Rotary's Seven Paths to Peace -
Chapter 8 Impact
SHORTLY BEFORE an election, the
interest in past elections, maps and models of new
developments planned for the borough with brief biographies of the candidates.
But most magnetic of all the attractions was a mysterious box. It bore a sign
reading:
THIS PERSON CARRIES THE HEAVIEST BURDEN.
Visitors were invited to peer within and to press a
button. A light went on disclosing the only contents of the box - a looking
glass!
If a Rotary club were to hold an exhibition of
international service, might not the very same feature be included? A mirror
for the individual Rotarian to look at himself! It would dramatize the thought
of the international service committee of a Rotary club in
The
international work must be carried out by every single member of the club. The
international service committee is not a separate, sole agency or department
within the club. The committee directs, advises, informs and assists you, the
individual member, in all matters pertaining to international service in order
that you may do your part in this essential Rotary service. As a Rotarian it is
YOUR responsibility.
This thought was the basis of the program of one president
of Rotary International who challenged individual Rotarians to find their
"personal paths to peace". This admonition creates an obligation to
set personal objectives, to survey every facet of the local scene to find where
service and information may
be helpful. This is not to dictate to the individual
Rotarian but to help him to do what he wants to do, what he knows he should do,
and to persuade him that what he does is important. It should be clearly
understood by Rotarians and non-Rotarians, too, that the impact of Rotary is
created by individual
Rotarians.
"After years of concentrated effort," writes the
New Zealand Rotarian who initiated the study of the seven paths to peace,
"the central problem remains the same. We are still trying to devise ways
and means of capturing the imagination of the individual Rotarian.
What can the Rotarian do? What has he already done? What opportunities
come to the Rotarian because he is a Rotarian? And has he taken advantage of
these opportunities? These are only a few of the searching questions which will
come to the Rotarian - and the non-Rotarian too - as he reads the story of
other Rotarians and, more important, as he appraises his own movements along
his "personal path to peace".
First, it should be pointed out that being a Rotarian sets
up advantages and opportunities not presented to many persons. The Rotarian can
open his Official Directory of more than 10,000 clubs in more than 100 lands,
turn to any page, put his finger down on a club listing and say, "Here I
have a friend." He can
write a personal letter to that club president or
secretary with the expectation of getting a personal reply. He can visit that
club on a meeting day and be welcomed as a friend. He may be a guest in any
Rotarian's place of business or in his home. The candor - and respect - with
which Rotarians approach each
other is significant.
Rotarians travel a great deal. In these days when no point
on the earth is more than a few hours away, travel to other lands is easy and
attractive. Thousands of Rotarians travel in other countries each year, and the
number is increasing. "Making up" in another club is not only a
necessity, it is a privilege which no
Rotarian would forego.
Imagine the experience of such a traveler. Before his
departure, the traveling Rotarian is urged by his fellow Rotarians to visit as
many Rotary clubs as possible in his journey. He may be given the simulated
"passport" available from Rotary International, as a reminder of the
meeting places and times of the
clubs he might visit. Over the endorsement of his club
officers, it authorizes him to invite the co-operation of the clubs in
international service.
When he goes into the meeting of a club in another
country, he goes not as stranger or "foreigner" but as
fellow-Rotarian. His conversation with neighbors at lunch, the brief remarks he
may be asked to make, and the message of goodwill he brings from his own club
are impressive. They will be remembered,
especially if he is visiting a club in a smaller or more
remote community. And that is not all. He may be invited to the home of a
member or to his place of business. An interview may appear in the local
newspaper or be broadcast over the radio. He may be taken to the school for a
talk about his country.
Many Rotary clubs, because of their location near
international borders, can regularly sponsor personal, face-to-face meetings
with other Rotarians. Ill-will between nations is
often generated by border incidents. Rotarians so located - and there are many
- have a special responsibility for insuring that incidents are of the kind to
foster international goodwill.
It can be done. It is being done all the time. Here, an
international peace park bestrides a frontier as a result of Rotary
sponsorship; there, a great meeting brings hundreds of Rotarians from the
neighbor country year after year. School children exchange visits from country
to country under rotary guidance.
