Is it just a coincidence that everyone who wants my opinion on the political issues of the day also wants my money? Or that someone's world will fall apart without my immediate financial assistance?
It seems that all of the recent requests soliciting my opinion about this or that subject also contain the obligatory plea to donate $20, $30, $40, $60, $100 or the ubiquitous $_______! Coincidently, so do those who request my humanitarian assistance in dealing with this or that emergency; only the amounts seem smaller $10, $20, $40 $______!
It is always URGENT and starts with an appeal to your emotions...
Would you deny this little girl a piece of bread?
Can you stomach these horrible pictures without extending a helping hand?
This is the most important battle of our times and we need your help to meet the challenge.
Life under Hillary Clinton would be intolerable, please help us defeat her candidacy.
I can beat Hillary Clinton, but I need your help.
The planet will perish in ten years if you don't help us spread the word.
Or the solicitation of your opinion to help create legislation covering...
Religion (Pro or Con)
Illegal Immigrants (Pro or Con)
Gas Taxes (Less)
Energy Dependency (More)
Anything for a buck...
It is the goal of almost every appeal to make you feel important, an insider, and to feel good about yourself -- if you donate. If you even think about tossing the pitch, we want you to feel bad, guilty and ashamed. How could you, a "good and honorable" person, turn your back on this poor and disadvantaged person? How can you, a "patriotic" person, fail to support our country and our cause?
If the appeal to your ego or your intellect fails to elicit your sympathy and an overwhelming sense of compassion, there is always fear.
Mostly fear of the government and various and sundry politicians. Fear of the increasing burdensome regulations or the loss of our personal freedoms and rights. Fear that one politician is heading in the wrong direction and must be stopped at all cost. Sometimes it is the fear of multi-national corporations and other large institution whose monopoly power stifles competition and promotes increasing prices while delivering reduced services.
And sometimes the panic is man-made...
In an effort to rise above the hustle. bustle and noisy din of everyday living, one has to make your target audience believe that the situation is extremely grave and requires immediate action.
Amplified by a lazy media...
And sometimes the false and misleading is amplified by a media too lazy to investigate or in the need to fill the 24/7 news cycle with something new and different. It doesn't matter much that the subject matter is irrelevant, superficial or outright erroneous, it just needs to be different from the stuff you read, saw or listened to yesterday.
A good example is science. Where difficult concepts are spewed forth as sound bites and portrayed with simple graphics. Where guys in "white coats" offer up opinions without mentioning that they are in fundraising or administrative functions and only tangentially "do real science."
All to get your attention, your support and, most importantly, your hard-earned dollars...
Everybody is selling to an audience. Their success is measured in listeners, viewers, and readers which translates into the sale of advertising and sponsorship. Or their success is measured in direct dollars raised to support a particular cause or purchase a particular product. Or, if you are the government, by an increasing compliance with their laws, guidelines, rules and regulations.
What can YOU do?
It is your prime duty to remain vigilant and aware of pitches made to separate you from your dollars. To apply common sense to the matter at hand. To consider how much of your contribution or purchase is siphoned off without providing one degree of benefit to you.
It is your duty to consider your family first, your friends second and then your community and country. Even Navy Seals are taught unit integrity where your swim buddy and your unit come before all else in carrying out your lawful mission. And so it should be with you as you wade through the profits and pitfalls of daily living.
While it may seem cruel and heartless to say this in a public forum, before sending that dollar to Darfur to support some faceless, nameless orphan who will die tomorrow if you do not donate for food, shelter and medicine, how about considering that homeless man down the street or the senior citizen whose life would be immeasurably improved with a moment of your time?
While it may not seem so as we wend our way through life, Americans are the most blessed people on the face of the earth. And without a doubt, the most charitable; even to the extent of extending a helping hand to Muslims whose philosophy demands that they kills us unless we submit to their religion. But lets take care of our families, our friends and neighbors first, before we send our money off to the agencies and organizations that solicit our help each and every day.
Do not fall for the pitches that enrich and empower others who are already rich and powerful. While it is nice a celebrity endorses or supports a charity, remember, at least for them, it is the cost of doing business. Raising the public's awareness of their existence and portraying them in a positive light -- and it's all tax deductible to boot. After all, it will be their name on the building, not yours. Or for $1,000 you, too, can purchase a brick in the courtyard engraved with your name.
Do not be afraid of those who may label you "racist," "selfish," "polluter" or anything else to get you to contribute.
And in the final analysis, if you truly want to be charitable, by all means be charitable -- but use common sense and consider our extended family first.
-- steve
A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell “Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar “Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS