Playing Bwana Doesn't Help
by Dennis Peacocke
Educated people, especially educated white people, seem to feel good about themselves when they “show compassion” and heap financial aid on the poor, especially people of color. Never mind that the so-called “good intentions” usually hurt the people receiving the aid in the long run. Bwana may feel good, but Bwana actually hurts people. Look at what Swedish economist Fredrik Erixon recently pointed out on the effects of aid to Africa:
Africa received over $400 billion in aid between 1970 and 2000. Yet, the evidence presented in the study shows an inverse relationship between aid and economic growth— when aid rises, growth falls. In part, this is because aid supplants private-sector investment and undermines savings: there is also an inverse relationship between savings and aid— when aid increases, saving decreases. (Business Reform Magazine, Sept/Oct 2005)
From an economic point of view, that pretty much says it all; to truly help someone you must give them the tools to help themselves. The real problem here is corrupt leaders at the top who don’t really care about anybody but themselves and the well-intentioned donor politicians who are too ignorant to be in office because their condescending compassion only fulfills Proverbs 12:10 which says, “...The compassion of the wicked is cruel.” Bwana likes to feel like Bwana, the corrupt rulers like to steal while the stealing is good; and the truly needy seemingly get only that which keeps them poor.
Tragically, there is no real news here. Charles Murray’s book, Losing Ground, showed us all this earlier in his study on the effects of the “Great Society” giveaways in a poor section of Chicago here in the United States. Money that perpetuates the destruction of the family unit by not creating viable jobs, skill-sets and infrastructures is more of Bwana feeling good by maintaining his or her superior position, be it through a hidden racist bias or just the sheer stupidity of refusing to look at the facts. Hello.
What is so painful about all of this is the genuine perpetuation of the poor people's plight in life. They all are caught between the politicians’ systems that use them as a political football to get elected or get an opponent out of office over the so-called “compassion issues.” Would to God that what is happening was compassion. It is not. It is playing the “race card,” the “I love the poor more than you do” card, or some other card that continues not to move the ball down the field. The answer is simple: Separate pure charity, which is biblical, from investment, which is also biblical. Supply essential food, shelter, and clothing and make sure that it gets only to those who really need it, and set up investment opportunities to train and employ people to acquire real skills and real jobs. Dignity is as important as care, and care that steals dignity by maintaining poverty is cruel. Beyond that, it maintains class-superiority and genuine racism if it is involved in the hearts of the givers.
Everyone who says they’re helping isn’t. Everyone who plays “cards” with people's lives should be shamed out of the game. Anyone who knows these things and keeps on doing it should be removed from power. So should anyone in power who doesn’t care enough to find out the truth. Real love is delivering self-sufficiency under God and that, Bwana, is...
the bottom line.
