Thursday, June 05, 2008

Great reasons to do things locally

One thing that I cherish about both our Constitution, and congregational/presbyterian forms of church government, is the opportunity to keep authorities close at hand. Here are a few examples in the news that illustrate just why this is important.

British education advisor recommends that schools drop academic subjects like history and science in favor of training them in "energy saving" and "civic responsibility." Now I don't think for a minute that this professor is unaware that to truly save energy and be a responsible citizen, you've got to understand history and science. He merely understands, as did Dewey, that if you want to control people, just deprive them of the means of thinking things through themselves.

Wouldn't you love to see the local school board meeting after the local paper reported this? Too bad for the English; he's in London.

Hurricane Katrina relief organization seeks to host party at the Democratic national convention. Anyone who donated to "Friends of New Orleans" will be happy to learn that their money, instead of helping out "Big Easy" residents, will be spent instead on entertaining prosperous convention delegates. Don't you wish that the leaders of this group got to face those they're cheating at the supermarket?

Habitat for Humanity in Sarasota has just abandoned plans, after much public outcry, to help Planned Parenthood open an abortion clinic. Yup, nothing says "I love the poor and want to help them" by offering to help Planned Parenthood kill preborn babies.

If you want accountability in how your charitable donations are spent, I dare suggest that you'll do well to contribute to local organizations where you'll see the leaders in church, at the grocery store, and at the doctor's office. It seems to me that when organizations get big and distant, they quickly lose sight of their original purpose and accountability to their supporters.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Now I don't think for a minute that this professor is unaware that to truly save energy and be a responsible citizen, you've got to understand history and science."

Why are you so sure? The number of people I've run across who believe that factual information has nothing to do with intelligent choices or good policies is really appalling. And usually, the more they are involved in theoretical professions like education (that is, what "education" has become), the more likely they are to think that way.

It's not at all unlikely that you're right about it being a control thing -- I just wouldn't be so quick to assume that a modern professional educator grasps the connection between core knowledge and intelligent analysis and decision making. Where would he learn it? The typical Western educational system? E-school?

Anonymous said...

Exactly. We never give to the "United Way" as an organization, though there are many worthy groups under that umbrella. I have at times given directly to some of these rather than UW as a whole. We much prefer giving (time and money) into our church and its various ministries, or directly into the lives of individuals or families, than to a large organization.

Anonymous said...

Hey BB,
We haven't heard from you in a few days. Usually when that happens you've had a baby or a gallstone. Is everything OK?

Bike Bubba said...

Vacation this time. Thanks!

(one of these days I'll bring a computer on vacation....but it's awful nice to be free of it for a time)

Pentamom, you may be right about the prof not knowing....the trouble I have with the idea, though, is that what he's proposing fits too perfectly with a basic Marxist plan. If he stumbled on it out of dumb luck, that's amazing.

Not impossible, of course, but amazing.