“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch!”

Common Lunan settler exclamation from “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” By. Robert A. Heinlein

Growing the Chapter Product

Basic Assumptions

Every chapter is different. Unavoidably, each reflects the talents, interests, and priorities of its most driven officers. But perhaps this is not how it should be. Let’s ask the pointed question: should the chapter be a “narrow tent” or a wide one?

Clearly some voices clamor for a restrictive read:
“A Space Activist is one who works to move the political
establishment to a more aggressive public space program.”

Happily, that has in recent years been largely amended to include agitation for legislation more favorable to private sector space activity. Even so corrected, the definition is horse-blindered, self-crippling, fundamentalist, dogmatic, paramilitary hogwash.

Narrow Tent vs. Wide Tent Definitions:

Even in cases where the chapter inspirators have
another agenda, such as public outreach, the monocular
“Narrow Tent mentality” works inexorably to restrict the
Chapter Product to express the talents and interests of those
taking charge.

Yet each chapter surely has members whose personal approaches would differ, whose interests and talents are better applied to projects not even thought of by the chapter leaders. It is high time we all adopt a Wide Tent definition.

“A Space Activist is anyone who exercises his or her
own talents, whatever they may be, to advance the cause
of the realization of an open space frontier:”

Adopt such a definition and the door is unlocked to a whole slew of projects, even be they one-person endeavors undertaken under the aegis or umbrella of the chapter. Why not? What bible says every chapter project has to be a Team Project, much less a project undertaken by all (read ‘anyone uninterested should stay home’)? It is time to respect our individual chapter members and grow the Chapter Product to reflect their interests and talents and aptitudes and agendas.

To do this, we must get to know much more about each of our chapter members.