Readers will know that I have never made a New Year Resolution in January because I do not know what the world will be like in February. I cannot control events, and as priorities change, I think it wise to keep options open. However, this year will be different. I am resolved to change my charitable giving.
During my life I have willingly given to specific local purposes only to then find that central office officials have taken the money for use elsewhere. Local factories, shops, churches, and charities which had built up monies for local use have then lost control as national leaders take it away. So often has this happened that I have developed a theory to explain the phenomenon. It is; “When an organisation created for one purpose grows to a certain size, it will then start to do the opposite of that for which it was originally intended.” This theory applies to companies, unions, councils, as well as churches and charities.
I further noticed that the change begins the instant leaders decide that the work conducted by HQ staff is more important than the work being done locally. It happens as leaders start to believe that their role has a higher purpose than the original purpose performed locally. This mindset then leads them to believe that their role carries a moral duty to pursue the higher good; and in so doing it justifies them in taking control of monies raised by local people.
I will not bore readers with further details, but the theory demonstrates how an organisation’s original honourable outgoing intention, is conflated with leadership roles, and so turns into a justification for the preservation of hierarchy by the processes of bureaucratisation.
As an ordinary person I am powerless to change these processes except in three ways. The first is my vote. The second is the freedom to speak my mind, and the third is to use the money I have left after taxes as I please. Although my option to vote is unchallenged, my freedom to speak is now restricted. This leaves me with the choice of how I dispose of my money. I am now resolved to spend it locally or give it to local charities
I will make exceptions. The Salvation Army and medical research being examples. But the big global causes which are already supported by our taxes, will get none. Britain gives more foreign aid at 0.7% of GDP than any other G7 Nation, and British individuals are near the top when it comes to personal foreign aid. Therefore, my new year resolution will have miniscule global impact, but a larger local one.
But talking of personal behaviour, reminds me of a friend who, like many Americans, is a great believer that individuals acting locally get things done better than any centralised body. In fact, whilst attending a CPR training course the Trainer informally told the group how to help themselves should they have a heart attack whilst on their own with no time to call for help.
Should they inexplicably experience severe pain in the chest which starts to drag out into an arm and up into the jaw when the heart is beating improperly, and they begin to feel faint; they have then only 10 seconds before losing consciousness. Under those circumstances they can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.
A deep breath must precede each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest. The breath and cough must be repeated at two second intervals without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again. The rationale behind this procedure is that deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing squeezes the heart and keeps the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure also helps it to regain a normal heart rhythm. In this way, victims may get help or to a hospital.
On reading this, I rang Marie’s cousin a retired heart surgeon, who said that he had never read or heard of this technique but that the DIY rationale seemed sound, and it was better to give it a go, as death was the other alternative in the lonely scenario. We hung up, but not before musing on two essential DIY tools he had never used in heart surgery, but which are excellent in the following scenario:
If it moves and is not supposed to ……………. use Duct Tape.
If it does not move and is supposed to ………………. use WD40.
View from the Pew 