The apparent success of ProxyQuest, an undertaking that could affect Mensa's survival, may have put the lie to one supposed Mensa verity: that the vast bulk of members care only about the membership card that proves they're smart. ProxyQuest also enucleates a reason for the customary non-participation in most Mensa affairs. We, Mensa, are not giving the members what they want. It's also possible that we have been, all along, and just didn't know it — but that, if we don't do something new and different to prevent it, we're about stop. One aspect of Mensa membership exists in which no accurate records of activity have been kept, where no one knows precisely how many or even who is participating — and it's always been that way, and that's been just fine. However, the AMC (American Mensa Committee) may be — with, ostensibly, the best intentions — about to put that aspect of Mensa out of business. That aspect is our Special Interest Groups (SIGs).

The Problem
According to our SIGs Coordinator, national SIGs have about 7,000 members. That number may be only the tip of the iceberg — or it may be overestimated. Here's why. As a Mensa member, I belong to a national SIG with dues, a publication and the occasional mini-RG (Regional Gathering), so I may have been counted in the 7,000. I also am active in an international SIG that has no publication or dues and only Internet communication. Add two SIGs that meet locally, have no dues (as yet) and communicate on the Internet, plus a purely social group that could be called a SIG and reports in our local group's newsletter. There is also my participation in a quasi-underground SIG, a remnant of one previously enormously popular. I may have been counted in the 7,000 through any or all of those, too — or maybe not: SIG members and Mensa SIGs all over the place never interface with the AMC or the National Office (NO). Are we chopped liver?

Recently, someone on or associated with the AMC had an idea: Hire some risk management specialists to tell us what we are doing that might invite costly lawsuits or even the possibility of lawsuits. AMC did exactly that; at what cost is a still closely guarded secret. Since it is the function of risk management specialists to seek out all possible perils, all junctures of jeopardy should a new path be taken, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Mensa's hired specialists found a great many potential risks, although the precise nature of those risks must remain undisclosed. Just telling the members what those risks are is risky, they explain. It might give people ideas, incite them to sue us. And who are these potential litigants? Us! The members of American Mensa. The AMC has taken on the job of protecting us from ourselves.

The immediate first step the AMC has taken to protect us from ourselves was to pass a motion making our SIGs "officially a member benefit." The AMC is not yet sure in which ways the SIGs will be handled under this concept, but it has been suggested that the National Office and the AMC regulate SIGs, examine their purposes and methodology, keep SIGs' membership records, oversee accounting and, possibly,

"Do we really need Big Brother to regulate how we can enjoy Mensa?"

disallow those SIGs considered too "risky." Central publishing by paid staff of SIG newsletters has already been proposed, purportedly as a "service" to SIGs. Those who know anything about the business end of publishing, printing and distributing will recognize immediately the financial shortsightedness and inanity of this proposal: It's roughly comparable to buying a dairy because your family likes to drink milk. (Or, is it possible that a few control-oriented people just want more empire to run?) Can you imagine how much more money would be needed for printing equipment, plus the paid staff to run it and to keep the membership and financial records of SIGs? AMC has already announced its intent to raise the dues next year, and the Chairman's latest Bulletin column recommends putting a surcharge on participation in Mensa activities by non-members, be they spouses or friends or just interested potential members. (SIG activities are where most non-member participation occurs … traditionally.)

Inevitably, risks also will be/have been found in regional gatherings, items our newsletters publish and activities at the local level. Will limitations soon be placed on those things? Do we really need Big Brother to regulate how we can enjoy Mensa?

The Solution(s)
There is a better way to control risks while providing desirable services to members, increasing membership overall and reducing the cost of running Mensa. It's called decentralization. We were on track for it three and a half decades ago. That was the plan. I know: I was there. The information can be found in the 1970 "AMC Annual Report." The plan was to move the administration of American Mensa to regional and local levels; this move would have cast AMC in a mainly advisory role, with a small paid staff to keep track of membership, dues collection, etc. To satisfy those who saw Mensa as having a higher purpose (and in keeping with our Constitution), MERF was spun off as a separate entity; for the rest of us, Mensa was seen as a social, mutual protective association. Unfortunately, the empire builders took over; they made Mensa a business and the members its financial resource.

Decentralizing American Mensa would be much more difficult now, but it can still be done. Don't renew the lease in Texas. That office space, if it has any value, will attract other tenants. Instead, open small, storefront facilities with signs in front, reading "Mensa." Locate these offices in major cities, linked by computer and the Internet. Put a hired staff member in each office. Open the offices to the public for information purposes and to the membership, after hours, for meetings, etc. When Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa briefly ran a Mensa premises, membership jumped, especially active membership.

Allow/encourage local groups to incorporate separately as not-for-profit. Assign the capital of American Mensa to the local groups on a per-capita basis, while distributing resources through a central source — easily accomplished using computers. Instead of keeping all our eggs in one vulnerable, money-filled basket, eliminate the need for stringent risk control with many small baskets, individually not worth suing.

Find benefits for the members! Not vanity credit cards offering nothing more — and often even less — than other organizations do, and not insurance at rates available everywhere. Offer the membership benefits of real dollar value: Offer free advertising to a major bookstore chain if flashing a Mensa membership card earns a 10% discount. At the rate that Mensans buy books, paying the annual dues would show a dollar profit for most members.

The Challenge
How do we achieve genuine benefits and fewer restrictions under the guise of benevolence and support? The current AMC, with the exception of a few Regional Vice Chairmen, does not seem open to logic or new ideas. This AMC appears to be concerned mainly with personal power, privilege, "profit" and prestige. We need new people, broad-minded people, qualified people to run for the higher Mensa offices in the next election.

But many capable potential candidates are understandably reluctant: Mensa's internal politics can be dirty. Therefore, we need an entire slate of candidates, publicized and supported by Mensa newsletter editors, to sweep out the dastards. Not necessarily to support my suggestions, but, one way or another, to return American Mensa to its members. It would be hard work, perhaps harder than ProxyQuest. It is, however, like ProxyQuest, a matter of survival — this time to ensure that American Mensa does not die as a unique organization. It's the biggest challenge we may ever face: But, if anyone is capable of rising to it, surely Mensans are.

Would a slate succeed? Can members take back American Mensa? There is no guarantee, but that's a risk worth taking.

— Henry Miller