[Paddlewise] Licensing

Twenty-six years ago, a reviewer criticized my book "A Guide to Paddle
Adventure" for having omitted mention of the ACA.  Actually, I was flattered.
The decision to omit ACA was considered and intentional.  The theme of the
book was that a canoe or kayak is a basic vehicle in which anyone can achieve
a world of enjoyment very inexpensively.  The rewards are spiritual.  The last
thing I wanted to promote was hierarchy and excusion in a hobby that in those
days could be accessed by all.  Learning yes, of course, but not ranking and,
eventually, required courses and licensing.





Now that my hair is gray, I still retch at the mention of certification,
because I see it as a precursor to licensing.  (Admittedly, it might be an
alternative rather than a precursor; but it would be a stifling one.)  Sure
there are fools on the water. Powerboaters and kayakers both.   I have had
power boaters try to swamp me; and having once been a power boater, I can tell
some tales that would raise your hair.   But must the American police state
regulate everything?  And everyone?  IMHO, on balance, government is a far
more pernicious enemy of joy than any power boater.  





Case in point:  Two years ago, an Illinois DNR macho man mounted guard over my
handmade boat because I had not yet received my license numbers in the mail.
Since I was not carrying the correspondence and cancelled check relative to
the application, I was forbidden to launch. Entire weekend spoiled.





When an unobtrusive person cannot put a tiny boat in the Mississippi River
without first proving to a cop that the state has stolen his money, things
have gone way too far.  It will only be worse when the police state licenses
the paddler as well as the boat.  I will put up with a hell of a lot of
rudeness and stupidity and worse to be spared such a situation.





Now, I know the world has passed me by.  The police state has become so
paradigmatic that few on the list will have any understanding, let alone
sympathy for my position.  But, as for me, count one vote for not only
preventing but rolling back all licensing of paddlers (as well as canoes and
kayaks) and for rolling back license requirements on power boaters, drivers,
gun owners, and all the other fools the various governments have decided are
too stupid to behave as the elites who govern us have decreed they should.  





Contrary to popular belief, these incursions have not made people behave
better.  They have simply made jobs for the bureaucrats who manage the system,
and in whose interest it is to promote still more licensing.  It's
autocatalytic, folks!





Rick









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