Three Iola High School girls told Iola Rotarians Thursday how the Four-Way Test, a philosophical guide for the club, could be applied to everyday circumstances. THE FOUR-WAY Test was devised by Herbert J. Taylor during the Great Depression in a visible way to try to save his business, Club Aluminum Products.
Their presentations were a local competition, with the winner, yet to be determined, advancing to district. The eventual state winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Jo Lohman related the four principles to vaccinations; Jerrica Adams talked about mental illness; Emma Piazza used them to interpret the Pledge of Allegiance. Adams is a sophomore, the others seniors.
Lohman allowed vaccinations gave populations freedom from disease and that it was unfair for some to deny vaccinations and put others at risk. Benefits obviously are numerous, she said, and dispelled the myth that measles vaccinations could be a precursor to autism.
Outbreaks of a specific diseases, such as is the fear today with measles, occur from people being lax about having children vaccinated, she said.
Statistics bear out her contentions. In 1952 there were 57,000 cases of polio in the United States, which led to 3,000 deaths and 21,000 victims becoming disabled. Today, in large measure because of Rotary International’s efforts, polio is next to eradicated worldwide.
“Vaccinations save lives,” Lohman said. “Don’t put your and others’ lives at risk.”
Adams said some people make fun of people suffering from mental illness, going to such extremes as name-calling and being cruel.
Mental illness is different from one affecting a person physically, she said, which can be seen while a mental disability often isn’t, “but it affects people just the same.” They live with the specter of “expecting the worst but hoping for the best.”
“Give them a chance,” Adams pleaded.
Piazza encouraged her listeners to pay attention when they recite the Pledge of Allegiance, which begins with “One nation…”
“Some say, ‘yes,’ it is one nation, but it’s also a melting pot” and has been since the first Europeans arrived centuries ago, she recounted. “It is one, but we pride ourselves in diversity.”
As the pledge continues, (One nation) “under God, might be unfair,” she said, because not all in the U.S. are Christians. Some believe in other religions and some none at all.
Piazza also pointed out the wide range of diversity in the country — social, cultural, ethnic and political.
The pledge mentions “liberty and justice for all,” which some think is true, she continued, while “some aren’t being served. The next time you say it, ask whether it (the pledge) passes the four-way test.”
The test he applied to business dealings: Is it the truth?; Is it fair to all concerned?; Will it build goodwill and better friendships?; Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Rotary and several other organizations later adopted the principles Taylor espoused.
IHS girls ask us to look closer at actions, words
