Reflections On The Four-Way Test

Is It The Truth: We are a community within a community. Fellowship is one of our foundations. We have a common goal of service above self. We meet as equals and enjoy a closeness of relationship supported by freedom of access – weekly connections. This is the Truth.

Is it Fair To All Concerned: We get to mix it up! Connections within our club and among our members should be broad and numerous. This ensures great mixing and an opportunity to get to know each other. This protects us from developing cliques, networks if you will, that stand in in the way of that culture. This creates an environment of trust and mutual respect for each other. This is Fair To All Concerned.

Will It Build Goodwill And Better Friendships: Our ‘house’ is a big one. People of many vocations, denominations, races, ethnicities and beliefs. As a club we are known to be strong in fellowship. It is imperative that as club members, our place continues to be one where we strive to be seen as a group of likeminded citizens who are supportive, respectful, engaging and self-aware of each other’s space and needs. Through the good work of our past and current Rotarians this ethos is something we should, and need to continue. It is important that we all commit to being ‘that person’ at the club who lives by and personifies these values. Each Rotarian may have his/her own key judgement on what builds goodwill and better relationships – for some it may be the shedding of the daily rigours of work to ‘take a break’ and just enjoy the fellowship that Rotary offers. This Builds Goodwill and Better Friendships.

Will It Be Beneficial To All Concerned: This is not a given as it takes work to achieve and maintain. Outside of Rotary, we all have our own vocations whether they be as a retiree, owner of a business or ‘working for the man’ as it were, to name a few. Rotary gives us an opportunity to focus on that which we may not focus on in our daily working environment. It is about providing a process whereby we put things in place to support others who need it most. You do not have to go past the Rotary motto of Service Above Self –.it is part of the glue, the fabric of society that looks after, takes care of others. Our charity (The Rotary Foundation), humanity and fellowship are hugely important to us and others. It starts with members connecting with each other, treating each other as equals in a social and respectful way, delivering a safe environment where great thoughts and ideas can grow to become great projects that benefit others. This makes it Beneficial To All Concerned.

 

 

In our contentious society, there may be those members of Rotary who use the Four-Way Test to support opposing political and social arguments and to criticize the thoughts, statements, and actions of others. There may be members with completely opposing viewpoints who use the same Four-Way Test to both support their argument and demean others. Rotarians and others are using all forms of social media to share their opinions about perceived violations of the Four-Way Test, causing others to pile on additional comments and insults, all with little thought to how this affects our public image.

Rotary members should not use the Four-Way Test to look at others, but rather, to look at themselves in considering the ramifications of a thought, statement, or action. It should not be a window through which we look to judge others. It is a mirror at which we look to judge ourselves.

The argument made by some Rotarians is that if they determine some thought, statement, or action violates any part of the test, it is their duty to declare that thought, statement, or action wrong. The Four-Way Test has been used to support any number of topics, some which many of us would find hard to support. Yet through the Internet, one can cobble together any sort of argument to back any thought or concept with a plethora of “facts”.

This is not what The Four-Way Test is about. It is more about how we treat each other than how we measure ideas, opinions or people.

Of course, it is a challenging standard. It is difficult to keep from thinking something. But what is more important is how you act on that thought. If you think to yourself, “I don’t like this person,” it becomes a matter of what you do with that thought. You can try to dispel it, as well as, any urge to take some negative action to satisfy your dislike of the person. You can also decide whether you say something to that person or tell others what you think.

This is where social media distorts things, because society now seems to embrace negative, vitriolic, or fake comments – as long as the comments agree with our own views. Posting such comments even in the name of the Four-Way Test is certainly not FAIR to all concerned and definitely does not build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS.

We as members of the Rotary family must realized that using the Four-Way Test to argue political and social issues is in itself contrary to the test. We must never use the test to support a position while opposing or berating someone else’s position. We should not use the Four-Way Test to support or oppose contentious “hot button” issues, to comment on political discord, or to respond to another’s comment.

We need to teach the Four-Way Test to all of our friends. We do not need to preach it. Rotary takes pride that it is a non-political, non-religious organization. That has allowed us to make inroads in parts of the world where governments and religious organizations cannot Let’s not sully Rotary’s reputation by using these 24 words of ethical and moral thought to tear each other down, but, to build each other up as members of Rotary.