"Steve Bonine" wrote ...
Perhaps my impression is wrong, in which case I hope that someone will
correct me, but don't most countries treat the regulation of amateur
radio more like "here are your allocations"?

I would like to think that there are enough gentlemen in ham radio
that gentlemen's agreements and voluntary bandplans would be
sufficient. Based on what I hear on the air, that's a rather silly
hope. Nonetheless, it reflects badly on our hobby that an agency needs
to stand by with a big stick to make us do what we should be able to
do on our own.

OTOH, Why should we be surprised if Amateur Radio
appears to reflect the declining conduct of society in general?
It would be nice if we were better behaved, but perhaps that
is too high an expectation.

Richard Crowley KE7GKP