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The newest way to 'click and save'
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By Laura Nathan
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Friday, July 2, 2004 |
On any given day, I receive at least one or two emails from the Democratic Party, John Kerry, Bill Clinton, James Carville, or some other democratic bigwhig. I’m not quite sure why I receive these, though I know I didn’t start receiving them more than a few months ago when the push for the 2004 election began. Much of the time, these emails concern fundraising for the Kerry campaign. Today the email I received concerned fundraising to stop the genocide occuring in the Sudan.
Is it wrong that I find that a bit peculiar? Do I want the genocide to continue? No. Do I think that we’re not doing enough to speak out about it and to intervene and end the violence? Yes. But is asking for money the answer? I’m not too sure about that. Sure, any peacekeeping operations that the United Nations send to the Sudan will require considerable funds, so money will be necessary. But have we accepted the “just click here to donate” trend reigning in our inboxes at the cost of actually acting? Is there a risk that donating money — whether it’s to stop the genocide in Iraq or to fund the Kerry campaign — is just another form of whitewashing, a means to a redeem ourselves, to suggest we’ve done our job and helped others?
It seems that while funding is necessary for most campaigns in today’s world, we have to figure out a way to help those suffering with something more than the swipe of a pen or the click of a computer key. After all, all of the money in the world won’t secure the political will necessary to stop the violence. With the suffering in the Sudan increasing by the day, we don’t have long to figure this one out.
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