The Rotary Balita no. 711 (December 18, 1952)

Past Governor "Emy" Javier's speech before us Friday evening, September nineteen, deserves our more than mere casual perusal and attention. More of a lecture and advice, it is something worth remembering when- ever we come to think of the present and future welfare of our Club. His dissertation on Fellowship, as the fourth sign of club maturity, should be most appreciated and studied. It should be appreciated and studied in the light of past misunderstandings in our club which seemed to have been the cause of some resignations. Fellowship, in Rotary, is synonymous with equality. Equality in the spirit of service. Can there be genuine fellowship if one member feels he is superior to another because of his wealth, position or prestige? Can fellowship thrive in an atmosphere of aloofness and egotism? In fact, "Emy"" emphasized that a Rotarian who feels and believes himself superior to his fellow Rotarian has no place in Rotary. Rotary is for people who have big hearts, who have long forgotten adolescent petty jealousies, people of noble sentiments, tolerant, democratic and friendly. People who join Rotary, not to show off and wear the cap of false pride, but who believe that, in Rotary, they could find friends, cultivate harmony and fellowship, and the opportunity to serve their community and humanity. A Rotarian who passes his fellow Rotarian and acts as if he has never seen him before could do more harm to his club's stability than one who is always behind in paying his dues. A Rotarian, who thinks the freedom" of speech carries the right to insult and disagreeably disagree with, his fellow Rotarian, is more of a liability to his club than any- thing else. Even a Rotarian is human, and there could be a limit to his patience and capacity for shock-absorbing the bumps and jolts of improper and intemperate language. "Emy" has said a mouthful, for us to swallow.