Airplanes are chartered to fly the whole club to another
country for an inter-city meeting. The famous statue of Christ, dedicated by
Rotarians of Argentina and
continuous activity in
Nearly 200 Rotarians from every city and town of note,
representing the chivalry of Rajastan, the shrewdness of Sarastra, the business
and industry of Gujarat, and the past memories of Central India wended their
way to Karachi on a mission of Rotary and as ambassadors of peace and goodwill.
If border incidents of this kind could be multiplied, if every
Rotarian who travels would undertake a Rotary mission for his club, a great
advance in understanding and good will could be achieved.
"Meet they neighbor, talk with him, and there will be
peace."
An Indian Rotarian writes of this old Sanskrit proverb:
"Simple language, but wonderful wealth of meaning behind it. There is, I
think, not only a challenge to Rotary, but I feel that Rotary is the best
equipped vehicle in the world to achieve this prime purpose of
civilization."
Not all Rotarians can journey to another land, but most of
them can be hosts to those who can, or, what may be more practical, they can
use the mails for fruitful and stimulating exchange. Personal acquaintance
through international correspondence, as in all phases of Rotary, is not
developed as an end in
itself, delightful as that is, but "as an opportunity
for service". What that opportunity may be is a matter for exploration
with correspondents. In one instance, there may be a contribution to better
understand ding of a particularly troublesome problem. In another, the exchange
of books and magazines for presentation to local libraries may be the result.
Or, hearing about some effort of the other club for the welfare of its
community, the Rotarian may be inspired to
offer help, too. The possibilities are as
infinitely varied as the needs of mankind.
Where to begin? That is the question! One Rotarian in
that would lead to the choosing of a particular country as
the starting point of a quest for understanding. Perhaps there is hostility
toward a certain country manifested in casual conversation with a neighbor or
in the remarks of a newspaper columnist or radio commentator. Why not write to
Rotarians in that
country with a tactful request for enlightenment?
In that event, the following statement of policy should be
given close attention:
The board of directors of Rotary International shares with
Rotarians everywhere deep concern over tense and troubled conditions in many
parts of the world; great satisfaction in the services rendered by Rotary
clubs, Rotarians and many others in relieving distress; and a clear recognition
of the urgent need for
understanding and good will among the peoples of the
world.
The board has earnestly sought and will continue to seek
every means, within the limits of established policy, to attain the objectives
of Rotary International throughout the world.
The board has reviewed statements and activities of some
Rotary clubs which, however well intended, in some
instances have resulted in misunderstanding, ill will, and controversy.
The board urges all Rotary clubs and Rotarians to
intensify their efforts to encourage and foster the advancement of
understanding and good will among the peoples of the world - at all times
observing established policy of Rotary International and avoiding scrupulously
any act, utterance, correspondence or
published statement which might have a tendency to cause
misunderstanding, create ill will, or retard efforts to achieve and maintain
peace.
Individual Rotarians around the world have derived rare
satisfaction from correspondence on a grand scale. A Brazilian supported the
cause of international understanding with 6,000 personal letters. A Rotary club
in
38 friends in Rotary overseas, exclaimed: "Why don't
more Rotarians start writing letters? It is no hardship and, I can assure you,
very enjoyable. I can hardly wait until I get my next letter from some
previously unheard from overseas club."
More than 1,500 Rotary clubs in some
60 countries have registered their interests in the publication, "Targets
for Today", published annually and brought up to date at least once within
the year with a supplement. If you are initiating
correspondence, you may want to select one of those "target" clubs.
One outgrowth of correspondence may be an exchange of
manuscripts, recordings, films, or slides. This practice
is a favorite program technique of hundreds of clubs. The best talent of each
club is enlisted for the exchange program, and direct references are often made
to personalities in the other club to emphasize the feeling of fellowship. When
the program from the other club is presented at a regular meeting it is
introduced impressively as a notable occasion of Rotary in action. If the exchange program is in
manuscript, members reading it assume the parts of the original spokesman and
are introduced as such with brief biographies. The other country's flag is
displayed, its national anthem played, and a toast proposed. Local residents of
that country are honored guests at the meeting and press reports
of it are sent to the originating club.
