[H-GEN] politics at Humbug

[Rudolf Vyborny]

I am of the strong view that professional societies should not become
political forums and as societies should refrain from taking stands on
political issues. There are long standing tradition in this regard for
all professional societies I know of. I would regard  Humbug as a
professional society although not all members belong to the same
profession.  There are also good reasons for my position, membership of
professional societies is varied and therefore any professional society
has no rights to express a political opinion in the name of all its
members. (Or give an impression that  an overwhelming majority takes a
particular political view.) Regrettably, some of the most respected
societies (e.g. British Royal Society) recently violated this tradition
but all of it achieved was eroding  its own prestige. I could go on and
on on this topic but let me give only one more reason, politics at  a
professional society and in Humbug particularly  spoils the congenial
atmosphere.

Sincerely
Rudolf
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