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Up the Rebels
One man, one vote is an idea whose time has come in so much of the world… but not in the NAPA, I’m afraid.
Joe Curran revealed the extent of his disappointment in a post-convention Rendezvous 29: “The amendment to grant all members who are current in their dues the right to vote is dead… May it rest in peace.”
For six years Joe has fought the good fight. As an idealist, he thought enough fair-minded members would join with those able to vote in 1986 thanks to his publishing efforts to pass his amendment. But he was doomed to a letdown.
Curran knew that when the forces of reaction convened over the Fourth of July weekend they would close ranks to turn back this threat to their sovereignty. He knew from past experience that they would pull out all stops to keep the “unwashed ones” from the ballot box. I’m sure Joe wasn’t even surprised when they resorted to emotional threats… or to paraphrase Patrick Henry: “Give me minority rule or give me death!”
But what Joe hadn’t anticipated was the apathy of the very people he was trying to help. Only 32 of the 115 newly eligible voters bothered to cast their ballots… and only 11 more votes would have meant victory for the amendment.
Joe and I share the same ethnic background and if he has read any Irish history he knows that the patriots who for generations fought in the cause of Irish freedom, usually did so without the support of their countrymen. When the survivors of the 1916 Easter rebellion were being marched to prison, they were jeered and cursed by the Dubliners.
Nevertheless, each new generation spawns another cadre of Fenian heroes ready to carry the torch for the Irish nation, Perhaps the NAPA will also give rise to a new generation of ajay who is outraged at the power wielded by a minority.
Keep the faith, Joe.
Short Takes
It’s a damn shame the Constitution (May it last forever… and it probably will) mandates publication of convention minutes in the September National Amateur. If you also belong to the American, I’d suggest you compare those 14 dry pages with Les Boyer’s five pages of sparkling prose in the November American Amateur Journalist describing the AAPA 50th Anniversary convention.
Every now and then the Inner Circle crosses me up. I never thought they would allow Mike Horvat to occupy the president’s chair.
Recruiting Chairman Harold Segal was quite successful in signing up new members from the AAPA rolls. Shades of Ed Cole! I wonder if Harold too, paid their dues.
“Joe, we are not a house divided,” the convention minutes quote Al Fick. I must disagree with my friend Al. There are those who attend conventions and those who don’t. This division will last as long as proxy voters feel cheated.
Assorted Insults
If you think Bill Haywood drives bad, you should see him putt… They say that dogs take the characteristics of their owners and that’s probably true. Vic Moitoret has a dog that chases bones and buries cars… Roy Lindberg usually arrives late at the convention because of heritage. His ancestors came over on the Juneflower… Harold Segal’s credit is so bad, the stores won’t even accept his cash… Al Fick is so dumb he thinks a wafer is a young waffle… Sheldon Wesson says Helen’s coffee is grounds for divorce… Gale Sheldon thinks “Close Encounters” is a new deodorant spray… We hear Joe Diachenko had another operation: a charisma bypass… There is no job too difficult for Bill Boys to screw up… Nils Bull Young keeps a box of empty beer cans in the closet for friends who don’t drink… Phil Parr knows what he can do with his Steinlager beer!
National Calamity 59 has been handset in Garamont types and printed on a C & P 8×12 by Fred Liddle, Tampa, FL 33606.