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Jan. 4, 2005 I applaud President George W. Bush's increase in the American financial commitment for Tsunami relief in southern Asia and his statement today, January 3: “In the coming days, Presidents Clinton and Bush will ask Americans to donate directly to reliable charities already providing help to tsunami victims. I've asked the former presidents to solicit contributions both large and small.” My friend Jim wonders why I applaud. Here are my thoughts, Jim. Today, the Monday after New Year’s day, it doesn’t matter to me why and how President Bush arrived at the mechanism to put the full strength of the philanthropic impulse of the American people behind the relief and development needs of the people in the ring of countries hit by the Tsunami in southern Asia on the day after Christmas. Among community and world service workers and volunteers, it is a common practice to welcome and accept fundraising assistance and donations, whether targeted for a specific activity or not, as long as they come with no strings attached. No matter what else made them participate, or take out their wallet, checkbook, or stock options to make a donation, we celebrate their participation or their giving, because they have responded to the philanthropic impulse. It doesn’t matter that tangled with this impulse may be one or more other reasons for giving. These may be identifiable or unidentifiable, tangible or intangible, trivial or of great import. The reasons may be as mundane as giving positive exposure to a name or product, or getting tax benefits—large or small. Or it may be as compelling as remembering a loved one, one’s own healing journey, or the cry of another heart. Nor does it matter whether the person who gives was the first to do so or the last, nor whether he or she was responding to the urgings of their spirit in solitary meditation. Nor whether it was a response to the exhortation of a preacher on the Sabbath—a Friday, a Saturday, or a Sunday. Nor whether it came in response to the action of the next person in the pew or the prayer mat. Nor whether it followed a groundswell of giving by everybody around. For it is recognized that each person has his or her own pace in deciding on the best way to make a difference. Caution, you know Jim, is an inevitable by-product of the well-publicized scandals in the use of philanthropic funds for private gain rather than public benefit. “Due diligence” requires the exercise of caution. Non-profit and religious leaders know that at the moment of giving and receiving a no-strings- attached donation, none of the personal reasons for giving should be the subject of cross- examination. The moment is rightly given to accepting and applauding what is given and the person who has done the giving. For me, my applause is filtered with the lens of my experience doing community service for over 30 years: I have found that people are at some level aware of the age-old truth, reinforced by the teachings of all the world’s religious leaders, that in the reciprocal relationship between giver and beneficiary, the giver gets the most out of the transaction, be it temporal or spiritual. And so as a necessary follow-up to my column of last week on Electronic words and the heart of the global village, I applaud President Bush’s words on January 3 and his selection of Presidents Bush and Clinton, both of whom have the ability to raise large sums of money for worthy causes. I know my friend, Jim, is rightly worried about the new oppressions that might emerge in a region just recovering from centuries of colonial subjugations. Jim, I am sure in the days and weeks ahead legions of observers will ferret out whether any strings are getting attached to the relief and development assistance, and whether we will be helping people to help themselves build self- sustaining lives and communities. ------------ About the author: Michael Chacko Daniels, a Californian, grew up in India. He is the author of Split in Two (poetry) and Anything Out of Place Is Dirt (novel), Writers Workshop, Kolkata (www.writersworkshopkolkata.com). Email: mchackod@pacbell.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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