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Waiting for the Bombs to Drop
by Michael C. Gilbert, Mar. 2003
We are on the verge of a war with Iraq, the impact of which on civil society will be devastating and I am appalled at the lack of collective action from the sector.
Already, our war footing has displaced billions of dollars from the nonprofit sector to the war economy. The civil liberties upon which nonprofit organizations depend to do their work have been massively eroded. The multilateral institutions through which international NGOs succeed are under attack. The needs for our work, whether in social service or social change, are expanding dramatically. And obviously, war itself will bring great suffering.
Where are the editorials from nonprofit leaders on this issue? What is the position of the Nonprofit Times or the Chronicle of Philanthropy? What is the position of the major funders, the Independent Sector, or the dozens of other leadership organizations?
Privately, many individuals are taking action. The staff of some nonprofits (Tides and Compumentor come to mind) have taken public positions against the war. Of course, there are hundreds of organizations specifically mobilizing on the issue, the vast majority of them opposed to the war.
But as a sector, we are silent.
My personal position is that this war is immoral and illegal. I will advertise that position through Nonprofit Online News, through the web sites of my projects, and through my speaking engagements. I do so first because of the untold suffering that this war will bring. I also do so because of the war's role in restructuring civil society, to the long term detriment to the missions of many thousands of nonprofit organizations.
In the long term, the damage to civil society could be even greater than the damage wreaked by the bombs themselves. Every billion dollars given to Halliburton is a billion dollars that cannot go to early childhood education. The crippling debt created by transferring vast wealth from public coffers to war related businesses will be felt for a generation. Restoring the liberties and institutions that have been sacrificed for aggression may take even longer.
For the nonprofit sector, the bombs will be felt for many years to come. I sit here and wonder: Why are we just waiting for them to drop?
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