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Editorial (Go Forth and Sow the Seeds of Love) - By John Wan
Letters to Editor
Amazing and Potent Technology - By Harry

editorial

Go Forth and Sow the Seeds of Love

That was what RI President Bhichai Rattakul asked of his Rotarians and audience at the opening of the Rotary Zone Institute held in Manila over the weekend. Over 1,200 had registered for the Institute. It was easily the most inspirational speech in the 3-day event.

It would not do the President sufficient justice to precis what he said for which reason Kingspark News would reproduce the full speech in the next issue, through courtesy of the Daily Chronicle issued by the Organizing Committee, so that more Rotarians and friends would benefit from the President's wisdom.

Earlier on the same day, the President was invited to make some "inspirational remarks" at the Foundation Lunch to illustarte how Rotarians can sow the seeds of love through the Rotary Foundation. Listening to the President was a lesson in humility. First, he pleaded his audience not to give him standing ovations, to save time among other reasons. He then illustrated how to save more time by not repeating a long list of names which often preceded a public speech. This was followed by a presidential definition on "inspirational remarks." He began by saying that remarkes should be short and limited to five, or may be ten minutes. He went on to make the point that everyone in the audience had been inspired, or they would not be in the audience, which meant that there would be very little he could do.

What followed was a razor-sharp precis of his vision for his year and hopefully beyond. He made two points. First, he had deliberately not given Rotarians any instructions and he did not invent any new programmes. There is no point in re-inventing the wheel. Secondly, he had adopted a "bottom-up" strategy. RI will not impose. Rotary or Rotary's image is not shaped by the President, the RI Board or for that matter, the RI Officers. Rotary is as strong as the average grassroot Rotarian. It followed that RI would only appeal to Rotarians to carry on the most pressing work of the times; and he cited two: to continue with membership development work; and to help finish Rotary's pledge to eradicate Polio from the face of the Earth, a task which had reached a very critical stage, to put in mildly.

I cannot resist quoting a quote in the President's Opening Address. He was quoting Omar Khayyam, a great Asian philosopher and poet, "With them the seeds of love did I sow; and with my own hand labored it to grow; and this was all the harvest that I reaped. I came like water and like wind I go." President Bhichai concluded by saying that "the seeds of love are the seeds of life" and urged Rotarians to go forth and sow the seeds of love.

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Letters to Editor

You are welcome to write to Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response fro the latter for publication in the same issue if possible.

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Amazing and Potent Technology
By Harry

Dear Editor,

Your commentary on the video-conferencing led me to think about how technology has transformed many of cultural and societal norms. While the benefits of technology are bountiful and undoubtedly helpful, there are concerns at the increasing reliance on and transformation from technology.

In the case of video-conferencing, much of the latest technological revolution focus on the internet and the instantaneous medium so derived, mainly but not just email and so on. At the same time, the internet has created another barrier between individuals in a society, such that it is possible to interact with people, and large sectors of the population, without truly 'interacting' with them. As such, technology, especially the internet-related kind, should be complementary with as opposed to a substitution or replacement for certain mediums. For example, in university campuses throughout the world, probably the most common interaction between students and the institution, particularly professors, is through email and the internet rather than through direct interaction. While the internet and its additional barrier provide a sense of courage (through anonymity) for the individual, its prominence and prevalence makes it more acceptable and the oft-selected option. A byproduct is that people in a society become more detached from one another and individuals become more reliant on anonymity and distant interaction. In an organizational sense, for example in a group like Rotary, the direct relationships and interactions with people is paramount. Just as there is a difference between reading and being told what to do, as opposed to be shown, that directness in relations from an organization as opposed to a reliance on intermediary functions and barriers (that of technology) should still be and likely is the number one option. The advantages of technology are amazing and omnipotent. How else can we access such instantaneous relations and bring together such a diverse and powerful group of individuals in a single-minded objective at a single point in time? From an efficiency standpoint, there is nothing like technology. But again, I think it's dangerous in any realm of society or aspect whereby a factor replaces another.

Harry

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