The Tragedy of American Compassion

In his book The Tragedy of American Compassion, Marvin Olasky confronts us with two uncomfortable truths. The first truth is one that many sense intuitively, but are afraid to speak. That truth is that for all of our good intentions government entitlements have created much of the generational poverty and welfare dependence. Beginning by making a distinction between poverty (a situation where one is without resources) and pauperism (a situation where one is without resources and unwilling help ones self) he illuminates how the shift from private to public welfare created entitlements. Entitlements, by definition, cannot demand the recipient assume any personal responsibility for their condition or its relief. Consequently, what is intended as compassion becomes slavery. The second uncomfortable truth is that the shift from private to public funding of benevolent work has allowed the individual members of the church to avoid contact with the poor, depriving the poor role models and the church of the blessing of serving the poor as demanded by Christ. Olasky's solution is for the government to support private charities and let them serve the poor. Private charities can discriminate between the poor and the paupers where the government cannot. Written in 1992 this book became the blueprint for compassionate conservatism and the Faith Based Initiatives of the Bush administration. While those on the left may take issue with some of Olasky's views, they can be instructed by the history and improve their effectiveness by listening. I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in genuinely helping the poor.

Olasky takes his readers on a very thorough, and rather academic, journey, looking at how society historically provided for those less fortunate and what lessons we can learn from it today. Whether one agrees with Olasky's religious views or not, he presents a compelling historical argument for the success of private institutions providing for those of us who are less fortunate.This book is not written by an armchair quarterback academic writing in a sequestered academic office in some ivy-league shool. It is good, line-level writing from someone who has lived among those of whom he writes - all the more credible the writing.

The homeless are not that way by chance. They used to be called 'vagrants, hobos, bums, degenerates, thugs, tramps, derelicts, or drifters'. About 80% of the 'homeless' are alcoholics or drug addicts. They are not this way because of defects in society. Government programs do not even try to address these problems. True compassion (feeling or suffering with) involves dealing with these people in person. Government programs have just made the problem worse; they have prevented getting help to these people. Compassion involves getting to know these people and care about them. They don't need any more people to hand out damned blankets and food. There are people lining up to do this.Go have lunch with some 'homeless', learn their names and personalities. Here's a picture of a real homeless person as opposed to the mental pictures most people have: Joe the programmer has the knowledge and experience to make $75/hr easily. Everytime he gets comfortable materially, he goes on a bender and ends up in an emergency room or the police pick him out of the gutter. He goes through another bout of homelessness having lost everything again. One of these benders is going to kill Joe. Joe knows it, I know it, all God's children know it. This time Joe has a good sponsor, is working his program hard and is working as a foot messenger downtown to avoid the problems of affuence that trip him up. This is a heroic story of struggle against terrible demons, far better than Star Wars. I am priviliged to know Joe. There are many stories like this. Did you know you can live in a rental storage shed for $20/month? Dry, clean with electricity. Some homeless have favored this, although you have to climb a chain link fence to go out at night and get back in.If you care about people like this and want to really help, read Marvin Olasky's book first, then go do the right thing.

Just as it is easier for any of us to practice our compassion by voting for more government programs and occasionally tossing some checks at charities, it probably would have been easier for Mr. Olasky to hold the fire that is this remarkable book. While others (including some of the 20+ friends and colleagues I've favored with copies of this book) complain a bit about Olasky's somewhat comprehensive treatment of the history of charity in America, I found those portions of his book particularly illuminating. How edifying indeed to learn that over 200 years of truly compassionate reformers had warned us against the mockery of compassion that is the welfare state, that it would deprive the needy of essential personal contact with benefactors and volunteers, that it would lend "assistance" breeding dependence and personal ruin, and that it would fail to make the great demands on givers and recipients alike necessary to render compassion either true or effective. If you have ever found yourself frustrated that an attempt to help a needy person, family, or neighborhood failed, this book can likely show what was missing, just as it shows what is missing on a staggering scale in our country's misguided effort to use government to help the needy. A book destined to be unpopular among those with a stake in relieving private citizens of their personal responsibilities to their fellow man, those receiving benefits without efforts at achieving independence, and those with an agenda to expand the authority of government on the false promise of a great society. No responsible commentator on present-day American can afford not to read this book. Bravo, Mr. Olasky.

Mr. Olasky begins with a simple premise, that societies create charity systems that reflect the God that they worship. In early America, God was seen to be both justice and mercy. Justice meant that it was right for the slothful or drunkards to suffer. Mercy meant that it was also wrong for believers to turn their back on a sinner trying to mend his/her ways. In today's society, we only see God as mercy, not justice. Without the crucial element of justice, we are bound to reward the destructive behaviors that caused the problem in the first place. Mr. Olasky makes a compelling argument that goes hand-in-hand with Charles Murray's "Losing Ground." They are must reads for those wanting to truly help the needy in society, and not just posture as Samaritans.