Advocacy Groups are dumb.

[somasoul]

Advocacy groups are dumb. There. I said it. You don't have to agree with me, especially if you are part of an advocacy group. But someone had to say it and seeing as I'm the only one around here to take notice I had to speak up.

It occured to me recently at work that our mission statement, our objectives, everything that we say we are and what we do is a bunch of crap. We say we want to do something like "Provide the best resources in our field" or some junk like that. Look, all we want to do is make a profit and last until tommorrow. Isn't that what everyone, organization or entity, is looking to do? If Ford Motor Cars' objective is "To build the best dern motor cars in the world" and they come out with a line of clunkers do you think Ford will close their doors because they failed in their objectives? This is why when a friend of ours commits suicide, or a good restaraunt goes out of business or Seinfeld cancels his show we find it so perplexing. And entity that self ends goes against the natural order of things.

But wait! I've lost my train of thought on advocacy groups.

Look, advocacy groups operate in the same manner. Sure, they might have started out with the best of intentions (what is the road to hell paved with???) but gradually they lost their way. Take groups like the NAACP for example. They start out wanting something good.........great even. Like not being lynched. I get that. You don't want to be lynched and that's a great cause to support. Then they want to be able to vote and sit on jurys. These too are great goals. Heck, the jury one even benefits me because serving jury duty sucks and if blacks can serve then I serve less often. Then they want to be able to share waterfountains and go to the same school. Not a goal as great as being able to vote but it's still good. But eventually, when racism is harder to find, we get the delaware university crud of trying to make all white students admit they are racist, or the US Naval academy scandle where even though white women were sexually harrassed the NAACP turned into a racial matter, or the Duke University fiasco of last year, or the racist "deer head" scandle in a Baltimore City Firehouse (Google this stuff yourself. I'm an ostrich and it's hard enough to type this. Besides, I'm lazy).

When an advocacy group runs out of things to advocate they will find things or make them up.

Women's rights organizations have had a similar past. PETA is run by perpetual lunatics. Dobson rails against gays. The Christian church has found a new love with the republican party (Or maybe it's an old love. I dunno. I can't keep track of this stuff). The Homeschool legal defense fund gives money to anti-homosexual organizations.

Look, it's not that I'm for or against something like the homosexual lifestyle (or whatever. I can't even keep the PC terms these advocacy groups keep creating straight. And by "straight" I don't mean anti-gay because I'm not anti-gay or anti-homosexual or anti-queer..........did I break the PC code in an attempt to keep it? Crap. This parentheses thing keeps getting longer.) Why should I devote time to equal rights for gays or for the protection of the family? Do either of these things bring people closer to the kingdom? (Can an ostrich get into the kingdom?)

Advocacy groups, particularly of the political variety, either want you as an ally or as an enemy. And this really isn't the message of Christ is it? Why are Christians a part of these divisive things?

I was a big supporter of Ron Paul. But I didn't give money to his campaign nor did I make a single meetup event. If I can't give time to Jesus why should I give my time to Mr. Paul?

As Christians, if we fill our time supporting advocacy groups and not Jesus then we truely have missed the bus/boat/gokart. There's The World Bank, and Westboro Baptist Church, and Circus' to protest. Signs to make. Animals to save. Chants to write and drums to beat......................but if it ain't for Jesus then what good is it?

[somasoul]

Exactly. Advocacy groups always want one more thing (don't we all???)

*Off the race topic for a moment*

Good advocacy groups:

NRA- Has rarely left the gun rights arena. Very little lunatic type propaganda.

La Leche League - Has always supported Breast-feeding education. Provides free support groups to new moms. Doesn't discuss even parenting methods, only breastfeeding.

Bad Advocacy Groups:

Home School Legal Defense Fund - Takes on "Christian" issues that have no bearing on homeschooling.

The 700 Club - Mixes politics and faithful serving. Sends mixed messages (ex-Gays are bad, vote for Giuliani).

My wife is a member of La Leche League, a group I highly respect. Despite being started by a group of Christians the group never has become evangelical in nature. They do one thing so as to not become divisive in their original intent.

If Christians did that...........we'd be much better off.

How's it go? Keep the main thing..............

