You Want Us to Do What?

In this course so far, we're learning a lot about "living our ritual".

The only thing I have to say about this is--if you don't know your values, how do you expect to live a values-based life? It's kinda like being a heart surgeon but not knowing the difference between a vein or an artery OR being a banker and not knowing how to count OR being a pastor and have never read the gospel.

To be 100% REAL, here's where I think the problem lies: when we take new members into our organizations, we have these REALLY HIGH expectations of them to learn our values, history, purpose, founders, and all else but then the education stops there. Why do we have Directors/Masters/VPs of New Member Education but not Total Member Education? Why do we put so much emphasis on those coming into our organizations but not those that are IN or organizations? Maybe this problem is just an IFC issue but I know that it exists abundantly in our community and the interviews last Friday proved just that.

If we were to walk down the streets and ask people to provide some words that describe what it means "to be an American", here are some responses you'd probably get: freedom, liberty, justice, innovation, enterprise, etc. etc. etc.

If you were to walk down the street and poll the regular "passer byer" on what it means to be "in a fraternity or sorority", can you imagine the responses you'd get? Think about it for a minute... All it takes is one news headline. One story from a friend. One facebook post. Here's the very scary thing: there are 3,000 people in our community! All it takes is one.

Like I've said in other posts--I'm not a fan of being a whistle-blower unless there's a solution to the problem... Here it is once again: ACCOUNTABILITY. Let's hold ALL members of our organizations as accountable as we hold our new members. Let's call out active members during meetings to recite the object (that's not hazing--if so I'm reporting my Poli Sci prof!). Let's change the title of our VP/Director/Master/Captain of New Member Education to Total Member Education. Let's have our members' facebook pages monitored to ensure that they're living their values on the web. Let's implement an alcohol-free facility policy. We know the problems. They're in the headlines, we hear them from non-Greeks everyday--why don't we act? The answer: WE'RE COWARDS.

Let's start living that ritual. Why do we disgrace heroes like Martin Luther King or Abraham Lincoln in our blogs (people that died for social change) if we are too coward to even speak up and be bold. The ONLY thing that a member would sacrifice is criticism. Can you imagine if just ONE member of a party "frat" (yes, i used the f-word) made a motion in a chapter meeting to ban alcohol in their chapter facilities?! That's heroism. Stop worrying about political correctness and instead worry about correcting problems.

Just Do It!


Another Angry Rant,


Clark Siddle