[at-l] Poles and holes...

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C.)]

>"....nobody is about to abandon their position. "

Like most of us, I've been in the mind changing business for most of my adult
life. I've learned that the human mind doesn't function like a switch --
especially when it involves our deep emotional beliefs, personal comfort or
pleasure.

But facts and debate do matter. They may not change minds quickly, but they
plant those tiny seeds that over the years, as more facts and debate ensue,
result in changes in public perceptions and activities.

Can dumps have disappeared. Bough beds are artifacts of the past. Campfires are
gradually disappearing. One of the most conservative towns in my section of
Maine -- that once ousted it's town meeting moderator because he had the
audacity to allow citizens to vote on a building code -- has evolved into an
active middle of the road town, that has endorsed every effort of a newly active
land trust by votes on the order of 200 to 20. The stench of paper mills has
changed from being thought of "the smell of money," to health-destroying air
pollution. Untreated overboard discharges of human wastes have ended and even
treated discharges are gradually disappearing. MATC, which for decades fought
involvement in political matters, last week voted to spend $25,000 scarce
dollars to pose a credible battle against an industrial wind tower complex along
the trail. And I haven't even mentioned national issues: the changes in
perceptions regarding race, sexual orientation, wilderness ... The list is
endless. I'm sure almost everyone on this list can cite many examples.

Weary