It was an interesting topic that was touched upon in a book that I'm reading, and I want to hash out some ideas that I've been thinking about, and see what you guys have to say. The title of the article is Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The main point of the article is that groups of people will continue to be oppressed, and that only the oppressed can free themselves. That isn't a new idea to me, I've read and thought about it in the past. Even if the oppressors 'give' the oppressed benefits, it only reinforces the difference between the two. The oppressed only get the benefits because the oppressors feel 'bad' for them, not because they deserve equal treatment as human beings.
So my question is then, are we contributing to oppression when we donate to charity?
Think about it for a minute. We donate money, food, cars, shelter, capital, and countless other things to those who are less fortunate than ourselves, but are we in some ways doing them more harm than good? What type of message are we sending to those who must beg or ask for help. Surely it isn't a message that they are worthy of being a 'normal' person; normal people don't have to beg or get hand outs. Is it possible that when we give to charity that we are only reinforcing the differences between 'us' and 'them'? For example, 'they' have to ask for food because they aren't 'us'. They are different than us, and don't deserve what we have. They are poor, and the only thing they are worthy of is free food. Surely there has to be a better way.
By giving to charity, but denying advances to lessen the gap between the poor and the middle class, and the middle class with the rich, we are only contributing to a systematic oppression. We give these people food, but give them no means of getting it for themselves. Isn't it ironic that the basic necessities of human life; food, clothing, and shelter, are only acquired by wealth? So what do we do for those who can't acquire wealth? Do we help them learn how to acquire wealth, or balance the system in a way that they actually can acquire wealth? No, we give them 'hand outs', which only further separates us from them. We become 'good' people for giving to the less fortunate, when all we're doing is deepening the divide between ourselves.
Now don't get me wrong, charities are need. They provide benefits to human lives. If the poor couldn't get a place to sleep at night, or a hot meal once a day, they'd surely die, but I ask you, if our only alms are giving to charities, aren't we doing more harm than good? You give a man a fish, he eats for a day. You teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime. Giving to charity simply isn't enough.
We live in a world, and participate in a system, that thrives on dehumanizing people through oppression. Our economy works in a way that will only succeed if people are in poverty. When the economy is doing well, it sucks the impoverished into the workforce. When the economy is doing poorly, it pushes people on to the streets. We live our lives in the comfort that we do because there are people trapped in poverty. Granted, some are in poverty out of laziness, but when over a billion people are living in poverty, something's got to give.
Giving to the poor simply isn't enough, we have to change the system in a way that gives the poor an opportunity to succeed, but even then that isn't a simple task...because the oppressed can only escape oppression by their own means.
That is to say, we can make the system work for the oppressed, we can give the oppressed all the tools and education they require, but by giving to the oppressed, we only underscore the differences between ourselves. How do we help the impoverished? We lift them up to our level, and in doing so, only engrain our differences. We set ourselves as the standard, and give them what we think they deserve. They don't get it because they are human, but because we have it and they don't.
So the big question is; how do we solve it?
I'm starting to think the answer is, we can't. We can however make it easier for the oppressed (in this case, the poor), to overcome their oppression. We can continue donating to charity, but at the same time we have to work at restructuring the system. We have to not only keep them alive for the day, but teach them how to sustain their own lives, and we have to make access to such things easier for them. We also have to understand, that in order for them to succeed, we have to give up some things that we've grown to be accustom to.
The world, and our lives, would be a drastically different place if we were to do away with a vast amount of world poverty. We wouldn't have the luxuries we have, we would probably work harder for our money, and life wouldn't be nearly as simple. This brings up a question I have for everyone...
Do you really want to combat world poverty? Are you willing to give up god knows what aspects of your lives, in order for the people of the world to live better lives (and probably eliminate much global anguish)? Are you willing to live a more difficult life, in order for millions more to live an easier life? Did you really 'earn' all that you have; do you really 'deserve' the life that you lead; and are you comfortable in knowing that by living in such a way, you are damming millions of others?
I know that I don't know the answer, and I wouldn't be comfortable in throwing everything I know away to make life better for people half way around the world, but I'd sure like to start working on it.
