SPEECH BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A LUNCHEON HOSTED BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF ENNISKILLEN
SPEECH BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A LUNCHEON HOSTED BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF ENNISKILLEN WEDNESDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER, 2002
I am delighted to be in Enniskillen today and to have this opportunity to meet so many members of the Rotary Club of Enniskillen. My thanks to John Trimble and to Ivan Kee for their very kind invitation to join you on a day which by coincidence is the anniversary of that dreadful day when the United States became engulfed in the devastating power of human hatred. There are many awful memories of that day and the days that followed, memories that evoke awful sadness and heartache but there are other memories of people rallying to help each other, of strangers giving their lives for others, of communities finding in themselves a renewed spirit of human solidarity, decency and kindness. The spontaneous outpouring of grief and generosity side by side is a very familiar story here in Enniskillen for you too have lived with the power of both. When human beings inflict enormous hurt on each other, part of us despairs of the human condition and its capacity for contempt. On those days we need to be reminded that there is another story, a story of men and women of goodness and selflessness who are building up civic society not dragging it down, witnessing to the good we are capable of, transcending through their work the many evils that beset our world, whether the evil of enmity or of poverty.
We are blessed on this island to have a long and proud tradition of unselfish voluntary outreach in many different spheres of activity at home and abroad. In fact if all that voluntary endeavour suddenly stopped, the fabric of community would rapidly disintegrate and the world would become a much gloomier, much colder place.
There are many who worry today that the greater public good is now regarded as secondary to personal advancement – where time is devoted to satisfying the needs and the desires of the self, but at a cost to the community. The success of the Rotary organisation is reflected in its recognition that the greatest danger to a community is complacency. The careless acceptance of neglect, discrimination, violence, fear, loneliness and poverty as part of life is confronted and challenged in your work at home and worldwide. Your motto - Service before Self - is a crucial witness to hope and to faith in our capacity to change things for the better. Your work allows people to experience the curious and miraculous truth of that quotation from the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi - that it is in giving we receive. Your members are powerful advocates and exemplars of that remarkable reality that when we give to others we take nothing from ourselves but build ourselves up humanly and at the same time help build a better life for others.
To serve the community, to give help and support to those who are most in need, and to encourage mutual understanding among people of all ages, creeds and cultures, are admirably some of the key aims of your organisation. One of the greatest strengths of Rotary is that it is both local and international, tackling issues at community level and achieving wide-reaching results. You are a best practice model of thinking globally, acting locally, breaking down the barriers that have created impediments between people. Through the ideals you have fostered as Rotarians, you have proven that distrust and suspicion rarely survive respectful personal contact. Increasing cross-community, cross-border and international co-operation brings us more frequently into contact with each other to build relationships of trust and goodwill. It is a continuous process whereby the things which separate us take on a new and less overwhelming perspective. We find the courage and the space to explore the things we have in common, to share achievements through common endeavour and to build up a bank of shared memories which are the seedcorn of a better, happier future.
That future is always in jeopardy where hatred and distrust run amok, coursing like a toxin through human hearts, bringing agony, fear and dread. Our thoughts turn today to the people of the United States who hold a special place in our hearts. In this place which has it own grim story to tell we remember those who died or were wounded, those who grieve, those who have lost their peace of mind, those whose heroism was inspirational. We draw comfort from the indomitable human spirit which manifests itself so forcefully in difficult times and we think of the world leaders who face choices of profound gravity in the work of bringing stability and reconciliation to our fragmented world.
The late Senator Gordon Wilson, a former President of this Club, who lost his lovely daughter Marie in the Remembrance Day bombing was one of those rare but essential individuals whose response to the outrage perpetrated here was to cling ever more strongly to the moral dignity and the Christian values which he adhered to throughout his life. His quiet, leadership spoke to many, many hearts and still does, for he helped us to keep on believing in the power of the ordinary person to do good and in the mission we each have, each day to be the sources of understanding, to be voices of reason, to be champions of reconciliation and healing. Some ignore that mission, some distort and abuse it, some conspire against it but you honour it, you respect it and you live it. It is good to be in your company, to commend and congratulate you for all that you have done in the cause of others and to wish you every success in the years ahead.
Thank you.