The three postings I saw on SOPA/ROPA today include one stating that lots
of bad stuff is going on but that ROPA (or any other professional
organization) would be ineffective in doing anything about it; one that
expressed fears that ROPA would be TOO effective in applying American
standards overseas; and one that suggested that in his part of the world,
archaeology has vanishingly few problems with ethics and standards.
 
I agree with the third writer--most archaeologists I know are honest,
hardworking, ethical folks.  But a few cases of bad behavior can go a long
way toward discrediting a profession.  By way of evidence that problems do
in fact exist, I would just urge those concerned to check with past SOPA
grievance coordinators.   Or browse the ACRA-L archives.
 
I also agree with the first writer's statements about archaeologists doing
poor work because they have been pushed to the wall financially by clients
who don't want to spend the money to do the work properly.   However, one
of the benefits of having a strong professional organization with both
standards and sanctions is that it gives the professional a floor to stand
on when a client asks him or her to cut too much off the corners.
 
Over the past 20 years, SOPA's standards have in fact made a difference in
how federal and state agencies determine who is qualified to do archaeology
and what is acceptable in archaeological practice.  We take these things
for granted, but there was nothing inevitable about them, and no guarantee
of their permanence.   The work SOPA  has done in promoting sensible
standards for archaeology and archaeologists has been beneficial to all
professional archaeologists, not just to its own members.    I think it is
time for the rest of the field to help shoulder this burden, by supporting
a healthy ROPA.
 
Bill Lipe