importation discussion and PBS

Kenneth Hixson khixson@nu-world.com
Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:51:15 PST
Dear Members of the PBS list:

	I mostly lurk, but I'm going to add to this discussion
for a reason:  I value this list because I value other people's
opinions and experiences, precisely because they are different from 
mine.  If I didn't value other people's different opinions, the
only reason to belong would be to brag about how well I do with my
plants.  Well, I'm not perfect, and amazingly enough, I don't
expect other people to be either.  When the "discussion" gets
to the point that members start writing of not posting anymore,
it has gone too far.  We all lose.
	Mary Sue and company do a lot of work, and their thank you
is the continuation of the result of their work, which is the
PBS list.  Well, they do get thanked once in a while, but not
as much as they deserve.  And, yes, I'm guilty of that too.

	That said, do I have opinions?  Of course.  Prohibition
doesn't work, whether it is alcohol, drugs like marijuana, guns,
or even plants.  It does slow down the spread of such things,
and sometimes gives government agencies time enough to work out
a strategy of response.  Whether or not the price you pay for
government action is more than the cost of no government action
may be open to different opinions.  William Aley has given an
insider's view of how the system works.  I don't like the system,
think it needs many changes, but, I'm not involved in the day-to-day
operations of the system, and he is.  Complaining to the PBS
list, or to him, is almost certainly less effective than expressing
your opinion to your congressman or senator.  Hint, hint.
	You might also keep in mind that the PBS list doesn't just
serve one country, it goes around the world, and so does what you say.
As Mr Aley has already mentioned, what you post will be seen by
anyone searching similar topics--I've already been referred to
comments I've previously posted while searching for information on 
various things.  It can be a little scary.

	So, please, keep having "differences of opinion", but
express them in a way that adds to understanding, not causing
people to feel they need to defend themselves.  If you do things
differently, see things differently than I do or see them, my
way may be better, or it may not.  I can learn from the way you
do things, the way you see things.  Perhaps the reverse is true.

Ken


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