Thursday, September 8, 2011

Friendly Reminder: Pitch in, if you can

Hey, folks - if you could chip in to help several of us go to DC on behalf of all indentured educated citizens in late October, I'd be mighty appreciative. $1, $2, $3 goes a long way. The last donor chipped in $20, and I matched that donation. Think about matching mine!

4 comments:

Rebecca in Houston said...

just donated $15. Good luck!

Cryn Johannsen said...

Thanks so much again, Rebecca. Someone just matched your $15. This is great.

One Who Survived said...

20 US Dollars to match Cryn's.

However, some unsolicited advice: OUTSIDE the bureaucratised "market", people tend to value you in accord with how they perceive you valuing yourself. Yes I'm aware that the majority of student-debtors are in dire financial straits and therefore not able to donate much, but you (we?) can't dismiss the likelihood of some truly wealthy persons taking personal interests in this cause, because this cause literally concerns the common-wealth of the nation, both materially and socially.

In other words, if you suggest a donation of 20 dollars as the reasonably "high end" of what you can expect, then that's probably what you'll receive even from the wealthy.

Last night I was re-watching the movie "Alexander" (as per my interest in Hellenistic history), and one of the most poignant, inspiring scenes - evidently based on a true historical incident - was when, after Alexander the Great entered Babylon as a conqueror, one of the conquered Princesses offers herself into slavery. Then Alexander said, "Look me in the eye, and tell me how you want to be treated." She said, "As I am, a Princess." "And so you shall be."

300-some years later, when Jesus sent his disciples out to their missions - in which they usually lived on the charity of their hosts, he instructed them to expect charity as their right because "The laborer deserves his keep." Buddhist mendicant monks are treated with similar respect in Southeast Asia to this day.

As for asking for MORE money than you and your companions need for personal sustenance in your journey to DC, I suggest it's legitimate to ask for more in the symbolic capacity of "a Princess" (like Alexander's) on the understanding that all funds not used for basic personal expenses will in fact be used for a "Royal" purpose, for the good of the nation's common-wealth. America still has a considerable remnant of "Old Money" patricians today - including not only WASPS but also patrician Irish (the Kennedys), and Jews (Noam Chomsky) et al, and don't forget the "Ebony Tower" of patrician African-Americans - who still hold such values dear.

One Who Survived said...

PS, re the above and Alexander the Great:

An apocryphal but plausible legend says, when Alexander the Great met the Cynic philosopher Diogenes - the one who voluntarily lived in total poverty, in a tub in the marketplace, the equivalent of sleeping on a bench in New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal - Alexander told him, "I will grant you any request." Diogenes said, "You're blocking my sunlight, please step aside."

Then during their conversation, Alexander said, "If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes!"

And Diogenes replied, "If I were not Diogenes, I would be Alexander!"