>Subject: AOPA’s rejection of all manufacturers presenting
> at the September ‘98 National meeting in Chicago
I have no proof the above is true. If it is that’s a shame. Even if it
is not, I have a few thoughts. These are my opinions and not that of my
company.
This is a strange industry. Having worked in many, some of which are
much more cut throat, I find the almost paranoid attitude I occasionally
encounter from a FEW people about supposed evil commercial interests very
odd. Yes, there are the very FEW Guy Smiley, hand-in-your-pocket people
and companies in this industry as in any. But these bad eggs are evident
and shunned to their economic detriment. In general, I have found the
O&P business to be different. It is almost like a big family. How many
fields exist where the competition actually help each other?
I am, and will always be, a spokesman for amputee issues first. One of
the things we amputees want is better products and technology and at
reasonable prices. It does not serve that end to bite the hands that
feed this goal. Unbridled commercialism is a bad thing, having as its
highest value the acquisition of wealth by any means, crooked or
straight. I find such a posture refreshingly absent in the O&P business.
But I am bothered by what I see as an “economic correctness” that all
manufacturers care about is money. Perhaps some do, but worse can be
what the New Testament describes as “evil suspicion”. In this case, the
suspicion of impropriety is itself the greater evil. Once you let that
genie out of the bottle, it can run amok. It results in a loss of
innocence and freedom, as suspicion of motives abounds. The appearance
of impropriety can be a straw man to be knocked down in a power play, and
the process of maintaining an ideological purity by force or rule can be
more damaging than leaving well enough alone and letting the industry
self police by shunning the true pariahs. In this case, the evident
“cure” can kill more than the disease.
Have I missed the mark totally? Have I misunderstood the aim of AOPA?
Even if I have, I think the issue is a good one to raise to a higher
level of consciousness.
Chris (CJ) Johnson (speaking for himself!!)
