Thursday, July 01, 2010

Fiercely Independent Locksmiths of America

I woke up early from my slumbers to jot down a thought or two concerning the locksmith industry which I’ve been associated with since 1976. This weekend our country celebrates Independence Day, a chance to reflect on God having blessed us with our inalienable rights as declared some two hundred years ago.


“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”


In my mind that celebration has become tainted to some degree by an ever imposing host of entities, bureaucrats and self serving “blow-hards” who think they know better than me how to get the job done and yet have nothing invested in my business other than hot air. In spite of this, I continue to celebrate opportunities afforded individuals in this great nation. I wonder what our founders would have to say, particularly Thomas Jefferson who penned so eloquently our sentiments for all the world to see.


“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”


I felt compelled to arise early, begin work on creating a new locksmith association, one which would express the views of, and cater to, fiercely independent individuals currently involved in the business and who are not properly represented at this time. I’d been a member of the Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA) from 1978 until this past year when I decided not to renew; choosing not to pay dues to an organization which fails to represent my independent views regarding the locksmith industry.


“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”


Long ago the ALOA was a forum for locksmiths to exchange ideas and promote our specific industry; but somewhere along the way it got lost and became a political movement more concerned with how the industry was perceived publicly than representing those involved in the actual business of providing locksmith goods and services. It has been a gradual process, degradation from pure locksmith orientation to some monstrous security industry political action committee which represents something entirely different than what it had at one time; sorry, count me out.


Each year articles in ALOA’s monthly publication, Keynotes, reflected the change from a trade publication toward expressing political views, a spearhead movement that centered on licensing the locksmith industry in order to make it appear more professional, to validate the industry if you will. There were fewer articles, ways to improve locksmith skills, in favor of reports detailing legislation being introduced in various states that would somehow improve the locksmith industry through licensing efforts; the handwriting was on the wall and yet we turned a blind eye to it.


We really didn’t have much choice, go along with being licensed or be legislated out of business; the wheels of “progress” (socialism) had been set in motion. The folks at the top didn’t like the old image of some guy wearing overalls fiddling with a piece of hardware; they saw this as an opportunity to wave the magic wand of bureaucracy over our industry and call it a profession. Tinkerers who could work a piece of metal into a working key were pushed aside in favor of technical advisors wearing three piece business suits explaining the virtues of political action committees.


The problem with licensing the locksmith industry was obvious, at least it was to me; it turned a free market enterprise into a state run bureaucracy in which the individual no longer was master of his/her destiny. It has proven to be a train wreck destroying individual rights ever since .

The ALOA has moved ever further away from its mission to educate locksmiths regarding techniques to bypass lock mechanisms and manipulation of hardware over the years. We now get updated legislative news, wiring diagrams, computer linking hints and video surveillance industry updates; and yes, an occasional locksmith related article to satisfy old timers like me.


Locksmiths have been marginalized in favor of ALOA’s broader mission, representing a conglomerate of security industries to include alarm servicing and remote camera surveillance installation and maintenance. I figure it’s time to get back to basics; if the ALOA won’t represent locksmiths then form a new body, one which reflects the fiercely independent individual tradesman/businessmen who make a living tinkering with locks.


I looked on the internet for a group to satisfy the need; mostly to see what name to run with, not wishing to accidentally borrow a name already in use. There was a group over in the UK, Independent Locksmith Association, which came close to what I had in mind. It lacked the American “spit in your eye” individualism I was looking for so as of today, July 1, 2010 I’m creating the Fiercely Independent Locksmiths of America (FILOA).


I will be looking for fellow locksmiths to join with me in establishing a set of bylaws, a constitution if you will, that will encourage other locksmiths to consider such an undertaking. There have to be plenty of disgusted members of other locksmith associations, folks ready to “step outside” and duke it out with the endless bureaucracy minded leadership we now face. There will be an official site, banner and mission statement along with articles directed towards improving locksmith skills. I look forward to working with other locksmiths who are fed up with being fed up. Drop me a line in the comment section or get with me via email; I’m not hard to find, T. F. Stern.


This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
T. F. Stern said...

Thank you Asdas, I think.

"Possession section in resident in Mo non fixed law 笨 蛋 fixed law: “During one organizing 笨 蛋, 恆 於 three minutes such as large 於 之 two.」 "

The comment is, welcome, I think.

Jahn said...

More power to ya.

It looks like the ALOA has fallen prey to Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy (q.v.).

T. F. Stern said...

Jahn, I had to look up Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy; that sure hits the nail on the head.

"In any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions."

Thanks for your comment, as always.

T. F. Stern said...

I sent off a copy of this to the folks at ALOA and my local locksmith organization (GHLA) and have not heard back, not one person in a position of authority even acknowledged the information had reached their “desk”. That to me is an indication of how out of touch these folks are with the individuals they supposedly represent.

David said...

*heh* I'm sure I have mentioned Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy once or twice here...

;-)

T. F. Stern said...

David,

You have to remember, some of us, me in particular, take quite a bit of effort to remember how to part our hair, tie shoes and chew bubble gum/walk at the same time. The only reason I can look half way intelligent is because of spell check and other word processing tools that mask my lack of scholarly skills.

I've mentioned this before as well...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
MathewK said...

Good luck with the new organization, freedom to try and succeed/fail is good by me.

Thanks for your kind words by the way.

T. F. Stern said...

子帆子帆 said...

Well, never mind what he/she said, it's spam to visit sexually oriented site.

T. F. Stern said...

MathewK,

I was making it up on the fly the other day; however, I might just start up a new locksmith organization just to see what happens.

Muhammad Abubakar said...

HI
That’s great to hear!good luck
locksmiths

T. F. Stern said...

AR, It's slow going right now as word of this new organization has not been getting around. The website design is taking longer than I'd expected so I'm reluctant to move forward without being able to show that.

Hope business on your side of the pond is good, nice home page.

Anonymous said...

Locksmiths perform a vital role for home security and peace of mind for families. A reliable locksmith comes in handy whether your house is secured with an alarm system or locks as they can assist with both systems.
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Unknown said...

Locksmith industry, which is on hike in these days and i hope, it will be more in future. But a lot of competition and latest technology, it is not quite easy to stay in this industry. Best of 'LOCK'
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