EVERETT ROTARY LOG
LEADING OFF:
President John Olson rang the bell at 12:00 noon, calling to order meeting #5403 of The Rotary Club of Everett, and virtual meeting #50.
He then led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY:
Laura Zorick brought us the Thought of the Day, recognizing Juneteenth as federal holiday, as well as Father’s Day, Summer Solstice, and American Eagle Day.
VISITING ROTARIANS & GUESTS:
There were no visiting Rotarian or guests.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
President John began the announcements with a possible change is the Everett Rotary Youth Foundation bylaws. He will email the membership the proposed changes, and the members will vote in the next few weeks. He also mentioned his last board meeting will be this coming Friday. He also thanked the membership for catching up on dues payments.
Greg Lineberry, PE, showed a picture of the tiny fish that Steve Juntwait had caught on a recent fishing trip.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Rich Toyer had $100 sad dollars, stating that June 30 is the club’s fiscal year end and there are still a lot of unpaid membership dues and fundraiser pledges.
Bob Bavasi was $100 happy to be on the fishing trip with Steve Juntwait.
PROGRAM: Preserving Free Inquiry in a Cancel Culture
Sean Kelly introduced today’s speaker, Ilana Redstone from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champlain. Ilana stated that this was her second presentation to a Rotary Club. She began the program by asking some questions.
Is cancel culture a threat to?
- Democracy
- Viewpoint diversity
- Liberal values
Or is cancel culture?
- Overblown
- Much ado about nothing
What’s the point?
- It’s not about whether such and such person’s career survived.
The biggest conflict by far is what it tells us when it comes to how we think about social penalties.
Why is this point controversial?
- Because in many of the cases of cancelable opinions or statements, there are multiple possible motivations.
A better way
- Open conversations about the consequences of always assuming bad intent.
Ilana then entertained questions from the membership.
CLOSING:
President John thanked our guest speaker with a donation to the Everett Boys & Girls Club. He then mentioned next week’s program will be the Changing of the Guard.
Meeting Adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Clayton Browse
Photos submitted,
Tammy Dunn
NEXT PROGRAM:
Changing of the Guard