[jason j]

Right On! Did you see my comment about 'White Privilege' on the YAR site? I thought I was quite clever :)

The guilt tripping is totally not the Gospel of Jesus. Jesus fully paid the price for our sins and atoned for them. When He died, he said "it is finished." That meant its done, as far as atonement goes, its done. The Bible is filled with grace for sinners, and I (being a sinner) plan on living gracefully.

I've been discussing the whole Jeremiah Wright issue on "God's Politics" web blog, and its so irritating. Everyone wants to debate that what he said is justified b/c of atrocities that occurred in the past. They also say that I should also understand why people would be angry and I need to feel guilty for actions against them (despite the fact that my ancestors were chilling out in Poland under varying state of Russian or Ottoman Turk oppression at the time of slavery).

The question I posed in the discussion (which no one really adequately took to task) is at what point can we whites be given grace for our past sins? Why is the grace of Christ not sufficient for our race and what could we possibly do now to atone for those injustices. There is nothing any of us could realistically do to atone for those wrongs. What token or symbolic action could make up for it? Nothing.. absolutely nothing, except for the cross.

We Christians are called to forgive and love our enemies, even if they are (were) oppressive white dudes, so despite our past, we have to move beyond race.

[somasoul]

This conversation is really on the ball. On another site there was a lot of talk about whites realizing that they were racists and because they were white they are inherently "White Supremacists". The focus was on getting whites to realize that we have privilage and all whites support an oppressive white worldview.

But if we ditch all that. If we ditch the blame. If we ditch the middle-school name calling. If we focus on each-other's needs and look past skin color, look past wrongs long past, we will make the world better. I believe that. I really do.

I don't need a guilt trip. I don't need someone to call me names or call me a "racist" so I will feel some need to get my rear in gear on the subject.

Advocacy groups are dumb because this is what happens. Blame. Guilt. Fear. Rinse. Repeat. Advocacy groups start their conversations with "You need to do this for me......" Christ-like service begins conversations with "What can I do for you........"

One of those results in bickering. The other results in...........results.

[jason j]

"Those who continue to struggle against racism will fail because they lack a servant's heart."

Awesome! I love it!

I agree with you that our focus should be on needs not race. When our focus on race, all you can see is division. When the focus is on needs, we can work together to find a way to meet needs.

[somasoul]

Jason J,

I agree that all things fall in line behind that.

During our church's budget meeting earlier this year one of the items we were giving money to was some anti-racism mennonite organization. As we trimmed the budget we were wondering if we should continue giving money to this organization. Some wanted, instead, to stop giving to a local school for inner city children that another church ran.

I of course wanted to ditch funds to the anti-racism committee. My thinking was simple: "Should we pay a bunch of mennonites to sit around and discuss ending racism or should we donate money to a school for needy mostly black children?

To me the choice was obvious.

If we follow Jesus, truely and earnestly, we don't need anti-racism committees. Our lives won't be concerned with racism, they be be concerned with service to those in need. Those who are concerned with meeting needs, not racism, will better the world in which we live. Those who continue to struggle against racism will fail because they lack a servant's heart.

These issues are complex; but a humble spirit can heal a lot more wounds than divisive talk.

[jason j]

I didn't really comment on the post on the other site b/c it quickly dissolved into a dumb flame war, but I agree with you 100%.

To dig further on the NAACP, and to further prove your point, they were giving arguments for the DC Gun Ban case in the Supreme Court yesterday. That has nothing to do with their original purpose, yet they are there because they need to find new things to keep their organization going.

Lastly, my wife and I supported Ron Paul and I went to a couple campaign meetings to see how I could help out, but ultimately we didn't end up doing too much. We just felt how could we go door to door asking people to support a candidate when we would not do that for Jesus. It just felt empty to care more about some cause then we cared about Jesus. Ultimately Jesus is the only cause worth supporting. If you follow him, all of the other causes will fall in line behind you.

[Joe]

Well y'know. The louder they complain, the more wrong they are.

[somasoul]

Exactly. This post really stirred up a storm on another site.

People thought I was trying to dig on the NAACP exclusively. They also thought I wanted to keep the status quo and oppress groups of people.

Hardly my point.

[Joe]

'tis the nature of any group or institution. Eventually you get to the point where the the original objectives of the organisation are less important than keeping the thing going because there is so much invested (jobs, finances, respect from society etc).