Rotary's Seven
Paths to Peace - Chapter 3, The Path of Freedom
He will defend the rule of law and order to
preserve the liberty of the
individual so that he may enjoy freedom of thought, speech and assembly,
freedom from persecution and aggression, and freedom from want and fear.
(From the Outline of Policy in International Service.)
FREEDOM IS A basic element of civilized society;
it is one of the principles enunciated by most governments today. More words
have been written and spoken about freedom than about most subjects - and, yet,
few topics have suffered more in the hands of men who, consciously or
unconsciously, have used, and are using, it as an ideological tool to advance
selfish causes.
The political, economic, and religious implications of freedom must be left
to larger volumes and to more philosophical discussions, but Rotarians are
deeply concerned about freedom. They have expressed themselves in word and deed
about it.
The importance attached to freedom by Rotarians is amply demonstrated by
the amount of attention given to it in the Outline of Policy in international
service. Preceding the most pointed statement, quoted at the opening of this
chapter, is a full delineation of what Rotarians mean by "freedom":
The Rotary ideal of service finds expression only where there is liberty of
the individual, freedom of thought, speech and assembly, freedom of
worship, freedom from persecution and aggression, and freedom from want and
fear.
Freedom, justice, truth, sanctity of the pledged word and respect for human
rights are inherent in Rotary principles and are also vital to the maintenance
of international peace and order and to human progress.
Why this deliberate emphasis? It can be explained
only by the importance that the compilers of the Outline, fortified by their
consultation with Rotarians in many parts of the world, attached to the
principle that is invoked.
With the growth of totalitarian governments in
The challenge to the integrity of Rotary was confronted squarely and openly
in annual convention - the only place and time where the organization takes
concerted action. At the
Although Rotary has no secrets, no ritual, no rigid uniformity, it was in
fact a symbol of freedom to dictators. Retreat rather than advance became the
order of the day in countries where governments assumed totalitarian powers and
recognized in Rotary an agency that could not be controlled for the purposes of
propaganda and persecution. Before the outbreak of the second world war, Rotary
was the target of official directives in several countries.
In spite of obstacles produced by daylight raids, blackouts, and flying
bombs, many Rotary clubs continued to meet. The stimulus to thoughtfulness and
helpfulness increased as Rotarians picked their way among the ruins. During the
blitz itself the Rotary Club of London formed several new clubs within the
territory originally assigned to it. Around the world, great international
projects were initiated for the relief of victims of war, and for aid to
prisoners and extending hospitality to troops far from home. Most dramatic
picture, perhaps, of Rotary in a world at war was the report of an eye witness
of a Rotary meeting that took place during an island invasion:
"In the semi-darkness of a stinking tunnel, met a group of seven
Rotarians, with wounded men writhing in agony around them. The only civilian
with them was the club president who had escaped in a small boat. He rapped the
table with his gavel, the butt of a pistol he had snatched from the soldier
next to him, and called the meeting of what was left of the Rotary club to
order."
So, in the face of struggle and suppression, the concern remained for
something which meant freedom. Some Rotary clubs continued to meet secretly
under other names. One club, for instance, became a choir and named itself for
the grouse - which does not sing. Another club met regularly in a restaurant
frequented by enemy officers. The records of many Rotary clubs were seized, and
the president of at least one club was imprisoned for being a Rotarian.
After the war there was a rapid revival of Rotary in countries where it had
been suppressed. The eagerness with which clubs sought the restoration of their
charters after the war can be attributed partly to the stand taken by Rotarians
in convention at
Obviously, the Rotarian has a special reason for being drawn toward the
path of freedom; namely, the preservation of Rotary, besides much else that he
holds dear - perhaps all else. Never in human history was the issue more
clearly drawn. Between a dark age of despotism and a golden age of freedom
every man must choose, and often he may find that the foes of freedom are
"they of his own household". The battle is not only along national
lines. There is a fifth column within the gates - perhaps within his own mind.
There is the temptation to defend freedom by denying freedom to those who seem
to betray it.
A visitor to the unpretentious flat in
"You should complain!"
"I have," replied de Gasperi. "I even wrote a letter to
Premier de Gasperi, signed by myself and all my family. But Premier de Gasperi
answered that as head of a free government he is bound to respect individual
liberties, including the right to play one's favorite songs and that therefore
he could not possibly interfere in any private citizen's affairs."
How far should, or can, a free society go in giving personal freedom
pre-eminence? Teachers often illustrate for children by saying that
"your personal freedom ends where your playmate's freedom begins."
Where is that? At what point must individual freedom be subjugated to the will
of the group?
