The doers of good
works are getting desperate. Every day mailbox, email, phones from charity appeals.
Tax time: a chance to do more. We ought to pay more tax, of course; it could
solve so much. Except that governments shift tax money into false imprisonment
and colonial misadventures, such a waste. The truth is suffering, says Buddha.
What to do? Who to trust?
Methods. Pressure: when I get dramatic invasive
robocalls I block the number. Getting aggressive sales pitches saying I’d give
more if I really cared I hang up. When I’m told I’m not caring I tune out. Bribery:
when little packets arrive (pens, stationery, plastic logoed shopping bags) I
run out of places to send stuff from people I know and those I don’t know. Manipulation:
The gift economy implies a return. Then I hear from someone who wants me giving
dead as well as alive.
Blame: whatever you’re doing it’s not enough. Taxes
rightly directed could heal, educate, house, protect. Whose name and face on
this coin? The times are taxing. Pay attention to the hungry, unclothed,
imprisoned, mistreated, and sick. Struggling pieces of suffering everywhere. We
do what we can, with such grace as we may.
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