The Shutdown: Reminding Us We All Might Need Support
The other is a powerful concept. It is one used by leaders to spark fear and group cohesion, by groups to ostracize other groups, and by individuals to elevate themselves or degrade someone else. But “other” is also a mental construct we individually use to differentiate ourselves from situations we want to believe to never include us.
It is one used to start wars, end conversations, destroy communities, and elect presidents. It isn’t exclusively American; we’ve just gotten really good at using it.
This current government shutdown has affected hundreds of thousands of workers, many now going more than a month without pay. Generally speaking, we know about three quarters of Americans live paycheck to paycheck if they’re working, with little savings and often pre-existing debt. Stagnant wages, lack of job advancement, and predatory lending are just some of the reasons for this situation.
For the federal workers who inevitably fall into this month to month finance situation, this shutdown has been a catastrophe, an emergency. Dipping into limited savings, taking on expensive debt, federal workers who just as recently as December may have felt financially secure are now reliant on the generosity and charity of others.
And that’s what I really want to talk about. I work with over 400 nonprofits locally, and many local donors as well. Across the board, the most common theme when it comes to messaging around donating, volunteering, etc. is a call for help, for support, for those less fortunate.
While an effective message and an earnest one in most cases, I think it is a troubled way of approaching service and philanthropy. For these federal workers, in early December they may have been planning what charities to donate to; in late January they may be searching for what charities to receive support from. Most of us are only one or two calamities, personal emergencies, away from needing the very support we often read about.
There is no other. The recipients of service, the clients of local nonprofits, the folks we see and don’t see each day in need, are not an “other.” Due to societal bias, discrimination, family issues, or just one or two unfortunate situations, they find themselves in need of support from our community. But any combination of these things could have just as easily led us to need that same support as well.
We shouldn’t be primarily driven to donate, serve, support, or advocate because “others” need help; we should do these things because we need a vibrant and resilient community that can lift all up in times of need, in part because 99% of us could be those in need.
I’m happy to announce that many individuals and organizations get this already. Click here to see a list of local charities doing good work to support federal workers and related industries impacted by the shutdown. I’m also excited to announce that the Harman Family Foundation will be matching the first $10,000 donated to these local charities through the link above to help offset the cost of their expanded services.
We need to shift our focus to the community. We have a President who thrives on dividing us. We a have a society and culture that dictates we are different, that there is an “other.” But those are false messages designed to make us feel secure in our non-otherness. In reality, for the vast majority of us, we are all the other. Only an emergency, a mistake, and unlucky situation away from being in need of community support. We may end up lucky enough, or benefit enough from social bias, that we never do experience this need. But we may not. And either way, I want to live in a vibrant community that values our neighbor, ourselves, and our shared resiliency. Because there is no other.
