[This is a blast from the past – the blog in 2010, when I was about to become President of my Rotary club. What I think about Rotary still rings true, though, like everything these days, the upper-most echelons of Rotary in the US tinge bluer. Interestingly enough, the growth of Rotary in Asia and Africa balances that blue tinge somewhat at the highest levels – though applying US labels to India, Taiwan, Kenya, Malaysia is an iffy proposition.
Wonder what Professor Reeves thinks today. We kinda know what a BLM leader really wants – enough race-based grift to buy a nice house. In a white neighborhood… Since Professor Reeves appears to still be active on Mercator, I’ll ping the editor and see if he’ll forward an offer to update, given all that’s changed in the last 11 years.]
Turns out he wants a nice house in the ‘burbs (or, better yet, a golf community). This according to a post by Professor Thomas Reeves. The gentleman is, I assume, something of a libertarian, since he’s posting on the Mercator website.
Polls and studies have shown consistently that professors, especially in the humanities and social sciences, side with the Left in political and cultural matters. So do public schoolteachers, whose unions are major contributors to the Democratic Party. This bias contrasts sharply, of course, with the dispassionate search for truth that scholars and teachers claim to revere. There are many reasons, no doubt, for the bent shown by professors in the humanities and social sciences, but the most obvious, it seems to me, is envy. A history professor for 40 years, I have felt this prominent member of the Seven Deadly Sins myself, many times.
At least that’s Professor Reeve’s suggestion on why academics are such lefties. They’re really just frustrated consumers who want to be… Rotarians. Heh.
I found this line interesting: “One way to compensate for this bleak and futureless existence is to become involved in left-wing causes. They give us a sense of identity in a world seemingly owned and operated by Rotarians.”
As a Rotarian, I find myself shaking my head ruefully.
Go to the Rotary International website and look at what Rotary stands for. The goals of Rotary are about as bleeding heart liberal as you can get.
Yet, in our clubs, I find that we are generally a fairly profoundly conservative group of people… who subscribe to the goals of Rotary. And, we mix with people of other political persuasions in our clubs – because we share many common goals and values – the secret of success to any organization… or polity.
But Rotarians share a very conservative urge – we look to *do* things ourselves, not to compel others to do things we think would be cool.
We invite them to join us as we do local projects and global projects which have local impacts, such as water and literacy and health projects conducted world-wide.
But rather than lobby government to do it, and lobby government to compel others to contribute to it – we write checks, hold fundraisers, roll up our sleeves, find the expertise among ourselves and go out and get started.
Polio is almost gone from this planet. From hundreds of thousands of new cases world-wide in the 70’s, we’re down to currently 55 known cases of polio, mostly in Uttar Pradesh, India, and of them, most are of the less virulent Type 3 form. From 120 countries with endemic polio to four: Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.
Yes, we partnered with government agencies. WHO, which takes our money and procures the vaccine, and the CDC, who gives us technical oversight and expertise. And, of course, Rotary volunteers the world over work with local governments to make things happen. Amazing what local government is willing to do if you’re providing the money, materiel, and manpower.
We partnered with them all, but we’re paying for it. Ourselves, and, now, as we push to the close, with some big help from the Gates Foundation.
Rotarians, unpaid volunteers all, immunized over 1.2 million children in India in one day last year.
One wonders if Professor Reeves really understands us. Of course, he’s really mainly using us as a metaphor.
Of course, the image is a long-standing one, that we don’t spend a lot of money trying to reverse.
We let our actions speak.
As someone who will be a Rotary Club President next year – Professor Reeves is welcome to visit and talk with our academics. He’ll find some published authors who teach – they’ll understand him.
Anyway – if you have the bug to serve, we have a prescription:
Rotary Prescription
by Jeffry Cadorette, PDG
District 7450
Rotary Club of Media, PAHave you been feeling the urge to serve…do you have an increasing urge to give back to your local and or global community? Do you feel isolated and have an urge to network and be connected to others? Do you have a fellowship deficiency? Do you get frustrated with the situation in the world when you read the morning paper or watch the evening news??Talk to your doctor about a once weekly dose of Rotary.Taken weekly…Rotary can reverse your fellowship deficiency. Within weeks of the initial dose it can help you to feel more networked and connected to your community. While it will not help with ALL of your urges…it will definitely help with your urge to serve others…(your doctor can suggest additional medications for your OTHER urges.)Caution. Rotary can only be taken by adults. There are milder forms under the brand names of Rotaract, Interact, Early Act and Youth Exchange that can be taken by younger people. Rotary should not be taken by those who are taking Kiwanis, Optimists or Lions but you may want to talk with your physician about switching your prescription to Rotary as it has been shown to be faster acting and better tolerated by those in clinical studies.
Rotary should not be taken while operating machinery or driving a car as it may cause drowsiness……. depending on the speaker. It is recommended Rotary be taken with meals although those meals can cause, heartburn, acid reflux, constipation, diarrhea and allergic reactions. For optimal effect Rotary must be taken consistently. While weekly dosing is recommended, 2-3 times a month has been shown in clinical trials to be effective.
If you leave home without your Rotary, you will find that people in other communities around the globe will typically be happy to share their Rotary with you so that you don’t miss your weekly dose.
From the time it was discovered over 105 years ago until 1988 it was thought that Rotary was unsafe if taken by women. Since that time women have been taking Rotary in ever increasing numbers and studies have shown that it is very effective now in both men AND women. While no definitive research has been done, anecdotal evidence is that not only is Rotary not unsafe for women….they actually do better on it than men.
Side effects include the tendency to sit in the same seat at the same table every time you take your dose of Rotary. Talk with your physician about ways to overcome this. It may be a sign of deeper issues. Severe cases of this have been known to require aggressive psychiatric treatment.
Do not take Rotary if you feel that more people should be disadvantaged or suffer from hunger, poverty, illiteracy and disease as people taking Rotary tend to want to alleviate these conditions. Tell your physician if you have an aversion to world understanding and peace. There may be other treatments more beneficial for you……like a dose of humanity.
If your urge to serve lasts longer than 4 hours…consult your physician immediately. This condition is common in past club presidents and past district governors. For a free trial of Rotary go to www.rotary.org and find out where it is being dispensed near you. Rotary….helping people for over 100 years with their urge to serve.
Talk to your doctor today.
The Doctor is in.
*The opinions expressed here are mine, an individual Rotarian who happens to like this drug. I am not speaking as an official representative of Rotary International – though I can put you in contact with them if you want to…
