The Bureaucratization of Charity

This time it’s not personal!

Lest I be accused of being a hopeless grump, let me stipulate that I have deep respect for those who selflessly give of themselves to help others. Even the mean and hopelessly deluded former President Carter is worthy of admiration and respect for his efforts to help others live in better surroundings. I have nothing but respect for those who deliver Meals on Wheels, for those who volunteer in hospitals and nursing homes, and especially for those who go on mission trips to help the poorest of the world live in ever-so-slightly more comfort.

But we must distinguish between charitable acts and charitable institutions. Acts of charity are a form of human interaction that is best accomplished person to person. Although it is often meant as an act of physical comfort, it more often acts as a spiritual enrichment that enhances the lives of the giver and the recipient in many ways. When we lose sight of the personal nature of charity, bad things start to happen. As with all human institutions, charitable organizations over time begin to acquire tendencies related to self-perpetuation and self-aggrandizement. They begin to stultify and acquire bureaucratic tendencies. We have reached the point in America where there is very little actual charity occurring, and a huge amount of bogus, annoying, soccer-mom corporate citizen white bread boosterism masquerading as moral preening pretending to be charity. It ain’t healthy.

The first hint this season that we have reached the point of the ridiculous was a radio ad I heard in which a local charity normally dedicated to the very real need of ministering to the needs of vagrants and bums decided that it needed a new line of business. To this end it has taken out significant radio time to convince us that a new and terrible affliction stalks the land. It seems that poor kids lack the required cool new gear for school. It seems that lacking the latest “in” backpack or sneakers or jacket are beyond the reach of some children. Being forced to carry an out-of-date or threadbare backpack is apparently wreaking havoc on the self-esteem of these little tykes, causing stress and feelings of inferiority. The solution, of course, is for us to send in cold hard cash so that new and cool school supplies can be purchased for the young thugs-in-training. It is clear that the term “poor” has lost all meaning in 21st Century America. If the biggest issue a traditional “help-the-poor” charity can come up with is a lack of fashionable school supplies, then they should take down their shingle and go home. But they won’t, because institutions as much as individuals are compelled towards self-preservation.

But that was just a foretaste. The Queen Mother of all horrible charitable efforts has now landed: The annual United Way/corporate giving campaign. Oh, what an awful thing this is! At one level – the one having nothing to do with actual charity – it has been a brilliant marketing success. Providing a clearinghouse for individual charitable organizations, and tapping into corporate America’s desire to be seen as “good citizens,” it has morphed into an annual event of ludicrous yet very profitable proportions.

The entire point of these efforts is to provide the maximum feel-good warm fuzzies for corporate employees while requiring no actual personal effort or thought. You don’t even need to pull out your checkbook – they’ll deduct your donation from your paycheck. Here’s how it works: The senior executive with the least clout is ordered to “sponsor” the enterprise. He then assembles a committee consisting entirely of rather dull middle-aged women. They come up with an entire 2 week calendar of “events” designed to get us all pumped to give. A brief review of my own company’s schedule – currently in progress, yeeha! – includes a Pot Luck lunch, an Ice Cream Social, a Bake Sale, a Book Sale, and a “Dunk the Executive” effort. You can also purchase “casual day stickers.” As if this wasn’t enough, we have boxes in each break room with attached flyers exhorting us that “You ‘Can’ Make Difference.” We are apparently supposed to throw cans and boxes of food into the boxes. And just the other day another box appeared to accept donations of – you guessed it – school supplies.

This is all punctuated by earnest memos from the executive sponsor browbeating employees into “giving.” What is it about suburban American that cannot let giving stand or fall on its own merits? Why must we turn it into a circus? What is that about? My guess is that we recognize that the bureaucratization of charity has turned into a rote affair devoid of any actual moral or personal context. So we create new rituals designed to show ourselves and others just how much we care.

But they ring hollow and silly and fundamentally unserious. As they must. Because for charity to be meaningful, it must be personal. Otherwise it’s just income redistribution. That might have utilitarian benefits, but it’s not charity.

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