Frank Deaver Peace Editorials

     Our name is Rotary International, but intentionally today I have chosen to reverse the words.  When Bob Hicks asked me to speak today on international Rotary experiences, it initially concerned me that it could turn into too much of a personal travelogue and not enough Rotary.  But looking forward to today, I recalled the quotation, “To whom much has been given, much is expected.”  Truly, I have been blessed, and my career in international journalism has blended with Rotary in a most rewarding way.

     In fact, it was Rotary, not my employment, that propelled my academic career into the international arena.  It began in 1975, when District Governor Bob Dean asked me to be team leader for the Group Study Exchange with Sweden.  Vocational days afforded many opportunities to meet with Swedish journalists, and in particular I became intrigued by the Swedish Press Council, which previously I had been aware of only minimally.  Two years later, I returned to Sweden for a six-month sabbatical, researching the Press Council of Sweden and neighboring countries.

     Then it was a Rotary sister-club exchange in 1985 that took me to Guatemala with a delegation from Tuscaloosa.  Rotarian Ed Moseley enlisted me in a Guatemala journalism project that has been continuous to the present.   From these Rotary beginnings, international opportunities continued, through various foundations and the US State Department.  And my teaching and research moved more and more into the area of international mass media.

     So you see, it was Rotary, through Group Study Exchange and sister clubs, that re-directed my career – teaching, research and writing; hosting, lecturing and consulting – ultimately in some 30 countries on five continents.  In every one of those countries (except China, in which there were then no clubs) I made it a point to attend Rotary meetings.  Through the instant friendship of Rotarians, not only fellowship was shared, but also insight into the local society and in particular into its mass media.  Rotary has given me so much, and I feel such a debt of gratitude to Rotary, that it is difficult to give back to Rotary all that is owed.  It tempts me to a reverse view of our motto – He who profits most cannot help but serve in return.

     For many years, I have taught senior and graduate level courses in “International Mass Media.”  The courses survey comparative press systems of the world and the significant variables that shape first-, second-, and third-world media.

     My wife Dusti loves travel as much as I, and she has shared in some of the media and Rotary insights.  In Romania, recently emerged from the authoritarian rule of Ciaocescu, she was told by a local journalist, “Well, we now have freedom, but we have no idea what to do with it.”  In a Rotary meeting in Ecuador, she inquired of the men – only men – at our table if there were women members of Rotary.  Told that there were none, she inquired why, and a member said, “Oh, we don’t know of any women who are qualified to be Rotarians.”  But last week at the RI Convention in Japan, she met many women Rotarians, some who are club presidents and district governors. 

     Religions in various societies can be so different, yet in many ways have so much in common.  Other than recognizing the deity of Christ, they appeal to moral standards not greatly different from the teachings of Christianity.  In Japan, I learned from a Buddhist monk the philosophy of Zen Budhism.  In India, I observed the dedication of the predominant Hindu population.  In Jordan, I saw the loyalty of Moslem believers.  In Bolivia and Paraguay, I saw the blending of Catholicism with traditional Indian worship.  In Romania, Dusti and I attended worship with our friend, a Greek Orthodox archbishop.  And in various countries of Europe, multiple denominational worship came closer to reflecting our own Christian practice in this country.

     I learned a lesson in Rotary attendance at one of the London, England Rotary Clubs.  Early in the meeting, the Sgt. At Arms introduced visiting Rotarians and guests, then announced “regrets” and “apologies.”  A Rotarian next to me explained.  “If I am invited to your party but cannot attend, I send regrets.  If I attend your party but must leave early, I offer apologies.”  The Sgt at Arms announced “regrets,” by name, from those few Rotarians who had advised their inability to attend.  Then he added two or three names of Rotarians “who are absent without regrets.”  My friend explained that members are diligent to keep their names off those lists, especially the latter.  The Sgt at Arms then announced “apologies” from those few who had to leave early, and as he called their names, they filed by the speaker’s table, shook hands with the president and speaker, and slipped out.  My friend explained that “apologies” and “regrets” are very few, and the necessity for them is diligently avoided.

     A month spent in the central African country of Uganda held some dramatic experiences.  Although I was sent by the US State Department as consultant to Makerere University, Rotary contacts were many.  With Rotary affiliation on my resume, an embassy officer scheduled me to attend a Rotary District Foundation Seminar, meeting there in Kampala, on the first weekend of my stay.  DG Vijay Talwar, from neighboring Kenya, asked me to speak about Group Study Exchange.  The District includes Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.  Few of those present had any knowledge of GSE, and my introduction led to a lot of informal chats during the afternoon “tea.”

     A Rotarian staff member at the University welcomed me warmly and went overboard trying to add Rotary experiences to my academic duties.  Through his introductions, I had opportunity to visit several clubs.  An administrator from the university was in one of those club meetings, and our Rotary fellowship opened opportunity for us to discuss the curriculum needs to an extent that otherwise might not have been afforded.

     During the first of my four weeks in Uganda, the deadly disease Ebola broke out in the northern part of the country.  While the capital city of Kampala was spared any cases, a medical doctor from there -- a Rotarian -- volunteered to go to Gulu to tend to the sick and dying.  He became infected with the disease and died.  And can there be any greater example of "Service Above Self"?
    
     Bob, you asked earlier if I had developed a philosophy on internationalism.  And yes, that became an almost necessary preface to my teaching in the field.  So let me conclude with it.

     I believe in internationalism.  I believe that international goodwill is not a destination but an ongoing journey; not an accomplishment but a process; not an end but a means to mutually beneficial ends.  I believe in allegiance to certain absolutes, tempered with careful consideration of alternatives and thoughtful concern for results.  I believe in challenging others to consider these factors, and in helping them to decide rather than in deciding for them.  I believe it is possible to inspire people to discover more than can be taught.  I believe that each generation in each of the world’s societies should be inspired to rise intellectually above its predecessors.  In three decades of efforts in international journalism, I have sought to live and serve within these philosophies.

     That was an academic statement.  I offer it also as a philosphy of International Rotary.