ROTARY CLUB OF GILROY

GILROY ROTARY ESSAY CONTEST

Front Row : Jill Fortino ( Committee Chair ), Jacqueline Sanchez ( CHS ), Rachel Gorelik ( GECA ) Tobias Tankersley ( GECA ) and J . Chris Mickartz , Back Row : Whitney Pintello ( Rotary President ), Kaleb Windsor ( Pacific Point ), Hayden Jungling , ( CHS ) and Larry J . Mickartz .

The Third Annual Gilroy Rotary Club ’ s “ Four-Way Test ” Essay Contest was open to all Gilroy Unified high school English and Social Studies classes . The theme was based on Rotary ’ s belief in the Four- Way Test ; Is it the truth ? Is it fair to all concerned ? Will it build goodwill and better friendships ? Will it be beneficial to all concerned ?

Cro-Magnon man bounds through the forests of northern Europe , spear in hand and bow on back . His brothers surround him in the chase of the hunt for prey . Quick on the lookout for the closest related being to him on Earth , homo neanderthalensis , Neanderthals . For thousands of years humans survived in tribes , lived in tribes , and settled lands in tribes . While we have moved passed this primitive stage of human evolution , we still relapse back into our own “ tribes ” when faced with adversities . These tribes tend to spread lies , render deceit , erect hostility , and only seek to further their own goals and peoples . In short , tribalism thrives on and creates the exact opposite standards that are the centerpiece of The Four Way Test . In my recent years of observing and oftentimes engaging in political discourse where I see it , the standards of the Four Way Test stood as a guide that helped me recognize tribalism in our politics today , find how I could be tribal , and eventually lead me to a new way of thinking politically .

The most recent election seen here in the United States shifted the entire paradigm of our society . Whether you backed “ Him ” or “ Her ” you probably had an opinion on all of the hot button issues presented by CNN and Fox . Bloody protests and cynical rallies grew and grew as more and more people pledged their loyalty to a tribe . With a complete lack of regard to the actual optics of the situation , brother disavowed brother based on their beliefs . People did and do not care what is really the truth . People did and do not care about how fair things are for those who oppose them . People did and do not care about goodwill with their adversary . People did and do not care about the repercussions to be had in the future . The only thing that matters is the survival of their political tribe . These observations first became clear to me as I began to listen to podcasts such as the Joe Rogan Experience ( JRE ). New wave media like the JRE brought into my sight the accounts of many different perspectives . These conversations with people from all backgrounds , and tribes , showed me the different outlooks and how the tribes form and operate .

A look at fellow human beings tricked into the same tribal warfare as I made me realize what we were actually doing to each other . I followed the only rational mode of action and took a conscious inventory of myself . A thorough , soul searching examination of how I contribute to the tribal toxicity followed . In my early years of high school , I avidly believed and espoused right wing politics . A Donald Trump zealot , I did my fair share of antagonizing the masses . But the examination of myself found serious flaws in that . Whatever “ truths ” I believed in often took the form of lies told myself to prop up the vision of America ’ s future in my head . I disregarded what was fair to other people . Actively I lost potential friends as a result of my action . And nobody benefited except for the “ tribe ” that

I enslaved under . And of course , that does not say I just swapped out red ideals with blue . A different camp for a soldier to sleep in or flag for him to march under does not make him any less of a soldier .

The realization of my place in the tribal camps forced me to rethink my political views all the way down to the very foundation . The solution to fixing my crisis came very simply and plainly . Abstaining from the political meta of our two party system and throwing the power of my then weak voice behind individualism and liberty - thinking for myself what to believe in . Seeking and speaking only the truth . Finding and fighting for fairness . Meeting and manufacturing goodwill among men . And discovering and deploying the proper benefits to all concerned . Divorcing myself from my old ways and forging a new path that coincides with the standards sought after in the Four Way Test .

As horrendous and violent as tribalism is , it is inherit nature to us humans . We do still live most of our lives in tribes as did our ancestors . Family , friends , age , race , gender . Yet we must not allow our tribes to dictate to us who we are and what we must believe in . Breaking free from that structure and engaging in the idea that the individual is paramount . The same beliefs and standards employed by The Four Way Test catalyzed that transformation within me .

Essay Submitted by : Haydon Jungling

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2018 gmhtoday . com

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