Beyond Even Hypocrisy
Dr. Michael P. Riccards is Executive Director of the Hall Institute of Public Policy – New Jersey. Riccards is a former college president and a presidential scholar who has authored 15 books.
Dr. Samuel Johnson has said that hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue. What a nice phrase, except when you see it up front in critical cases. Let me give you three diverse examples. The American Red Cross, which has a most checkered past of accepting donations and then not spending the money for those causes, has not been able to shake off its old habits of focusing only partially on those victims who need immediate assistance. World War II veterans still recall bitterly how the organization charged for cigarettes sold just behind the lines of battle. I personally remember all too well when at the Corning flood we National Guardsmen found that Red Cross was not open at night, while the Salvation Army fed us. I won’t give to the American Red Cross to this day, and their behavior in Haiti confirmed my prejudices. The American Red Cross was immediately touted by the US government as one of the legitimate organizations donations should go toward. We now find out that as of this date—when time was of the essence—the Red Cross has only given out one-third of the donated money, leaving some two-thirds for “reserves” at a later date, even though time was of the essence. During crises, where people lacked food and water and shelter, the Red Cross wasn’t there.
Even worse is Food for Children, a quasi religious organization in the USA, which CBS News found has not given a single donated dollar to purchase and distribute food for Haiti. Most money goes for self-promoting, advertising, and administrative salaries. One woman in the field said that Food for Children has never given them any money, never fed a child, never provided medical care. It was the nearby orders of Catholic religious who were doing the work. How many millions of dollars given by hard-working evangelicals has not been accounted for is not known. But the outcome is truly shocking. If people weren’t dying, it would be another American garden variety Elmer Gantry scam. But who cares?
A third example of hypocrisy is closer to home—the Congressional Black Caucus, a powerful clique of African American Congressmen who are supposed to support black needs and demands in the legislature. I remember being told when at the College Board that the Board gave money to the hapless NAAACP in order to keep African American leaders quiet about the persistent claim that the SAT tests were discriminatory toward blacks. The same sort of monies go from the corporation giving to Jessie Jackson’s organization—a group that corporations use to buy off protests. Now the New York Times in a major investigative report finds that the CBC gives more money to its banquet caterers than it gives to student scholarships.
It is heavily funded by corporations that have deleterious effects on the poor—alcohol, tobacco, rent-to-buy companies, and other exploitive industries. The annual prayer breakfast, sponsored by Coca-Cola, cost $3.9 million in 2008, $350,000 for official decorations, $400,000 for lighting and show production. The caucus spent only $372,000 for student internships. I guess prayer breakfasts are a real growth industry in the USA.
We wonder why there is so much cynicism among the public, such alienation among the Tea Party people, and such disgust at almost all American institutions. Good Lord—can we believe in anyone without being made a fool?
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Recent Articles by Dr. Michael P. Riccards:
- Friday, 03 February 2012 - A Rutgers Compact
- Tuesday, 24 January 2012 - Plotting Against The Presidency
- Monday, 23 January 2012 - The Destruction of Eastman Kodak
- Tuesday, 17 January 2012 - Running With Romney
- Thursday, 12 January 2012 - Playing The Expectations Game