A modest proposal....

If it is an historical fact and also a psycho-logical fact that a time-binding class of life has to have periods of development, let us have them! - AK

Welcome to the first installment of what might end up as a regular column in ETC. Interestingly enough, you, the readers - each of you, as individuals - will make that decision for us here at ISGS.

A few of us (a motley crew of boat-rockers, malcontents, iconoclasts and dreamers) have banded together to see if we can assist ISGS to develop, grow, and provide services to more people interested in general semantics. We can't do that without substantial assistance from many of you.

We ask for your help not as "readers" of ETC, but as members of the International Society for General Semantics. Will you stick with us here, read about just a few of our plans and projects, and then consider lending a hand? (Or a brain?) (Well: preferably both, actually.)

Orders for Abstracting

Let's start off with an easy one. We'd like to include in ETC, as space permits, some brief examples and quotations from newspapers and other sources which demonstrate various general semantics principles - or perhaps their relative absence. If you find an interesting instance of how people use language - or of how "language uses people" - please send it to us. If you'd like to add a description or analysis of the incident specifically in gs terms (i.e., as examples of the abstracting process in action), we might print that and give you a byline.

Please submit any material of this nature to the Abstracted Editor, using the e-mail or postal addresses listed below. Please remember to "date" and "index" your contribution, and verify the source (a photocopy?): The Abstracted Editor receives no monetary compensation for his efforts (although we have heard some talk about paying him to stop).

Picture This

Some time ago, we received a letter from an ISGS member who suggested that ETC host a contest for the best original cartoons demonstrating difficulties in communicating, evaluating, and interacting. Seemed like a good idea to us. (But, then, we hope for a flood of volunteers; so what do we know?)

Herewith, then, the first announcement of the ETC "Picture This" page - which may or may not actually appear, depending on the insight and artistic abilities of our members.

And - you lucky artists, you! - we propose an actual prize for the creator of the work selected. This prize may take the form of a gs book, a genuine ISGS coffee mug, a colorful ISGS pen, or some other damn thing that we've got too many of. Whatever form your prize takes, though, we guarantee you that it will probably be an actual Object.

With your prize you will receive an Official Letter of Recognition, suitable for filing in the appropriate receptacle - and our (seriously!) appreciation.

Oh, to be Well-Endowed

Our little committee runneth over with ideas. However, in order to nurture some of these, ISGS will need to improve its financial position. A new ISGS Endowment Trust will seek contributions from individuals, corporations, and organizations, to strengthen ISGS and permit the Society to underwrite more general semantics publications, research, and other activities.

We'd like to hear from any members who have relevant fund-raising or endowment experience with universities, non-profit organizations, etc. Will you share your skills with ISGS?

Contacting Us

If you'd like to volunteer for any of these projects - or for others that we'll tell you about next issue - you can e-mail us at <[e-mail]>, or write to us at ISGS, P.O. Box 728, Concord, CA 94522, USA. The lucky candidates selected for each of these positions will receive exactly the same compensation as that provided to each member of the Development Committee.

If you find yourself figuring that "some other" ISGS member will surely step forward to accept some of this responsibility (aka "opportunity"), we hope that you'll consider that "some other" ISGS member may well have those same expectations of you.

To paraphrase Pogo: "We have met the other guy, - and he is us."

We look forward to hearing from many of you!