I wrote a nice email to BoatU.S. complimenting them for opposing more regulation and licensing. (See the last post) I got a nice email back that was a little non-committal about licensing. That's because a poll of BoatU.S. members showed that the majority, 61%, favored mandatory education for boaters. More than half disagreed with having to carry a separate boating license, however.
That's not a huge blow for freedom. There are very few of us left who believe that freedom for it's own sake is a value and that freedom doesn't require justification. Why automatically assume that freedom will be abused? Remember, it's in your own best interest to get educated about boating. You don't want to end up a statistic. That's what this blog and RiverGrizzly.com are about, educating boaters.
If you disagree with me and believe that education should be mandatory or that small craft operators should be licensed, then start with yourself and take a safe boating course or a kayak course or a canoe course. If enough of you succeed in making education mandatory then I can shut down this site and do more boating myself.
Alright, I'll get off of my soapbox now. I just wanted to tell you something about my motivation for this blog and RiverGrizzly.com. Next time I'll return to education.
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