Electronic magic can reproduce for Rotarians of another
country the actual talk and other sounds of the club meeting. Movies or slides can
bring vivid impressions of Rotary personalities and scenes in other lands.
Hundreds of clubs have combined slides and recordings to make impressive and
stimulating
programs.
The obstacle of a different language cannot be dismissed,
but it can be overcome. In many cases, the language will be understood by
someone in the other club who can translate correspondence or an exchange
program in manuscript for the benefit of other members. At the beginning of a
correspondence, the language situation should be clarified so that each party
to the exchange can feel free to use his own language.
The fruits of personal acquaintance between Rotarians of
different countries may seem small in contrast with the
immensity of the issues that harass the world. Greater, then, is the need to
multiply and intensify these contacts. The Rotarian will not be content with
one letter or one exchange of programs. He
will initiate many. He will use the wonders of science to
expedite his originality. Stretching out his hands in many directions,
persevering with acquaintance once established, he can develop an influence
that will spread over the earth.
Turning from the personal activities of Rotarians within
their own ranks, what
can they do to reach non-Rotarians? Or, should they?
The answer is - yes! A Rotarian represents a single
business or profession -the only representative of that business or profession
in his club. His service to others of his profession or business as well as to
the community at large is a primary concern. He will find his "personal
path to peace", but more will be accomplished if he can convince others to
travel it with him.
A significant part of the impact of Rotary, then, is the
extent of its influence beyond the rotary club itself. It is obvious that the object
of Rotary can hardly be achieved if this influence is limited to the relatively
small number of Rotarians. This imperative was plainly drawn by the bounder of
Rotary. "In the promotion of international understanding and good
will," wrote Paul Harris, "one must remember that it is important to
reach large numbers, non-Rotarians as well as Rotarians, and one cannot reach
large numbers privately."
Rotarians, accordingly, are challenged to open a window to
the world for the people of their communities. Here, indeed, is an answer to
those who question the practical effects of international service.
International understanding will not be created in the stratosphere of world
politics - but in the minds of
neighbors, among business associates, and through local
media of communication and education. Public opinion is the sum of individual
opinions, and public opinion is the mightiest force on earth. Nations are as
strong as the sum of individual opinions that can be mobilized in support of
their policies.
Legislators and government officials are frank to admit
that a single letter bearing the marks of simple sincerity and individual
inspiration has more weight with them than reams of stereotyped petitions. A
forthright remark in casual conversation can have profound repercussions.
In the Senate of the
Little they knew the consequence of their casual comments
in the preparation of a statesman.
Programs presented at weekly meetings are an excellent
opportunity for sharing with non-Rotarians. Because of the scope and program of
Rotary, no club can be excused for having weekly programs "just like any
other club". Programs with an international service theme will be planned
around the needs of the community. The needs vary, of course, from place to
place. A long look at one town may disclose deep-seated prejudices against
"foreigners". Many a Rotary club has derived satisfaction from a
program that calls attention to the debt that every nation owes to the culture,
the art, the science of other nations. In the progress of mankind all nations
are members one of another. The same is true in mundane matters of raw
materials, manufactured products, and markets. Do people recognize the extent
of this interdependence? Is the worker
who eats his breakfast and rides off to his work aware that neither of these
functions, nor many others that fill his day, would be possible without
material contributions
from lands other than his own?
The interest of any community in this fact of
interdependence can be aroused by an exhibit that displays the best
contributions of other countries. Often these contributions are already
present, yet unsuspected by most of the people. A prairie town in
festival - many different nationalities were represented -
and an abundance of talent was displayed. Treasured costumes, folk songs and
dances, souvenirs of many kinds which had been brought from other countries -
all combined to transform a rather drab community into a veritable Ali Baba's cave
of
cosmopolitan culture.
Other needs may relate to particular problems. What, for
instance, are the attitudes toward the overwhelming issue of war or peace -
hopeful, constructive, and determined in the search for positive solutions? Or
resentful, fearful, and impatient - ripe for the mob hysteria that drives
nations to convulsions of despair?
