| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||||
 | Kingspark News Rotary
Club of Kingspark | | ||
| Tsunami toll continues to climb. Have you called President Thomas with your pledges? | ||||
| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||||
Editorial
(The Salesman Lives) - By Francis Wann | ||||
District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||||
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The Salesman Lives
I was of course referring to the ubiquitous yet hysterical valentine's day syndrome. Here you'd have to find an excuse to do something, or an excuse not to do something. Last week also saw the demise of the literary giant Arthur Miller, the world acclaimed playwright renowned for the play Death of a Salesman. The book has been with me since my school days; now the Salesman is on the GCSE syllabus. Much has been written about the book's character analysis, its attack on the American culture, and its sociological implications ever since its Philadephia premiere in 1949. His attack on capitalism and the pressures of modern life stunned the audience, and Arthur Miller was famous overnight and won him the Pulitzer prize. The Salesman is still one of the most performed plays of post-war literature. But sadly his vision on the darkness at the heart of the American dream, of consumerism, of the plight of the little man Willy Loman, is still very much with us. His vision of the collapse of capitalism, however, never materialises. A few years ago in 1999, the play had its 50th anniversary revival in Broadway, and Arthur Miller continued to be the focus of contemporary literature, and with Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neill, they represented the serious modern classics in drama. Today anytime you visit a message board for exams, you'd find scores of students exchanging notes on Death of a Salesman, and perhaps the death of Arthur Miller, and perhaps even on a post-Miller era. While Miller encouraged students to question the society and authority, most would seldom go beyond the characters in his play in their quest for a better, and more humane society. Miller went through college and became a radical; our students read notes on his books, pass exams, and get a job. When our government decided to make liberal studies compulsory for senior secondary students, they must have considered the consequences of cultivating a liberal generation. They must have been particularly careful not to touch certain areas, and they would have to convince the schools that they are too hot to handle. Now what we see in the liberal studies framework is a list of water-down concepts. That makes a mockery of liberal studies, unless liberal studies is, and has never been, their original objective. Ever wondered why our students never think? They've never been taught that way. I searched for my copy of ELBS low-priced edition of Death of a Salesman and started turning the pages... | ||||
President's
Column
I am sure you have enjoyed the Chinese New Year holidays with your family and are planning how to move a step ahead in your business or career. Nevertheless, I would remind you to think about the victims of the tsunami which happened last Christmas because they still need our assistance. Apart from your donation that you have made last December, our PP Ted Ho has also suggested to involve your children by asking them to donate part of their red packets to those in need through our Club because it is a golden opportunity to let our second generation understand the needs of our neighboring countries and make contribution to the world. In our last regular luncheon meeting, I appealed to you to participate in a coming up District event "Rotary Centennial Service Award for Professional Excellence". To provide you more information, the purpose of the event is to recognize community members for exceptional professional achievement consistent with the ideals of Rotary. Besides, this award also provides additional opportunities to emphasize the work and values of Rotary in local communities during Rotary's centennial year. To participate in this event, what you need to do is to identify and nominate Non-Rotarian candidate(s) by 15 March 2005. For details of the event and requirements on potential candidates, please visit our District website. I would encourage you to nominate as many candidates as possible for the above event because they are our potential members. Regardless of whether they get the award or not, we shall have the chance to grow our membership, which is essential to us! As the deadline is close, please act now!! Regarding the major coming up events, please note that two coming regular meetings are evening meetings to be held on Thursday 17/2 and Wednesday 23/2 respectively. I am sorry for the short notice of re-scheduling the luncheon meeting to an evening one on coming Thursday because it will be a joint meeting with our Rotaractors. As the venue will be ready at around 5 or 6 pm, please come earlier to play mahjong or enjoy singing karaoke. More importantly, your attendance on 23/2 is appreciated because we are going to celebrate Rotary's 100th Anniversary at the Races, Happy Valley. By all means, please also mark your diary for our Vocational Services Seminar and Rotary Centennial District Conference to be held on Friday 4 March and 19-20 March respectively because your presence will be the key to their success. | ||||
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Lent
It reminds me of some senior Rotarians holding strictly onto interpretations of the Manual of Practice that they knew, often to the letter, without thinking about the spirit behind such practices. The Rotary Centenary is now just around the corner - only about a week ago - and Rotarians worldwide have been encouraged to organize activities, festivals and th elike to celebrate the occasion. Our club and our district are no different; and in the hurly-burly, the essence of clubing, of service and Rotary ideals could have escaped the mind. Which is why it is always sobering to pause and take stock; which is why Catholics are encouraged to make use of Lent to review life in general and theirs in particular and their relationship with their God, their Creator. My brother the editor mentioned or at least I thought he mentioned the relevance of liberal arts and sciences in education and wondered about their eventual place in the school curriculum. I would go further to question why we seemingly have a gigantic and apparently unbridgeable gap int the curriculum which would teach or at least create awareness of traditional values, be they of east or west origin. In times of uncertainly and helplessness, it is prudent to pray for enlightenment. Alas, in a community the majority of which pray to no one but Money, it may become a difficult proposition, which is why Rotary and its Ideals of Service could stand up like a lighthouse to the sailors in a storm and shed light on the confused. What better time to do that than now? | ||||
Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or 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. | ||||
Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Thomas Chan | ||||
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