There has been almost no issue that has raised the hackles of the ARRL membership like the July 2023 Board decision to raise dues. They also decided not to honor existing two- or three-year memberships that members had bargained for and paid their money. The often-used phrase, a rising tide lifts all boats, comes to mind here but in a perverse way. While President Kennedy used the phrase to great political benefit, it doesn’t translate well to all budgetary situations. Raising dues for the League might to some sitting around a Boardroom table be a means to cover shortfalls that the main attraction, QST, has accrued due to rising glossy color paper costs. But it won’t if that dues increase causes members to simply not renew! In fact, it might be a very poor fiduciary decision by the Board that is detrimental to the best interests of the non-profit corporation.

Think about how you got enthusiastic toward amateur radio. For me, I was eight years old and it was through a cheap transistor AM radio. This passion has been unabated since that time, albeit not always top priority in the broader scheme of life. It’s my belief that most hams have a “burning love” of the activity embedded in the amateur radio hobby. But, alas, it’s a social activity for the most part. We operate in groups of two or more and sometimes, like Hamvention, thousands! To get engaged and reap the benefits of a national organizing association, there is the National Association for Amateur Radio with over a hundred thousand. This should be an amplifier of that passion that took root with the hobby. Like Johnny Cash crooned, it is now a burning ring of fire for U.S. hams as well as those international members. And it’s going down, down, down. That burning ring is what puts a damper on the passion that drives us on in so many ways. Many hams have just hit the trail, I’m told, moving on from membership to the tune of about 1,000 non-renewals per month.

Those who read online sites devoted to amateur radio, listen to or contribute to on-air rag chews, attend hamfests, or read published media devoted to amateur radio have heard many, many times: amateur radio is “dying”.

But what does the term “dying” mean in this context?