04.26.05
Posted in politics, life at 12:30 pm by
I’ll admit. I’m pretty happy about the overall outpouring of support for Africa Malaria Day. I’m glad that so many folks have taken the initiative to educate themselves about this and other issues of poverty. So, to all who’ve taken part in my little ‘poverty challenge’ over the last few days, thank you.
I’ve got some other ideas in the works as we speak to mobilize our little corner of cyberspace to be proactive about issues of poverty. Keep reading and I’ll keep you posted about them.
I also must admit, though, an unexpected dynamic arose because of my stated support of the ‘one.org’ campaign. Some folks were upset and voiced their concerns about the campaign. I was and am shocked by this response.
The most prevalent argument against the one campaign has been (and I’m paraphrasing here) “Liberals do the same thing all the time. It’s always governmental aid and that always gets botched. What about personal responsibility?”
I am flabergasted by this response. The ONE.org campaign, while it is in part about encouraging governmental aid, it is also about people joining together regardless of their political label–conservative or liberal. Folk who are conservative on most issues should remember that Pat Robertson is a spokesperson for this campaign.
Of course, it’s easy for a person who is liberal on many issues (although, I question the value of any of these labels) to buy into this campaign. It does, as these folks suggest, operate on fundamentally progressive principles of encouraging governmental aid. BUT, it also is about getting individuals to contribute. It’s about enabling individuals to get educated about issues of poverty. ONE likely realizes that by getting individuals nominally involved by contributing their voice, they’re also likely to get individuals to contribute their time and money in the future.
I posit that the folks who are blindest to this are those who aren’t really interested in ending poverty. These folks are in love with pinning labels to things and being able confirm their stereotypes about liberals or conservatives. They’re so selfish that they’ve been blinded by hate of humanity–they can no longer see with the eyes of love. That’s true of both conservatives and liberals. I’ve been guilty of this like many others.
However, poverty transcends the liberal / conservative boundaries. It’s an equal opportunity killer. Every second we spend labelling and deriding one person’s solution–another 3 children die. Here’s a novel idea about how to move forth. If you don’t like one campaign because of some political ideology that you don’t espouse (or don’t think you espouse), here’s what not to do. Don’t write about what a bad idea it is.
But here’s my suggestion about what to do: Get off your lazy fucking ass and come up with your own idea about how to fight poverty; find a cause you CAN support and support it.
Come up with something that is truly going to make a difference rather than bitching about how bad conservatives are or how bad liberals are. We don’t have time for your commentary that demonizes the other side. That’s misspent energy. I should know, after all, much of the time I’ve spent writing this blog has been name calling. Frankly, it hasn’t accomplished much. I’ve got some readers, I’ve worked through some issues, I’ve honed some opinions, but in the end one must take the next step.
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Posted in politics, life at 12:30 pm by
I’ll admit. I’m pretty happy about the overall outpouring of support for Africa Malaria Day. I’m glad that so many folks have taken the initiative to educate themselves about this and other issues of poverty. So, to all who’ve taken part in my little ‘poverty challenge’ over the last few days, thank you.
I’ve got some other ideas in the works as we speak to mobilize our little corner of cyberspace to be proactive about issues of poverty. Keep reading and I’ll keep you posted about them.
I also must admit, though, an unexpected dynamic arose because of my stated support of the ‘one.org’ campaign. Some folks were upset and voiced their concerns about the campaign. I was and am shocked by this response.
The most prevalent argument against the one campaign has been (and I’m paraphrasing here) “Liberals do the same thing all the time. It’s always governmental aid and that always gets botched. What about personal responsibility?”
I am flabergasted by this response. The ONE.org campaign, while it is in part about encouraging governmental aid, it is also about people joining together regardless of their political label–conservative or liberal. Folk who are conservative on most issues should remember that Pat Robertson is a spokesperson for this campaign.
Of course, it’s easy for a person who is liberal on many issues (although, I question the value of any of these labels) to buy into this campaign. It does, as these folks suggest, operate on fundamentally progressive principles of encouraging governmental aid. BUT, it also is about getting individuals to contribute. It’s about enabling individuals to get educated about issues of poverty. ONE likely realizes that by getting individuals nominally involved by contributing their voice, they’re also likely to get individuals to contribute their time and money in the future.
