!