THE ROTARY
FOUR-WAY TEST

The month of February is very special in the Rotary calendar since it is designated “Conflict Prevention/Resolution month” and world understanding month. It is also the month we celebrate the birth of our organization on the 23^rdof February. Widely regarded as world peace day.

1987-1988 RI President Charles C Keller (RI Convention, Munich-Germany)

“The challenge of world peace...is the most pressing imperative of our time.... In a world which possesses the means of self-destruction, if we do not find the path of peace, whatever else we do won’t make much difference.” 

Our organization’s guiding principles have been developed over the years to provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the action we take in the world. 

The Fourth Object of Rotary; The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.”

 Clearly defines for us the rules of engagement in our ever-changing world and the challenges we face every day.

As we recognize the month of February, let us place more emphasis on the relevance of our peace centers program. An Endowed program of our Rotary Foundation as an avenue to accomplish our fourth object. 

In closing, I would love to leave with you the words of Dorothy Thompson;

 “Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict—alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence”

YIRS,

Several miles off the shoreline of Nassau, Barry Rassin, the 2018-19 president of Rotary International, balances in the bow of the bobbing Rat Bat. There are no colossal cruise ships out here, no noisy Jet Skis, only the occasional passing pleasure boat and the sound of water lapping against the hull. In the turquoise sea below, giant turtles glide across the ocean floor. 

“To me,” Rassin says, “the sea is freedom, it’s peacefulness. When I’m out on the water, everything fades away. You feel like you’re at one with the world and nothing could go wrong.”