It really took some time yesterday for me to respond to your message; I am sorry it disappeared in the the cyber space. I will just go with highlights this time.

First, I find it interesting that here we are, you from New Zealand, and I, originally a native of Turkey and now a naturalized citizen of the US, communicating across the globe on issues important to ourselves as well as to the humanity. I grew up in the era when I surprised the heck out of my classmates by a portable tape recorder I took to school. By today’s standards, a tape recorder is of stone age (maybe bronze).

You’re right, I think we deep inside agree more than disagree. It’s only that you represent the government and I, the the world of philanthropy. Thus, our convictions with the worlds we represent cause for us to perhaps underestimate a little the importance of the other.

My point is the answer lies in the sincere partnerships between government, business, interested individuals and nonprofit sector. No one can tackle today’s complex problems alone; there is a lot more at stake in our so called modern times than one’s stomach getting filled or his/her health restored.

Let me take a simple step then. Hello, Victor. I respect what you’re doing/want to be doing, can we check to see how we can collaborate to serve the same common good? That’s the spirit I would like to see in every corner of this planet.

On a separate note, New Zealand is one of the few places I haven’t seen yet in this world, and I would love to visit someday. I understand it is divinely beautiful.

Meanwhile, if I can be of assistance in any way, I am as far away as your computer is from you.

Cordially,
Hikmet

Let me expand on my original point.

As a democratic socialist, I am very much in favour of your idea of sharing without expecting anything in return to make a change.

However, my view is that these values should be present throughout all of society. Rather than having a basically greed driven, ruthless economic system and selfish society with a little tag on charity sector to make people feel good about themselves, we should aspire to having a fair and just society where the citizens collectively provide for public goods, in many cases the best way of doing this is through progressive taxation funding health, education etc.

My concern is that charity can be used to justify an inhumane system, and in some ways can also be very patronizing. For example, unemployed workers don’t need handouts from well meaning middle class people, they need a system change where jobs and wealth are shared more equally.

One thing I disagree on is your idea that you can keep politics out of the human spirit. The idea of the human spirit is a pretty phoney one to me; it can mean anything depending on whatever society you live in, and usually just means going along with the dominant ideas of the ruling class in your society which are pounded into everyones head through the media. Politics are a part of everything; pretending they don’t exist is naive.

I certainly would not say that there is not an important role for volunteer work and community organizations – there is and there should be. But when the Government, to protect the interests of the very rich, abandons its role of administering the basic requirements of any civilized nation, then charity will never fill that gap.

As you can see I have much in common with your views about putting something back into society. But I guess my point is that if people are so in favour of charity in the USA, why can’t they sort out providing universal health care paid for through taxation. Then the poor would have some dignity rather than being at the mercy of whether there are enough philanthropists out there to help them.