When you 'give' to charity this season, think about what you're really doing. Think about if you are actually helping these people live their lives, or if you're only compounding their problems. I urge you to not only give to charity, but to think about what your givings are actually doing, and then to start working on creating a fairer system. Vote for things that would keep our developed nations from treating third world countries as 'markets', they're people; voice your concern for changes in the system that would stop systematically keeping people oppressed; petition and rally for equal rights; and most importantly, spread love and hope to everyone you meet.
So my question is then, are we contributing to oppression when we donate to charity?
Think about it for a minute. We donate money, food, cars, shelter, capital, and countless other things to those who are less fortunate than ourselves, but are we in some ways doing them more harm than good? What type of message are we sending to those who must beg or ask for help. Surely it isn't a message that they are worthy of being a 'normal' person; normal people don't have to beg or get hand outs. Is it possible that when we give to charity that we are only reinforcing the differences between 'us' and 'them'? For example, 'they' have to ask for food because they aren't 'us'. They are different than us, and don't deserve what we have. They are poor, and the only thing they are worthy of is free food. Surely there has to be a better way.
By giving to charity, but denying advances to lessen the gap between the poor and the middle class, and the middle class with the rich, we are only contributing to a systematic oppression. We give these people food, but give them no means of getting it for themselves. Isn't it ironic that the basic necessities of human life; food, clothing, and shelter, are only acquired by wealth? So what do we do for those who can't acquire wealth? Do we help them learn how to acquire wealth, or balance the system in a way that they actually can acquire wealth? No, we give them 'hand outs', which only further separates us from them. We become 'good' people for giving to the less fortunate, when all we're doing is deepening the divide between ourselves.
Now don't get me wrong, charities are need. They provide benefits to human lives. If the poor couldn't get a place to sleep at night, or a hot meal once a day, they'd surely die, but I ask you, if our only alms are giving to charities, aren't we doing more harm than good? You give a man a fish, he eats for a day. You teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime. Giving to charity simply isn't enough.
We live in a world, and participate in a system, that thrives on dehumanizing people through oppression. Our economy works in a way that will only succeed if people are in poverty. When the economy is doing well, it sucks the impoverished into the workforce. When the economy is doing poorly, it pushes people on to the streets. We live our lives in the comfort that we do because there are people trapped in poverty. Granted, some are in poverty out of laziness, but when over a billion people are living in poverty, something's got to give.
Giving to the poor simply isn't enough, we have to change the system in a way that gives the poor an opportunity to succeed, but even then that isn't a simple task...because the oppressed can only escape oppression by their own means.
That is to say, we can make the system work for the oppressed, we can give the oppressed all the tools and education they require, but by giving to the oppressed, we only underscore the differences between ourselves. How do we help the impoverished? We lift them up to our level, and in doing so, only engrain our differences. We set ourselves as the standard, and give them what we think they deserve. They don't get it because they are human, but because we have it and they don't.
So the big question is; how do we solve it?
I'm starting to think the answer is, we can't. We can however make it easier for the oppressed (in this case, the poor), to overcome their oppression. We can continue donating to charity, but at the same time we have to work at restructuring the system. We have to not only keep them alive for the day, but teach them how to sustain their own lives, and we have to make access to such things easier for them. We also have to understand, that in order for them to succeed, we have to give up some things that we've grown to be accustom to.
The world, and our lives, would be a drastically different place if we were to do away with a vast amount of world poverty. We wouldn't have the luxuries we have, we would probably work harder for our money, and life wouldn't be nearly as simple. This brings up a question I have for everyone...
Do you really want to combat world poverty? Are you willing to give up god knows what aspects of your lives, in order for the people of the world to live better lives (and probably eliminate much global anguish)? Are you willing to live a more difficult life, in order for millions more to live an easier life? Did you really 'earn' all that you have; do you really 'deserve' the life that you lead; and are you comfortable in knowing that by living in such a way, you are damming millions of others?
I know that I don't know the answer, and I wouldn't be comfortable in throwing everything I know away to make life better for people half way around the world, but I'd sure like to start working on it.
When you 'give' to charity this season, think about what you're really doing. Think about if you are actually helping these people live their lives, or if you're only compounding their problems. I urge you to not only give to charity, but to think about what your givings are actually doing, and then to start working on creating a fairer system. Vote for things that would keep our developed nations from treating third world countries as 'markets', they're people; voice your concern for changes in the system that would stop systematically keeping people oppressed; petition and rally for equal rights; and most importantly, spread love and hope to everyone you meet.
