Progressive Charities and Fighting Despair

What exactly are we supposed to do?  And how do non-profits fit into it?

There have been many days that I considered writing this post.  Apparently, Texas’ two latest blows against the autonomy of women and voting rights were enough, especially when cast against a backdrop of a pandemic and displacement around the globe from war and climate-caused disasters.  Horrendous injustice and suffering are not new, of course. The dominant forces in this country have always actively fought to disenfranchise and inflict cruelty upon women and people of color.  

But I’d argue that the way we experience these tragedies is new.  Technology may have increased our capacity to solve problems.  But, that increase is exponentially outpaced by the increase in our awareness of the full extent of misfortune.  Even when we manage to put our phone down and try to enjoy the relative privilege of our lives, it still rattles against our table, reminding us of its portal back to a situation that feels hopeless.

The answer to the questions at the top?  I have no idea, truly.  I default to pessimism, which may have a high degree of accuracy but is not always constructive when it comes to pushing the rock back up the hill.  

Still, if you think you know what to do and you want to leverage the non-profit sector to push back against these developments, I can at least offer a few thoughts on some tools to think about.