Controversy Corner
How does Rotary political and religious guest speakers?
A certain scribe got a bit hot under the collar when he noticed that a certain politician (who shall remain nameless, but fair to say that he has little respect for) was a guest speaker at a local Rotary Club.
Once he had calmed down he had a bit of a think about how manages to be non political, and non religious for that matter, and yet have a politician who manages to create a lot of angst in the community as a guest speaker.
Turns out that there are some very smart folks in Rotary who have been managing this potential source of conflict for some time. Here's a brief summary of the process that Rotary uses to ensure it doesn't get into politics or religion while remaining active in the community.
- Club should never adopt nor circulate resolutions or opinions of a political nature.
- Clubs should never take actions dealing with world affairs or international problems of a political nature.
- Clubs should never direct appeals to clubs, peoples, or governments, or circulate letters, speeches, or proposed plans for the solution of specific international problems of a political nature.
Then in relation to its non-religious position. Rotary takes a considered secular position. This is not be be confused with atheism. Many Rotarians have strong religious beliefs, but Rotary Club take the essence of the various religions and avoids the "us and them" that dominates many religious creeds. So Rotary has a strong commitment to the truth, compassion, equality and responsibility.
So it doesn't take much thinking to realise that Rotary has some challenges in a complex world if we are to continue to "make a difference" while holding the non political and no religious positions.
We witness every day how political and religious decisions adversely impact on world communities. I'm reminded of the saying "Think globally, but act locally."
Its a phrase used in all sorts of contexts, but I like to think of it as "if everyone acts to improve their local community, the world will be a better place."
Last words on this from a modern day philosopher, Yuval Noah Harari:
"If you feed overwhelmed and confused by the global predicament, you are on the right track."