Freedom. I’ve been thinking about freedom a lot lately. What does freedom really mean? I’ve been called apolitical. I’m not sure that’s true. I’m not interested in the dramas of the politicians, but I do care. I don’t feel I can change the world at large, so I focus on the microcosm that is Rowe. I hope that creating a world here at Rowe based on peace and justice will reflect back out into the larger world.
Rowe Camp has always been considered a “free zone,” where we create a culture with as few rules as possible. Experiencing this kind of freedom is a new experience to many campers. One of the questions we posed to applicants for camp director this year was, “What do you find most challenging about camp?” The leading answer was, “Campers who disrespect camp.”
Some new campers don’t understand Rowe right away: they don’t always get it. They don’t understand that you don’t trash the place, destroy property, steal from other campers, belittle people, or fill your plate with food only to dump it in the trash. You don’t do these things because there are rules that say so, but because the freedom we have here comes with responsibility. We are used to living with rules so understanding about freedom and responsibility isn’t automatic.
We were talking the other day about Rowe being a place that attracts rebellious people. If that is how it appears, then we’re giving the wrong impression. Rowe does attract rebellious people, but rebellion for rebellion’s sake is not the heart of the Rowe Spirit. Rowe has always attracted idealists. Sometimes those idealists are rebelling against things they believe are morally and ethically wrong, not because they are rebellious by nature.
Local heroes, Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner, lost their home because they refused to pay their taxes, not because they are rebellious people, but as an act of conscience because they couldn’t pay for wars or preparations for wars they felt were morally wrong. I’ve met others who went to jail for protesting at nuclear power plants or against wars. They are often gentle people who care deeply and are willing to sacrifice for what they believe in. They are extremely responsible people who passionately believe in living by their conscience.
So when I hear that Rowe attracts rebellious people, I react. For me, the emphasis is misplaced. Rowe Camp began in 1924. The first thirty-four youths to attend a conference at Rowe issued a camper resolution unanimously protesting a “National Mobilization Day” scheduled for that September. The U.S. Secretary of War quickly responded with a letter. That action established the tone for future camps. Rowe Camp is the foundation for the Spirit of Rowe, and those values continue. Read the Rowe CenterPost, our newspaper that goes out twice a year, to find out what Rowe Camp and Conference Center stands for. It has a lot to do with freedom.
I love working with the camp community. I have met some fine young adults at camp. They give me hope for our future. Without that hope I could easily fall into despair, given what is happening in the world today. They want to make the world a better place. They want to instill the Spirit of Rowe in young people. They are idealistic, compassionate, mature, responsible, free-spirited, creative, committed, evolved human beings. They exemplify the responsibility that comes with freedom.
Rowe has no locked doors. Living that freely and still feeling safe is refreshing. In my sixteen years here, we’ve had a few significant thefts. Last year, three guitars were stolen from the Rec Hall. The cost of the guitars was minimal compared to the violation of trust that spread through camp. It felt terrible. We later found out the thieves were two local youngsters – not campers . The question came up, “Should we start locking our doors?” I don’t think so. Every time we’ve had a theft, we’ve gotten a lesson in values. When our trust is shaken, we can react in fear or we can look deep inside and stand up in courage for what we believe. Maybe the US government should take a lesson from Rowe Camp. Out of fear, our country is locking doors and taking away our freedoms.
I understand that urge to control things. It isn’t easy being an authority figure in a place built on freedom. We don’t work on consensus here. Our work philosophy is autonomy with accountability: We all have autonomy over our own work and are accountable for what we do or don’t do. We hope we will each find our own inner authority and be responsible to ourselves and to the group. We will carry well the work we have agreed to do by freely accepting a position here.
I’ve watched some staff people blossom in this kind of environment. They have an inner sense of freedom and responsibility. They hold themselves to high standards, and they love the respect and freedom they feel. Other people just aren’t able to find that inner authority. Some folks confuse getting to be who you are with permission to act out. They mistake their behavior with the core qualities of who they are, or they think that freedom is all about doing what you want to do when you want to do it regardless of how it affects other people.
Our new associate chef, Diane, has lived in India. She said that Americans are funny about freedom. Freedom is an inner quality; it doesn’t matter whether your boss tells you what to do or not. Your sense of freedom comes from inside you and you can freely choose to do what you have agreed to do. She pointed out that, in the United States, we are constantly bombarded with messages about how to live, what to do, who to be. Every place you look, every time you turn on a radio or TV, you are being brainwashed. Choosing freely is hard, given all the programming coming our way.
Stanley Herman and Michael Korenich’s poem speaks to this for me.
Freedom 1
No one grants you freedom
You are free if you are free
No one enthralls you
You enthrall yourself
And when you have
You may hand your tether
to another
to many others
to all others, or
to yourself
Perhaps this last is worst of all
For this slave master is hardest to see
And hardest to rebel against
But he is easiest to hate
and to damage
I do not know how to tell you to be free
I wish I did
But I do know some signs of freedom
One is in doing what you want to do
though someone tells you not to
Another is in doing
what you want to do
though someone tells you to.
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