I posit that the folks who are blindest to this are those who aren’t really interested in ending poverty. These folks are in love with pinning labels to things and being able confirm their stereotypes about liberals or conservatives. They’re so selfish that they’ve been blinded by hate of humanity–they can no longer see with the eyes of love. That’s true of both conservatives and liberals. I’ve been guilty of this like many others.
However, poverty transcends the liberal / conservative boundaries. It’s an equal opportunity killer. Every second we spend labelling and deriding one person’s solution–another 3 children die. Here’s a novel idea about how to move forth. If you don’t like one campaign because of some political ideology that you don’t espouse (or don’t think you espouse), here’s what not to do. Don’t write about what a bad idea it is.
But here’s my suggestion about what to do: Get off your lazy fucking ass and come up with your own idea about how to fight poverty; find a cause you CAN support and support it.
Come up with something that is truly going to make a difference rather than bitching about how bad conservatives are or how bad liberals are. We don’t have time for your commentary that demonizes the other side. That’s misspent energy. I should know, after all, much of the time I’ve spent writing this blog has been name calling. Frankly, it hasn’t accomplished much. I’ve got some readers, I’ve worked through some issues, I’ve honed some opinions, but in the end one must take the next step.
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Natros said,
April 28, 2005 at 4:29 pm
It’s horrible that the political/social atmosphere here in the US–and too often in the church–as become so polarized that espousing the “wrong” opinion on a particular issue is all it takes to get labled “conservative” or “liberal.” After the label comes demonization and disregard, and, particularly when it comes to an issue like hunger or poverty, another few thousand (or million) die while we fight over our political notions.
But, I think it’s important to remember that it can be a good thing to be critical and discerning. Poverty is a complex problem, with quite a few causes and effects. One size does not fit all in fighting poverty, but neither do all proposals work to alleviate poeerty and suffering. I agree that we shouldn’t demonize people with differing ideas for approaching the problem, particularly when we’re fighting a common enemy. But neither do I beleive I should be silent when a bad idea is floated. It’s a fine line, I know, but we all know that there are plenty of well-intentioned people who unwittingly make problems worse because they can’t accept criticism of their methods. In these cases, a forum is needed where people’s enthusiasm and concern can be affirmed, but their methods can be improved.
E said,
May 3, 2005 at 9:32 am
I’m sorry that I ever used the world “liberal” - it certainly was not my intention to turn the discussion away from the real problem, which I fear is what happened.
My point, much like yours Brandon, was that it’s not enough to buy a $1 bracelet or drop an extra $10 in the offering plate and say that you’re fighting poverty. While it’s a start, we all need to be involved, personally. It’s what we’re called to do. Every one of use.
Here’s a link to a story about someone who is giving sacrificially to help others in his community. Very inspiring. We don’t hear enough about the many people like this guy.
http://www.worldmag.com/subscriber/displayarticle.cfm?id=10559
mainsheet42 said,
May 3, 2005 at 3:47 pm
What counts as fighting poverty, Brandon?
Does fighting against changes that will create poverty in the future count? Because that’s where a lot of my energy is going right now: Bush and his base want to destroy Social Security, or failing that, create a situation that will allow its destruction in fifteen years or so.
If Bush succeeds in making social security a welfare program for the elderly who never made it into the investing class, and it will be easy for some future Congress to decide to slash benefits. We’ll hear stories of Cadillac-driving Social Security cheats, and poof, that will be that.
As far as malaria is concerned, the current levels of malaria in Africa are in large part our (the industrialized West generally and the United States, specifically) fault. In the early 1960s, the Congress of the US decided to fund a world-wide project to eradicate Anopheles mosquitoes. The funding had a sunset provision in it, and when Anopheles wasn’t eradicated, Congress just let the funding die.
Unfortunately, that allowed the mosquitoes to recover and then Plasmodium (the malaria parasite) got to infect a naive population. Lots of people died as a result. (See Laurie Garrett’s books on public health for the well-documented, gory details.)
Audrey