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Seeing ourselves as others see us is greatly overrated. Not having been filmed in decades, watching myself as a talking head in Dare to Dream: How Rotary Became the Heart and Soul of Polio Eradication was a bit of a jolt. On the other hand, what fun to see and hear leaders I know today as a writer, or worked with thirty-odd years ago as a Rotary staffer, or both. How young we all were!
Rotarian Ken Solow’s remarkable documentary recounts how Rotary decided to rid the world of polio and assembled partners for the effort. While my role as historian* is only a bit part in global polio eradication, Dare to Dream reaffirms that beginnings matter. The polio story in 1979-88 was messy, confusing, and sometimes mired in controversy or mistrust. That’s how movements begin. They succeed, if at all, because believers press on through the confusion and mess. * Rotary and the Gift of a Polio-Free World, Volume I, Making the Promise, and Volume II, Almost Every Child.
7 Comments
What a privilege it is to have you as part of our Dare to Dream project. Dr. John Sever insisted that your book, Rotary and the Gift of a Polio-Free World, Vol. 1, was the definitive history of Rotary's polio eradication journey. It's truly a wonderful read and I highly recommend it to Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike!
Lisa Imhoff
2/5/2018 09:13:33 am
Very cool, Sarah. I watched the trailer. So proud to know a few people who DO STUFF. Glad you watched the trailer. As for doing stuff, in the narrow sense it's the people in the field and those figuring out the final steps to eradication who are doing; I'm just documenting. In a broader sense, those of us who write or illustrate or coordinate meetings or just talk with friends about things that matter, we're each contributing within our niche to issues we care about.
Beth Genne
2/5/2018 01:15:25 pm
What an extraordinary accomplishment in which you clearly played a key role!!! Having seen the documentary, I recommend it highly -- its a fascinating and important document. I am old enough to remember the fear that we all lived through as little kids and our parents incredible relief when the vaccine was discovered. The fact that this terrible disease is on the edge of being completely eradicated is a world wonder -- and Sarah you were part of it!! It really is an amazing story. I can get caught up in the details of one current issue or another. It's energizing sometimes to step back and see how far we've come, from terror of polio in the USA in the early 1950s, to 350,000 cases a year globally in 1988, to only twenty-two in 2017. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin.
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