What can the Rotary club do to allay fears, encourage the
acquiring of information, and create a climate where freedom and justice are
secure? Perhaps nothing. But clubs have done such things and are doing them
every day. Such projects go beyond "having a program about it" - a
weekly program which can only
deal briefly and superficially with the subject. Here, a
program means a sustained and organized campaign in which the weekly program is
merely one of the tools.
Fortunately, Rotary is not without allies for these tasks.
In every community there are individuals and groups with similar purposes and
with special spheres of influence whose co-operation can be sought. Rotary
projects of international service can well be guided in this respect by the
policy of co-operating with an existing agency, if one exists, rather than to
create a new and duplicative agency.
Instances of the operation of this principle in international
service abound. Perhaps the most spectacular was that initiated in 1942 by
Rotarians of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization, more familiarly known as UNESCO, an independent agency pursuing
the goals of international understanding.
Under somewhat analogous circumstances, the president of
Rotary International was invited to appoint 11 United States Rotarians who, in
turn, were invited to advise the Unites States delegation at the San Francisco
conference where the United Nations charter was negotiated.
While Rotary International is recognized as a consultant
by the United Nations and UNESCO, this fact in no way identifies Rotary with
these organizations. The position was clearly set forth in the following
statement by the board of directors of R.I. in January, 1952:
While
R.I. neither gives nor withholds endorsement of the United Nations charter, nor
of the actions or enactments of the United Nations, it does encourage Rotarians
to acquaint themselves with the activities of the United Nations directed to
the advancement of world peace.
The general secretary is instructed
to bring to the attention of Rotary clubs program information and other helps
in connection with the study of the charter and the activities of the United
Nations to the advancement of world peace.
Continued publicity shall be given to the reports of observers
for R.I. who attend meetings of the United Nations and its specialized
agencies.
Rotarians desiring to make a proposal concerning the
United Nations or any of its specialized agencies should function through the
duly constituted governmental channels of their own country.
Many Rotarians around the world are active in the work of
their local United Nations Associations. Many local chapters were founded as a
result of the initiative of Rotarians.
An example - one of many - of an enterprise initially
sponsored by Rotary clubs which evolved into community-sponsored projects is
the Institutes for International Understanding. For thirteen years, an annual
audience of more than a million non-Rotarians heard speakers - many of them
from other countries
- discuss world problems, answer questions, and meet with
the assemblies of local schools. Through these meetings, hundreds of Rotary
clubs were able to reach large numbers, and eventually many communities
sponsored them on their own.
How a Rotary club can co-operate with many other agencies
in a community to meet a need not being met by any one of them has been
illustrated in an entirely novel way in several communities. Adult citizens of
the community in which it began in 1957 were organized in delegations
representing many nations in an
into-their-shoes conference. This technique, which has
been cited previously, offers promise of being an appealing and effective
method for attracting "large numbers" to international service. Here
is impact at its best.
For a full month, the "delegates" debate major
world problems. The active interest of hundreds of participants, putting
themselves "into the shoes" of a nation other than their own, is
amazing. It spills over from the prescribed committee and plenary sessions into
countless private gatherings and conversations that seek to win support for
recommendations. Here is active self-education, replacing the passive
indoctrination by pressure groups. Most significant of all perhaps is the
personal acquaintance developed among people representing widely different
views.
Does this experience provide a pattern that Rotary clubs
around the world can adapt to their purposes? All that is needed is the initial
impetus.
Turning to the leaders of tomorrow, there is no end to
ways in which Rotary clubs, with their world-wide affiliations, can contribute
to the education of the rising generation. Sponsoring an international
relations club is a common practice. Pen friendships are arranged for youth
through Rotary clubs abroad.
Japanese clubs, for instance, have excited wide interest
with an exchange of drawings by school children. International essay contests
to promote a better understanding are often a joint project undertaken by the
rotary clubs in different countries.
Without interfering in any sense with the curriculum of
the schools, teachers or administrators might be asked to tell the Rotary club
how children are being informed about the world. Is the approach universal or
provincial, as illustrated in the story told by a former American ambassador to
"I'll make a bet," said the ambassador,
"that the world history which you will study begins in Egypt and
Mesopotamia, moves on to Greece by way of Crete, takes you through Rome and
finally ends with France and England."
