Consider the medical profession. Doctors serve the interests of their
patients, except when those concerns are overridden by concern for
everyone's health. The greater good trumps the lesser, and doctors
accept responsibility and have the authority for making such calls. We
Trust Them To Do The Right Thing, and that's what makes medicine a
profession.
Consider the legal profession. Lawyers serve the interests of their
clients, except when those concerns are overridden by concern for the
Rule of Law. The greater good trumps the lesser, and lawyers accept
responsibility, and have the authority, for making such calls. We Trust
Them To Do The Right Thing, and that's what makes the practice of law a
profession.
Consider the accounting profession. Accountants serve the interests of
their clients, except when those concerns are overridden by the
interests of everyone who participates in the economy. The greater good
trumps the lesser, and accountants accept responsibility, and have the
authority, for making such calls. We Trust Them To Do The Right Thing,
and that's what makes accounting a profession.
Consider any other profession. Its goal is always impossibly lofty and
idealistic, and it always plays a critical role in the maintenance of
civilization. Its practitioners always accept awesome responsibilities.
For many reasons, We Trust Them To Do The Right Thing. That's the key
feature of every profession.
Now let's consider the Information Interchange profession. What
civilization-maintenance role should its practitioners be entrusted
with, and why?
And let us also consider that no existing profession achieved its
current stature in one step. There were multiple steps:
(1) *Individuals* decided that they were, uh, "called" to be
professionals who act in the interests of civilization and individuals,
in that order.
(2) They thought carefully about what that meant, and they explained why
they should be trusted to play the role. Basically, they explained how
all the rest of civilization's actors can predict their behavior, COME
WHAT MAY.
(3) Finally, they institutionalized the profession. The profession
became a custom of civilization. It became customary.
Personally, I have felt this calling, and I have considered myself an
Information Interchange Professional for many years. I know that many
readers of this list have similar convictions. Is now a good time to
explain how our behavior can be predicted, and how that behavior can
become a customary pillar of civilization?
Steve Newcomb
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