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II Opinion t 18 • ~ chance for Uberty? t: ~ .O'"l ...... ~ t.D N ... ell . ::: bO ::: < the Bureaucracy, " and the bad guys are going to win unless we bikers sto p th em. This ye ar an d 1976, on the 20 0 th birthday of Am erican freedom, it would be well for each of us to reflect on what Benjam in Franklin said back then : " Those who would sacrifice t heir freedom for a little security de serve nei ther freedom nor security ." I am goi n g to , do all I can as a newsp ap er o wner and a free citizen, to defend my right to decide when to , an d when not to wear my helmets. I will t ry to spea k a t th e Washington he ar in gs and I urge every son and daughter of Lib erty to co me an d be seen , if not heard. The hel me t he ari ngs are sch eduled September 4 , 9 , and 11 at the De partment o f Transportat ion HQ Bldg., Ro om 4234, 400 Seven th Street SW, Washington, D.C . 20 59 0 at 10 a.m, September 11 California will b e on trial . Persons who intend to m ake o ral ' statements a t the, hearing(s) must submit their requests, together with an es timate of the time required, to the Presid ing Offi cer, Sanctions Hearing Board, Room 52 19 , 4 00 Seventh Stree t SW, Washington 205 90 not la ter th an five da y s befo re t he hearing date. Writ ten com men ts should go to the Do cke t Sec tio n, National Highway Traffic Safe ty Ad m ., Ro om 5 108, 400 Seventh St reet SW, Washin gt on 205 90. Public hearings on whether the u.s. governmen t should punish three states that refused to pass motorcycle helmet laws will be held in the nation 's cap ital next month. Regulation s allo w U.S. De. ffi partmen t of Transportati on 0 1cials to take away up to 10% of a state's high way safe ty work program unless 'it for ces th e moto rcycl e class of citiz ens to wear th is certain kin d o f hat. Ridiculous as it see m s, 4 7 states, c o n ta i n i ng 7 0 % of A me r ican motorcyclists, ha ve bowed un der this threat. . ' Th e issue at these publi c hearings is not traffi c safety, bu t th e wh ole cause of personal freedo m with responsib ilit y . Th e three free states on trial, Utah, Illin oi s, and Cali fornia can clai m equal o r better m ot or cy cle safety re cords th an the states which have helmet laws. Bikers of America, the future of Liberty is in your hands. We need your pre sence and support at these hearings. Onl y a sho w of o pposit ion to th e helmet law , on t he part o f us , ' its victi ms , will save the day. Th e 19 40's fo ught a war to ke ep us free , the 19 50 's had t heir co ld war against totalitarianism, the 19 60 's h ad thei r freedom m arches and in the 19 70's we bikers must ride agains t th e creep of g o ve r n men t control in the m ost personal aspect s of our lives. Do I exaggera te the dan ger ? So rry, I do not exaggera te . We motorcy cl ists were carefully pic ked to set the precedent for a whole chai n of legal enc u mberances on freedo m of cho ice in t he U.S.A. The name of t he da nger is " Dic tators hip of Charles Clayton Guest editorial ASierra dweller looks at the hiking club I've been reading with great interest the ar ticles "An environmen talist lo oks at dirt bikers" by Donald Murchie. He had some great experiences of a form of outdoo r recreation that I wish many others could take. I've been riding the desert for oJ oJ w u a: ::l 0W oJ > a: a: « c the p ast four or five years. I'v e been in many endures and District 3 7 races (302x) and have some of the same feelings that Donald has, especially th e ex citement o f arriving at the races and seeing all the club colors flying - scenes ii gh t out of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I truly love the deser t and the people. This past y ear I've lived in Mammoth La kes, California in the High Sierras. Our family loves the 'outdoors. so being very close to the wilderness (?) areas we h ave done a lot of h iking. I' ve fo un d many similarities with the des er t and its people and the wilderness I and its people. Both gro ups are extremely fri endly, man y times going o ut o f their way to help each o th er, and are great to talk with aro un d a campfire. This land is truly breath taking. A l oo k at th e Min are ts, along the Thousand Lakes Tra il, is similar to looking down at Koehn Dry Lake fr o m the Rand Moun tains along the 4-Aces Moose Run o f a year ago. Many p eo ple particpate in both actrvrties, and this is where, I feel, the great differen ces co me in, and so 1 take great exception with Donald's views in his fourth article. First his " n at ure will not take care of it" views are off-base because nature's forces do heal the desert quickly. Rain (wh ich does come often) and the wind heal the scars quickly, be cause of the nature of desert soil. In comparison, most alpine ' tr ails never heal, because th eir soil is truly fragile . All th e snow, rain, and wind just isn 't enough to heal a foot path trampled two fee t deep through an alpine meadow. The number of people that use the many trails through the Sierras' is just p henomen al. During the summer mon ths, the John Muir trail from Tuolu m ne to Whimey Portal resem bles smok e bomb run of t he Bars tow-to-Vegas, and please don 't th ink th at th e h ikers just sta y on the trail. Many lakes along th e trail have been almost destroyed because groups , many sponsored by th e Sierra Dub , numbering up to 50 and more trample around finding a spot to cam p. Eigh t y ears ago 1 hi ked up to Mount Whim ey and shared wi th ab o u t 30 other hikers the thrill of be ing on the highest spot in the Continental Unite d St ates. Today because of th e masses that have re cently made the climb, you need a reservation just to hike up, made way in advan ce . Th e many controls placed on t h e hikers h as no t ch an ged the destruction, becaus e there are so many people th at need th is recrea t io n . His same argument abo u t " wh y sub stitute one abuse fo r another," as he puts down the family for finding co m m o n ground for com mun icat ion in desert riding, can be pl aced with more emphasis on the backpacking family as they strip the trees for firewood, leave their trash everywhere , go to the bathroom behind any conven ien t tree or ro ck, trample the fragil e, alpi ne flowers and plan ts, try to trap , or kill ,the animals , leav e campfire scars and generally make a mess trying to "live off th e land." Is there an answer to th e problems? With so many people needing outdoor recreation, and doing a very good job keeping their act straight, getting the abuser in lin e is a huge educational problem. To place outlandish controls discourages the legitimate us er. The abuser does not care, and does his thing anyway. I get upset with all the groups at each other while none of them are do ing all they ' can to discourage their own abuses. All groups have tremendous points in their favor which far outweigh th e disadvantages. The need for all types of recreation is extremely important and areas need to be set aside for all types. It 's ju st that on e group ' sh oul d not try to control the whole outdoors. The ' desert is not being destroyed, no r are the High Sierras. People are usin g and enjoyin g them . Even though th ere are some ab uses, the beauty and re creation being enjoy ed far outwe ighs th em. Peop le , and their legi timate uses of public lan ds, are th e m ost imp o rtant. The desert is a co mplex and fr agile stre tch of lan d an d it receives a lo t more love, respec t an d understanding than other o utdoor areas that I kn ow, by th e user s, be cau se they kee p co mi ng back wee k after week to enj oy it. Bill Poehler T 23