"But that is not world history," argued his son.
"That leaves out three-fourths of the world."
"Unfortunately," the father remarks, "I won
the bet."
The exchange of youth has offered the greatest challenge
to Rotary clubs. In this field Rotary has pioneered with countless club and
district sponsorships of various types of exchange and with the Rotary
Foundation Fellowships which began in 1947.
The promise inherent in the Rotary Foundation program has
appealed to Rotarians around the world. More than 1,200 graduate students have
studied in countries other than their own, under Rotary sponsorship. Incidents
culled from their reports and from the comments of others could fill volumes.
Each year they
address audiences totalling more than half a million. Even
more minds are reached by radio and through articles they write for many
publications. And of no less significance are the evidences of character and
ability reflected in their activities. Truly, they are among tomorrow's
leaders.
One feature makes the Rotary Foundation Fellowships
program unique: the degree of personal interest, friendship, and guidance that
is forthcoming from Rotarians who "host" them in their academic
communities, who take them into their homes and show them truly how the
community works. Not all Rotarians
avail themselves of this unique opportunity for helping to
train future leaders, but most of them do.
Rotarians will derive a dividend from their investments in
The Rotary Foundation to the extent that they take advantage of the opportunity
to use the capacities and influence the thinking of these potential ambassadors
of good will. Many Fellows have expressed their feelings about this
opportunity, but it was never more charmingly set forth than by a young lady
addressing one of the clubs in
In San Francisco it has been jokingly said that when they
built the
heavier one until finally the cable that holds the
I like to think that the Rotary Foundation Fellowships are
a bit like that.
They are the thread that will mark increasing exchanges
between students of all countries who desire a deeper understanding of each other.
It is just a thread now, but each year it is growing stronger and stronger.
Next year perhaps it will be a rope, and finally it must be a big cable
bridging the gap between the
nations and binding us all together in a peaceful world. I
am proud and grateful for the privilege of being part of this great movement in
furthering international understanding.
Rotary clubs have not only contributed generously to The
Rotary Foundation but also they have used their own resources and ingenuity to
set up and sponsor their own exchange of youth. While The Rotary Foundation has
sponsored the exchange of graduate students, the great preponderance of club
and district projects have involved undergraduate or secondary students. The
study and travel of more than 10,000 young persons are sponsored by clubs and
districts each year!
One such project has been in continuous operation since
1944, and its sponsors comment, "Our only regret is that we did not start
something of this kind 25 years ago". Another district project which has
brought nearly 300 students to
Increasingly, individual clubs are discovering that the
sponsoring of visits by youth from abroad is well within their capacity. These
plans put personal service ahead of purse service. The youth is lodged in the
homes of Rotarians. The local school, in many
instances, is happy to provide free tuition for the
sake of the cosmopolitan influence, and the offer of such
an opportunity enables Rotary clubs of other lands to select a fine
representative youth from many applicants who are eager and able to pay their
own travel expenses. Thereby, the cost of such projects to the sponsoring clubs
is limited to incidentals.
One club brought 11 students from nine countries for a
year to its community.
In
all the way to
The instrument of personal acquaintance works most
effectively in these summer camps. As one German boy wrote of his experience:
This camp has done more for international understanding
than a big number of politicians could do in a year. If there is a possibility
to form a united
When all is said and done, the personal touch is what
counts in these international student projects. Hordes of young people are
shuttled across the seven seas in vain if no effort is made to train them for
international service.
While the Rotary Foundation Fellowships and other
Rotary-sponsored visits provide a natural focus for this effort, there is a
broader field in the thousands of students and trainees going abroad each year
under other schemes or on their own often slender resources. Many of them
seldom see much of the
country they visit, or the people. Among the thousands of
such visitors to the
The importance of building friendships in this way becomes
evident when it is remembered how many national leaders - how many Nehrus, how
many Nkrumahs and others - once lived abroad. If they experienced isolation,
loneliness, and discrimination, the world could suffer deeply from those
wounds. A Mexican statesman who made great contributions to international
understanding recalls the years of loneliness spent in a hall bedroom in
The Rotarian who introduces a visiting student to normal
home life and to his neighbors, shows him how business is done, and shares with
him the simple pleasures of everyday life is not only making a friend for
himself - he may be doing his country and the world a great service. His
discussions of world
problems with the youth may bear fruit in a career of
leadership in the cause of peace.
