Letters - 11 March 2022
From Pacifism to Come-to-Good
Pacifism
The Russian invasion of Ukraine distresses us beyond words, as we have made many working visits there, most recently in 2019, and have dear friends in several of the cities under attack.
In past situations we have sometimes heard a Friend say: ‘I can’t remain a pacifist over this!’ That is surely misguided. Pacifism is not opting out; as with medicine, the bigger the emergency, the more our principles and practice are needed. To abandon them under pressure recalls the seedling which ‘withered away because it had no root’ (Matthew 13:6).
But we need to give up wishful thinking if it forms any part of our pacifism, and be realists. We recommend a particularly clear and hard-headed article on the situation at https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/28/world-war-iii-already-there-00012340.
Diana & John Lampen
lampen@hopeproject.co.uk
Military expenditure
Our politicians acknowledge that, for all the rehearsed reasons, the west is impotent when it comes to stopping Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine.
There is one action the west could take that would affect the ability of all counties to wage unprovoked war on a peaceful neighbour. The global economic system should be reformed to accurately measure all military expenditure as a negative contribution to wealth creation that adversely affects the value of international currencies, global living standards, the natural world and, above all, life itself.
Geoff Naylor
Health provision
I enjoyed Wendy Pattinson’s article about health provision (28 January), especially the ideal of a world health service, and would like to add some comments. We should not delude ourselves that illness services such as the NHS are the main determinant of health. The other ‘social determinants’, all of very roughly equal importance, are socio/economic conditions, environmental conditions and (in richer countries particularly) personal lifestyle choices. Overlaid on these it is very striking how the degree of equality or inequality matters. Countries with high inequality such as the US and Britain to a lesser extent, penalise the poor, especially those living in poor localities, such that their life expectancy and healthy life years are some years less than the rich.
Many aspects of our health and wellbeing are not dependent on health services, important as they are, but income levels, fiscal policies, housing and living costs, other services, and very importantly, the environment we live in.
The dire effects of air pollution are well understood, leading to c40,000 premature UK deaths every year. The significance of access to green space and nature for physical and mental wellbeing is now generally recognised.
More insidious, because not widely recognised, especially by government, is the shape of our settlements: how we plan, design, maintain and use our homes, villages, neighbourhoods, towns and cities. One recent study, for example, shows that most new housing in the UK, other than redevelopment, is dependent on households owning at least one car. Walking, cycling, public transport are not feasible for most journeys. Despite all the rhetoric about sustainability/climate, the actual decisions on location and on integration with existing settlements are bad. This has huge impact on household costs, lifestyles, energy use and emissions.
The more one studies healthy local and global environments, the more it becomes obvious that what is good for people is good for the planet, and vice versa. While supporting the NHS, we need to re-integrate public health and spatial planning/design, so that one day we can realise Nye Bevan’s dream that the need for health services should fall as people’s health improves.
Hugh Barton
Charitable donations
Past letters about charitable donations raise interesting issues.
Charity trustees have to raise money to support their work. How best to do this? How best to communicate with donors? What kind of message are trustees trying to convey? How much is reasonable to spend on this?
I am clerk to Friends of Hlekweni, and co-clerk of the Quaker Africa Interest Group (QAIG), a network which includes a number of charities working in Africa, usually based on a concern of a member of a Local Meeting.
Within the last eighteen months, the charities group within QAIG has had several really useful sessions on ethical fundraising – and courses from Woodbrooke have raised challenging issues about how those of us from the ‘developed’ world use language and imagery to describe our work with those in the ‘developing’ world.
I think it’s important that charities, particularly those that are Quaker recognised bodies, are as accountable as possible to Friends – and help Friends know about the work being done in their name.
I really want them to know what amazing things happen because their donations support the work that local partners are carrying out. The real work is on the ground. Trustees’ role is to build relationships with partners who are doing the work, to discuss and check with them (often in detail) and to support them – including raising funds. Charity trustees have serious legal responsibilities for accountability of the use of funds, including that spent on admin and fundraising. A charity’s annual return shows how much is spent on what – a useful check: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission.
Giving money is only one way to support a charity. Time freely given is another. Gifts given with kindness matter. Children in the primary schools that Friends of Hlekweni supported were given a small teddy, knitted with love and a filled pencil case, sewn with care by all sorts of people. Donated laptops, painstakingly refurbished and updated by a volunteer, have made a difference to gifted but cash-strapped students. And so on.
Upholding and supportive prayer are hugely important. My Local Meeting offered a prayer circle to uphold me during a visit to Zimbabwe which involved some difficult tasks, for example. Friends in Zimbabwe have appreciated that their resilience and hard work is recognised.
I am grateful for donations that come in with a note of encouragement to trustees and our partners about the work – and to those in my own and other Meetings who take the time to ask how the projects are going and how the people we know in Zimbabwe are faring.
Lee Taylor
Symbols
David Saunders’ musing on the significance of symbols (25 February) brought to my mind a memorable passage from the novel Glory Road written by the late Robert Heinlein, I think one of the greatest science fiction writers.
At one point in the story the central character wants to give a young foreigner a token of remembrance and encouragement. He pulls from his pocket a US quarter coin, worth twenty-five cents, something the boy has obviously never seen before and has no idea what it is.
The hero then shows him the image of the American bald eagle on the reverse of the coin and tells him: ‘The bird stands for courage, freedom, and ideals soaring high.’ He then adds in parenthesis to the reader: ‘I didn’t tell him that the American eagle eats carrion, never tackles anything its own size, and will soon be extinct – it does stand for those ideals. A symbol means what you put into it.’
That passage in particular always stuck in my memory.
The lesson is that, in the end, a symbol means what you want it to mean.
Peter Bolwell
Come-to-Good
On my travels, miles off the beaten track, near the very tip of Britain, not only did I find Come-to-Good, a famous Quaker community whose Meeting house was built in 1710 – more than 300 years ago – but I found Quaker campaigning.
Wonderful.
There were two reasons why I joined Quakers: finding a faith group that struggled thoughtfully, seeking the truth as much as I did – understanding all the uncertainties of faith – and Quaker campaigning for good.
And on the tip of my travels I really have Come-to-Good.
David Fish