What, indeed, does freedom mean in the diverse regions of the world?
At the end of
the second world war an American correspondent
attended a luncheon in
The interpreter asked the question of the photographer, and the answer cam
forth like a bullet. "Svoboda!" said the Russian -
"Freedom!" As if to say to the American, "Didn't you know - you
poor ignorant fellow."
"Ask him - what is freedom?" the American said.
"Freedom?" answered the Russian, hesitating, then firmly -
"Freedom is knowing how to help the other
fellow."
Around the world in scores of places men are struggling for freedom, and
the goals of freedom have been confiscated by men whose actions contradict
their concern. Admitting that part of the problem is one of semantics, the fact
is that freedom means a hundred different things to a hundred different people.
The problem of definition was demonstrated when representatives of 58
nations joined to explore the meaning of freedom. They combed through history
and traditions, through famous documents in the struggle for liberty around the
world. They disputed over phrasings and implications, and although after more
than two years their Declaration of Human Rights was approved by 48 nations and
opposed by none (10 nations abstained), the dispute is by no means over.
For the Rotarian who would "defend the rule of law and order to
preserve the liberty of the individual" the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights presents an interesting opportunity. Rotary International was among the
first organizations to provide copies to its member clubs for discussion.
Rotary clubs in many countries organized debates in their communities. Studies
by international service committees were published in pamphlet form. Scores of
radio stations broadcast panel discussions by Rotarians on the theme of human
rights. Schools were invited to organize essay contests with prizes awarded by
Rotary clubs, and the anniversary of the Declaration's adoption (10 December)
has been observed in various ways.
While defenders of freedom have made abundant use of the Declaration as an
educational device for clarifying and confirming the concept of freedom,
subsequent attempts to establish the rule of law through an international
covenant of human rights and measures of implementation have aroused the
disquiet of some. A primary objection is that different nations have advanced
further than others in giving effect to different aspects of freedom through
domestic legislation and popular consent, and, under these circumstances, to
agree on a legal formulation acceptable to all nations tends to produce the
lowest common denominator. If it is to be acceptable to all, it is likely
to be satisfactory to none. Such a watered-down formulation of freedom, it is
alleged, might actually weaken the existing protections of human rights in some
countries.
Rotary clubs which have proved their vigilance in pointing to this danger
also suggest that public opinion in the community is the critical factor in
preserving freedom. International agreement on definitions of freedom and
procedures of implementation have little or no meaning unless there is capacity
and willingness to understand the meaning of freedom at the community level.
Rotary clubs provide a forum in which freedom and human rights can be
thoroughly discussed. From such deliberations the individual Rotarian can form
his own conclusions based upon the principles of Rotary, upon conditions in his
own community, and upon his own - and his friends' - insight. He will, or will
not, defend the principles of freedom where he is. No international policing
could possibly protect the rights of almost three billion persons - 3,000
million individuals. Primary responsibility, therefore, must be in the local
community and it is there, in his own home town, that the influence of the
Rotarian in defense of human rights can be most usefully exerted.
One line of the defense of freedom - freedom of discussion - is in the
weekly meeting of the Rotary club. Here, in the friendly atmosphere of Rotary,
is a proper place for exchange of views. True, the controversial nature of many
problems - especially international problems - presents difficulties and
dangers, but is it not one of the goals of Rotary membership to replace
political passion with a desire for membership to replace political passion
with a desire for understanding? We cannot escape controversial issues. How we
face them is one measure of the club's mettle.
"I love the subdued chuckle that runs through a club," said the
president of a Rotary club in
A past president of Rotary International declared:
Divergence of view is the very pith of Rotary. In church and trade
association we explore ideas with people we agree with. The germ of Rotary is
bringing different kinds of men together; the butcher, the baker, the lawyer,
the doctor. Through differences, not similarities, Rotary seeks understanding. Because
in Rotary we disagree without being disagreeable, many differences are
resolved. But the fundamental is not that we must agree, only that we must
explore and inform our minds so that our service to society as we go out of our
meeting may be informed, intelligent service.
Rotarians have not only used the weekly meeting to stimulate thinking and
to demonstrate the use of freedom; they have also adopted - or adapted – other
types of meetings for the same purpose. The "fireside meeting", or
"porch meeting" in warmer climes, has become a basic part of the
techniques of rotary.
A wide range of topics has claimed the attention of Rotarians and their
families in these informal, home meetings. The same is true in inter-city
meetings, in inter-city general forums, and in other similar meetings organized
to meet local needs and tastes.