But the greatest challenge, of course, is to those Rotary
clubs in neighborhood of universities. Theirs is a continuous and developing
opportunity to organize acquaintance with students from abroad. Rotarians meet
these opportunities well and wisely. Students by the hundreds are entertained
during holiday seasons;
churches and schools call upon them to interpret their
countries in song and story; individuals are generous in their financial and
spiritual solicitude. Admitting all this with pride, however, does not minimize
the necessity of doing more!
Doing more in all activities reflected in the
"looking glass" becomes a personal challenge to the Rotarian who
reads his official magazine and other rotary publications. In an organization
of the scope and size of Rotary, communication is basic. To know what others
are doing, to understand how they did it – this becomes a challenge and an
inspiration, for if the idea became reality in
Rotary's growth and success, after
all, have come from the leavening of the spirit of service, and every success
story speaks boldly, "You can do this, too - and better." And in the
processes of communication and inspiration Rotary's official magazine - The
Rotarian in English and Revista Rotaria in Spanish -
makes the major impact. Twenty-two regional magazines also
make impact in their limited spheres.
Rotary publications present facts and reflect ideas which
have more than Rotary appeal. Hundreds of copies of Rotary books, magazines,
and pamphlets are shared with non-Rotarians around the world. When these
publications find their way into almost a half million homes of Rotarians, they
have just begun their
journey.
The magazine, for example, goes in large numbers to
schools, public libraries, hospitals, reading rooms, and in hundreds of other
places where accurate, readable, and constructive reporting is highly valued.
Its articles are the bases for excellent rotary club programs, for women's
social and study club programs, and for young people's discussion groups. It
provides references for educational reports in schools and colleges, and radio
and television programs are based on its articles.
Beyond these uses, however, in its two editions it is the
"textbook", or a vital supplement to the textbook, in hundreds of
classes where students are learning a new language. Its impact is enhanced by
its being the only such magazine indexed by the Reader's Guide to Periodical
Literature, and its influence is
attested to by thousands of article reprints which are
requested by Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike.
These, then, have been some of the images reflected in the
looking glass -several of the acts of service which enrich the life of the individual
Rotarian. No person, no publication, could chronicle all of them. No one can
even cite examples of all of them. The nature of Rotary itself and the nature
of the Rotarians who make up this organization make the gathering of stories of
service very difficult. The service of Rotarians is likely to be quiet service.
And this is as it should be.
International service in Rotary is not the sound of
trumpets. It heralds no pronouncements. It seeks no headlines. Accordingly,
this book has merely set forth, developed, and illustrated several of the
principles in which Rotarians believe and around which they take their stand,
as individual citizens. The result of more than a half century of successful
experience, these principles may be worth consideration by persons who do not
belong to Rotary clubs. For Rotary neither holds their exclusive possession nor
claims their original
creation.
An "international walk" graces the broad plaza
leading to the headquarters building of Rotary International. From the marble
quarries that yielded stone for the Parthenon, from the floor of Westminster
Abbey, from cliffs two miles above the sea in the Peruvian Andes - from most of
the lands where Rotary is at
work have come its square-cut paving stones.
They form a colorful pattern: red from
the name of its first club.
Joined together in common service, these stones are silent
but enduring witness to Rotary's methods and goals. They symbolize service and
friendship around the world. They connote action, for either the broad or
narrow path is useless unless there are persons willing to travel it.
The complete text
Of the Outline of Policy of
Rotary International in International Service Appears on the
following pages.
(to
be continued - Conclusion,
The complete text Of the Outline of Policy of
Rotary International in International
Service as it was in 1959, and today's
equivalent)
World Understanding &
Peace Navigation Return to Preface Invitation