Tag: poverty

Re: Philanthropy

Words that automatically show both sides of the coined value intrigue me. Examples of someone’s act of altruism bring warmth: Someone risked their life to safe a moose calf caught in the melting ice of spring. This was a real story I read in my local newspaper when I lived in Timmins, Ontario. I also feel hope for humanity when I read of benevolence: like the time residents of Gander Newfoundland helped airline passengers stranded due to the 9/11 tragedy.

Yet the practise of philanthropy gives me mixed feeling. On the one hand I appreciate whenever I hear the wealthy are intent on sharing their money. On the other hand I question a millionaire’s motive. I want to know if there is a catch to their generosity. “No strings attached.” is a phrase that comes from the 18th century practise of tailors asking for fabric that was not marked with strings (ie flawed). Hence ‘no strings attached’ has become synonymous with no additional requirements or ‘catches’ in a contract.

Our community has honoured the artist David Foster as a favoured son. His portfolio for musical composition, managing other artists, and producing memorable recordings is amazing. A recent free concert in Victoria proved to me his talent at the piano. The music in the open air shared with tens of thousands of citizens was exhilarating! Foster made a joke about it being free, not once but twice, which made me wince. Is this a price to be paid when a philanthropist offers a gift? How low must we bow?

In the news, L. DiCapprio and J. Bezos  are involved with other rich folk in a 200 million dollar project to save endangered species. W.Buffet has urged other moneyed people to give away a portion of their fortunes while they live, or when they die, to “address real societal needs.” These well meaning folk have made a Giving Pledge in order to establish a charitable social norm. But my mind twists to think of the working class as an endangered group within humanity. I smirk at that thought, wondering what strings are attached. Perhaps the rich will stay benevolent only as long as the minimum wage doesn’t rise to a living wage.

In Victoria we can boast of the second oldest charitable foundation in Canada. Wage disparity is easy to spot in this beautiful part of the world. In olden days poor folk gathered at the castle gates to beg for alms, here in my city those without homes line Pandora Avenue. The Elon Musks of the world could solve our homeless crisis, but I don’t wish them to. I don’t enjoy being at the whim of an entrepreneur, regardless of their talents, who has forgotten that wealth is created by all of us. The trouble with normalizing philanthropy is that charity is not really a gift if those presents are basic human needs. Society as a whole is responsible for addressing essential life issues. The United Nations has identified 6 core elements that must be present for well being. That’s where we must begin.

Re: Circumstance

“Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.” so sayeth Epictetus. He was a famous Stoic, among those Romans of the stiff upper lip. Much of Stoicism I can agree with, yet I think we are all to some degree a victim of our circumstances.

Yes, we have choice. We can go high when others go low. We can keep our wits about us while others are losing theirs. I’d like to be easy with it all, as Keith Carradine sang it in Nashville.

However, it ain’t easy to be noble when the leaders of our world do things that create uncomfortable or dangerous circumstances. Currently, in the U.S. of A., it is a wonder to me that there is not chaos. Some days I feel like freaking out with the lack of kindness and civility that streams at me from the White House. It wasn’t always this way. Circumstances have changed.

Sometimes it’s only circumstantial evidence that leads to a conviction in a courtroom. Circumstances can point a finger and if one doesn’t have an air tight alibi, then one can find themselves in a whole new set of circumstances. Being free to be is certainly the objective but some circumstances can lead you away from positive choice. Poverty, despite what the one percenters say, is not a choice. It’s a circumstance that is difficult to find relief from, let alone propose a cure for. My sister once found herself having to register at a food bank. The company where she had worked for almost two decades folded and she struggled to find herself after that shock. She died trying. In my opinion poverty prevention must be discussed at every election event until not a single person finds themselves in such unforgiving circumstances.

Fate, fortune and randomness all have a part to play yet sometimes you have to assert, “Under no circumstance will I permit this!” I hear a struggle for a path through difficult circumstances in the voice of Billy Joel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3JFEfdK_Ls

We can be victims of circumstance. We like to think that we are in charge of our happiness. The truth is others impact our lives. Undoubtedly we have a role to play in making things better, but so do members of society have a responsibility to build a better village. Viktor Frankl, a psychologist and survivor of the Holocaust, reflects on our personal agency under trying circumstances when he states, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; The last of the human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” I don’t want to believe that a circumstance like being taken to a death camp would be regarded as something within someone’s personal control.

I enjoy love stories where a couple has to be separated by circumstance yet they make a vow to find each other when things change. Sometimes we must trust in Time: It may be the only agent that can bring the change we long for.