One.org

I'm enough of an idealist that when I hear people like Bono say things like, "This is our generation. Others pulled back the Iron Curtain, other tore down apartheid, other abolished slavery, and others fought for civil rights here in the United States. What are we going to do about this journey of equality? I'm going to spend the rest of my life on this," I get pumped. I signed the ONE declaration several months ago, but haven't done a whole lot since. No more. I've tried to contact one of the national directors to see what can be done in the Peoria area to partner with ONE to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS. The church has been silent for too long. Can I go off for a second? (yes I can! It is, after all, MY blog, and that's kinda the point.) In many of the organizations that I've been exposed to, it seems to me that the offer of help is often predicated upon a commitment by the person to go to church, or attend a service, or listen to a presentation of the gospel in some form or another. Aren't we called to help the poor, just becuase they are poor and we are not? I know...we can argue about who the poor really are and what "helping" looks like...blah, blah, blah. But in the case of an organization like ONE, is there anything to argue about? HIV/AIDS is a problem that needs a solution. Poor nations paying billions of dollars to rich nations is a problem. Starvation is a problem. I can get fired up easily, but now what do I do?