Rethinking Results

I may have made a rush judgment on the Results website. I know their lobbying for political change is good for countries that deal with poverty. A lot of people benefit from this political change. The problem I see with an organization like Results compared to other organizations is they lobby on a national level. That may be effective for countries that do not have state and local governments. Results should be lobbying in countries like the United States on a state and local level. The United States government does not have the power to make such social change. If our federal government tries, it is a gross exploitation of their power. The framers of the Constitution prevented the federal government from having such power. They designed our constitution so the power to make social change was delegated to the states. The National Coalition for the Homeless lobbied on a state level in a way that benefited many families. It is not a federal law that homeless children can continue their education in their schools prior to their homeless status.

I see that Results has been effective in making political change to end poverty abroad. This change has been due to lobbying Congress for an end to poverty abroad. I am grateful that because of this, many children will not be going to bed hungry tonight. I do not mean to seem uncaring for my neighbors. I know what it is like to go to bed hungry and to have only enough food to maybe feed your children. It is not a good feeling and I do not wish it on anyone. I know what it is like to have to listen to your babies cry because they do not have enough to eat. I do not wish this on anyone either. Social changes come from within ourselves, not governments. The federal government can only do so much.

I think the thing that turned me off the most about the Results site is not that I feel that they are wasting their breath, but that I think they can get more contributions if they try to not treat poverty as if it is a contagion. They are not successful in painting a clear enough picture of who is afflicted with severe poverty, or why they are afflicted. They just say it is a problem and the government must fix it. I believe their intentions are good, but they need to find more effective ways to work within our governmental systems to help those in need at home. Now, if they are successful in making the changes I have looked at that Results has addressed, then I will back them 100%. One major change that has caught my eye which I am going to watch from Results is that of healthcare. After all, lack of healthcare is what put my family on the streets. Lack of healthcare is what keeps my husband from being able to go back to the profession that he has spent his entire life training for and keeps us in poverty today. I will try to keep an open mind about Results.