Archive for the ‘Faith-based’ Category
Haiti Relief
January 18th, 2010 | 
Author: So much to consider talking about this weekend; Harry Reid and Racism in America (is it a game changer?), the election of a new Massachusetts Senator (is it about MA or BO?), and there is the ever looming Healthcare Bill debate. In the end I chose something that is much closer to my heart and represents several core conservative values: disaster relief in Haiti. I will use the transcript from CBS Face the Nation where Bob Schieffer questions President Bush and President Clinton. It was the one that generated the most controversy and provides the most material for me to articulates the values I want to emphasize.
(Transcript: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/01/17/transcript_bush_clinton_keen_shah_face_the_nation_99936.html)
I love seeing politician in a different setting than the campaign mode. I particularly like seeing opponents like Bush 43 and Clinton being unified on something. We get way too much of the clash and it distorts the truth that we all agree on 95% of our values.
My first point is about the presidents themselves and how they approached the Haiti tragedy. They have a celebrity factor being ex-presidents. And they are using their popularity for something other than personal gain. I celebrate this and try to encourage others to do the same. I emphasize this in the youth ministries by suggesting to the popular kids that they should leverage that to help bring the fringe and “follow-the-crowd” groups to events. I like seeing a bigger example of it with the presidents doing more for Haiti by leveraging their celebrity than they could individually.
The next point that struck a conservative chord was Clinton referring to a very proper role of government (e.g. law enforcement) and by contrast laying out a very proper role for “faith-based” organizations. Churches and people are far better at giving mercy and humanitarian aid than governments. It is the motivation of the organization. Governments wish to control, it is their nature. Faith-based groups wish to commune and display the love beyond understanding, it is their nature. Again, by way of contract, private peace-keepers are inherently problematic (Somalia) even with the best of intentions and faith-based roots.
The third interesting point I took from the dialog was the commitment to short-term AND long-term help. This appeals to my conservative roots and the Toa philosophy of “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” (While this is often credited to the Bible, I am pretty sure I have never seen this passage.) Providing food, housing, and medical assistance is necessary; but equally as necessary is proving infrastructure (wells, sewage, roads, schools, and the like). I have noticed a trend toward this type of charity in the past few years. It is probably from a combination of factor including the continued poverty and the feed-a-child “Band-Aid” solutions that never seem to show long term results.
It is time for a brief detour into what governments do well and what they do not do well. Good faith-based organizations, particularly local ones are really good at humanitarian aid. I was witness to many such examples after the Katrina event in New Orleans. New Orleans was a problem, for many reasons, however the governments pointing fingers and blaming each other brought about many unnecessary delays and needless suffering. While not too far away in Waveland, MS (where the storm actually hit) there were amazing examples of charity and goodwill. Waveland did not attract government/mass media attention, so all they had were the faith-based organization to rely. And they came through. There are a lot of good stories to look up sometime.
Final point that struck my conservative core was the note of personal responsibility. These men were leading the charge that the citizens of the United States need to own the responsibility to help a neighbor in need. We (the people), not the government, can do what is needed. With that we need to support charitable organizations that are familiar. www.whitehouse.gov is NOT my first choice and it should not be yours. Research the organizations and demand accountability. I am frustrated with how many people will simply give to a telephone solicitor without knowing anything about the organizations. I refuse to do this; if they persist I ask them to supply me with documentation about the organization and I will review and consider adding them to my list of supported charities. Be active in the world and don’t use the lame excuse “well, that is what my taxes are for” – it is very lame.
So go out there and leverage your popularity for good, not for gain; understand there is a proper role for government AND faith-based organization during a humanitarian event –try not to confuse the two; look for long term investments in worthy humanitarian cause while never losing site of addressing the short-term needs; and take personal responsibility in giving to your local church and humanitarian organizations. Do the research and give regularly.
I am not sure what I will take on next. SO MANY GOOD TOPICS.
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