In all such assemblies Rotarians have learned the value of personal
participation; they are in increasing numbers substituting their own members
for the imported "expert speaker". Experts have their places, but
Rotarians have learned that in this age of wide and rapid communications, with
the availability
of books and magazines and with easy access to other Rotarians in other
lands,
more Rotarians can - and must - become experts themselves.
An editor of a weekly bulletin in one club which made this discovery wrote:
We should have no attendance
problems if all our programs were like the one we
had last week. It was a surprise for many of us to discover how much talent
and
wisdom there is among our own members. And best of all, we need have no
hesitation in getting back at them. Last week's discussion went on long
after
the meeting. It is still going on.
If Rotarians are convinced that what they think is important enough to be
stated publicly, they are likely to attach more value to what others think and
say, and urge them to say it - which may be as important a facet of freedom as
any other.
Adolphe A. Berle, Jr., for example, opines that all that constitutions, statutes,
and courts can do is to preserve "rights" as permissions. The more
dangerous threat, he says, is the piling up of forces in society which
influence men not to make use of these permissions:
They are the deadening forces which give every motive to an individual not
to let his thought range, not to disagree, not to open unpleasant questions,
not to shock or displease the group in which he moves. They add up to a sort of
paralyzing miasma of opinion which seems to think men's lives and thoughts
should come into the world without shock and leave it without velocity .
In the more sophisticated societies, the danger to freedom comes from
lethargy and conformity - what Goethe called "the deadly commonplace that
fetters us all" - while in many parts of newly developing regions the
danger comes from too aggressive a concern for freedom - a passion for forcing
freedom upon men who
are not prepared to use it wisely and well.
Whatever may be the situation in a given nation, Rotarians in more than 100
countries and geographical regions are in a challenging position to demonstrate
and to transmit principles of freedom on whatever level is called for – always
within the framework of Rotary policy.
Since the end of the second world war more than
650 million people have been given independence - freedom. And there are
millions more who are gathering to march toward freedom. There was a time when
these millions received their freedom from others, but now the cause of freedom
has become, in the words of
Tom Paine, "the cause of all mankind."
To millions who do not have it, and want it desperately, freedom is a
bright hope and a rallying cry; to the few who fear
it, it is more terrible than death; to those who have it, and cherish it,
freedom is the foundation of human dignity and one of the paths to peace and
plenty.
But there are those who fear it - even though they give lip service to it.
During the years that 650 million persons received some kind of freedom in the
form of independence, the same number, or more, were slipping behind various
curtains of totalitarianism. Further, millions of persons in newly developing
lands who wanted, first of all, to be themselves, were confused as to where
they should fit in the world scheme. The problem was fairly stated by an American,
the late Russell Davenport, who wrote: "Our idea of freedom does not seem
to fit either the needs or the ideals of most of the people of the globe. There
is
something lacking in it that people want, something that they need,
something that must sound in our words if our doctrine of freedom is to ring
true. And we had now better find out what that 'something' is. For unless we
can produce it communism will wholly capture, and will absorb, the cause of all
mankind.
"There are 'experts' in the theory of freedom," he continued,
"as there are today experts in everything; but they are inclined to speak
a highly specialized language of their own, a step removed from the ken of
ordinary mortals. It is to the ordinary mortal, not the expert. to whom we refer
. We have in mind
those millions of persons who do not pretend to any special learning
outside of their own professions, but who are nevertheless forced by the
exigencies of democratic life, not only to think of themselves, but to provide
leadership for others . "
He might have been speaking of Rotarians - Rotarians who assemble, discuss,
write, worship, work and lead. They are in the vanguard of those who understand
freedom, those who know that freedom, in the words of Thornton Wilder, is
"a severe summons". If freedom is to be held against surprise attack
or against
the insidious encroachments of conformity, the cost will be more than the
proverbial "eternal vigilance". The price has gone up.
The price is study, search, defend, serve - and the realization that
freedom is more than having something: it is living something and wanting
others to have it, too. Freedom is action for - not against; it is positive,
vibrant, meaningful. It is indivisible, for in this age whenever freedom is
denied to
anyone anywhere, the freedom of everyone everywhere is in danger.
No nation can claim that it fully guarantees freedom and the protection of
individual dignity. True, some are trying harder than others, but no person, no
nation, has a right to boast. Freedom is a developing concept - a goal far out
in advance of society - at the end of a path strewn with rocky detours. But
that path is worth following, for it leads upward.
One of India's great poets, Tagore,
said it well and for all mankind when he
wrote:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Into that land of freedom, my Father, let my
Country awake.
(to be continued - Chapter 4, The Path of
Progress)
World
Understanding & Peace
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