|
News - APRIL 28, 2011
If you join ISDA you lose your vote in deciding the future of your profession.
One of the principles of a representative form of government is the theory of one person, one vote representation. Ideally, as outlined in the Supreme Court ruling in Reynolds v. Sims, all districts would be of equal size from a population standpoint and when you voted for your “representative” he or she would allow you to have an equal voice in all subsequent proceedings as all others in that particular political subdivision or organization.
What, you might asked, does this have to do with me, and why am I as an Idaho Dental Hygienist being given this information?
The reason this information is relevant to you is that you, as a member of a profession, are currently being recruited to join two very different organizations. Recently the Idaho State Dental Association sent you a letter urging you to join them. In the letter and attached benefits and privileges outline, the ISDA touted the reasons you should consider joining them.
From time to time you also receive information from the Idaho Dental Hygienists’ Association asking you to consider membership in our organization, also with the benefits of membership outlined for you.
The difference…the most significant difference…is your ability to choose through your equal vote who will represent you on issues that could determine the future of your profession. As a member of IDHA, you have an equal voice on how the business of the organization of which you are a member is conducted. You will not be given that equal voice in ISDA. Benefits have no meaning unless you, as an equal voting member of the organization providing the benefits, have an equal voice in how and when they can be provided.
After all is said and done, the choice is relatively simple. Do you want a strong voice in attempting to control your own destiny or do you want someone else making all of those decisions for you without letting you cast a meaningful vote in the process. Ironically, that ability to choose is currently still yours.
|
