The antithesis of politics

Some of my dear friends have spent time on their blogs recently journaling re: politics, and various opinions therein. My kudos to them...I will not be joining those discussions for the sake of my blog (I'd like to think I have a fun blog, and would like to keep it that way. Politics does not equal fun to me. Maybe to you, and that's great for you, but then you need to get your own blog for that!) and my sanity. :)

My attention was caught today by something that very much interests me (and I think is fun!), and is the very antithesis of politics, and thus I think it is worth highlighting and applauding, so I thought I'd include it here. The following news clip can be found published by Reuters on MSN.com:

"Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest person, is donating about $37 billion -- more than 80 percent of his fortune -- to foundations run by his friend Bill Gates and by the Buffett family. The move is the biggest-ever single act of charitable giving in the United States."

YAY! YAY! YAY!!! That is what I have to say about that! Do you have any idea how far $37 billion (yes, BILLION) dollars can go when handled correctly in addressing problems such as poverty, global health, and education (all issues being addressed by the Gates Foundation)? The key to that statement, of course, is "handled correctly." Somehow, I believe that the richest man in the world, Mr. Gates, has figured out how to correctly handle his money. Therefore, I believe that he can also do a pretty good job of handling the money his foundation spends to grants working all over the world. My interest was peaked in this foundation a month or so ago when I was reading the Newsweek focus on AIDS on the way to Cancun (and trying to avoid the toddler next to me, if you recall). Melinda Gates wrote an article for that magazine, specifically on addressing the crisis of global AIDS in terms of women. It was a well-written, articulate article, and made me more interested in the Gates foundation. Today, after reading about the Buffett donation (YAY again! I love it, love it, love it, when people give their money away to charitable causes instead of hoarding it to spoil their great-great-great-great-grandchildren who will grow up to be lazy, selfish, and ridiculously arrogant for no good reason except genetics, which they had literally no say in...but I digress), I went to the Gates Foundation website to check on what projects they had going. Um, lots of them. And I applaud them for addressing the specific needs of certain populations, and only granting according to those needs. That ensures that the money will not be stretched too thin to make any difference by the bazillions of other needs out there. Those needs should be addressed, too, don't get me wrong. I am a big fan of any charitable organization that is legit, run well, and genuinely good-intentioned. It doesn't even bother me that the Gates Foundation won't give grants to exclusively religious groups, because I think that then they can make sure that the money is going to the cause (i.e. poverty, AIDS, etc.) and not to the missionary work. I believe that no matter whether or not there is a religious focus to the charity organization, God will use the monies as needed to care for His people, and will call up others to bring the word of God to them. There is something in psychology and social work called Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It is a pyramid, stating that until your basic needs are met, you cannot focus on anything else.

Summary from Wikipedia on the Hierarchy: The base of the pyramid is formed by the physiological needs, including the biological requirements for food, water, air, and sleep. Once the physiological needs are met, an individual can concentrate on the second level, the need for safety and security. Included here are the needs for structure, order, security, and predictability. The third level is the need for love and belonging. Included here are the needs for friends and companions, a supportive family, identification with a group, and an intimate relationship.
The fourth level is the esteem needs. This group of needs requires both recognition from other people that results in feelings of prestige, acceptance, and status, and self-esteem that results in feelings of adequacy, competence, and confidence. Lack of satisfaction of the esteem needs results in discouragement and feelings of inferiority. Finally, self-actualization sits at the apex of the original pyramid.

Basically, this is why I am so happy about social work, charity, and Warren Buffett's gigantic donation: they are meant to take care of people, people who are in need, people who are close to the heart of God. God is concerned about meeting their basic needs, as well as their spiritual ones, and sometimes, just like in the hierarchy, people need food and water before they can comprehend a loving God. They need medicine to live so that they can have the time on earth to be taught about Christ. “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me” (Matthew 25:40). The least of these need more people to care about what happens to them. Kudos to Mr. Buffett, and kudos to all those who make huge sacrifices, and even bigger sacrifices than Mr. Buffett's, every day for the least of these in the name of Christ. It's nice to have some good news every once in a while, isn't it? YAY!