Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 16, 1995 TAG: 9510160090
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN MONTGOMERY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He obviously has invested a great deal of his energy and passion into the abortion issue, as is his right. I may disagree with him about the basics of that debate, and no one would suffer from that fact. If we all agreed about anything in this society, I would be shocked. Williams' letter, however, encourages people to ignore the United Way this year as a method of drawing funding away from Planned Parenthood. In that regard, his argument leaves the realm of philosophy and enters the very real battleground of human needs that charitable agencies in the Roanoke Valley face every day
The United Way, national or local, isn't a perfect organization. The national organization allowed huge abuses that have stained the entire program. The local organization may often appear to be too bureaucratic, too controlling. The truth, however, is that many agencies in this valley depend on the United Way for a great deal of their funding, and any effort to sever this lifeline without a viable, immediate substitute is simply irresponsible.
The children at Greenvale have nothing to do with Planned Parenthood, and Red Cross doesn't think about abortions when Hurricane Hugo is beating at our doors. The many other services - small and large - are far too busy tending to their own flocks to stop and ponder the abortion debate. The active effort to damage these programs is therefore vicious and counterproductive.
Williams is apparently suggesting that we weaken programs geared to the safety, survival and education of children because he doesn't like one program of one agency. If he finds a branch he doesn't like on a tree in his yard, does he chop down the whole tree? If he finds a person he doesn't like in his church, does he leave the church? If he dislikes one product or service his employer provides, does he quit his job?
I assume that he does none of the above, and that he operates on the same basic principles that control most of us every day: He works with and within the system to get the results he wants. In the United Way, he can get that result by just selecting a box on his United Way form, and not a dime of his contribution will flow into the coffers of Planned Parenthood for any use. Or he might designate one agency to get his entire contribution, an even more powerful use of donor choice, and again avoid the abortion funding he so detests.
The whole Planned Parenthood issue is, of course, nonsense at its source. Planned Parenthood is one of the most professional and effective agencies in the valley, and the lack of Planned Parenthood would cause a huge increase in miserable pregnancies, abortions, foster placements, adoptions and many other problems. Kathy Haynie, David Nova and the rest of the staff are some of the brightest and most concerned people in our little corner of the world, and spitting venom on their efforts does absolutely nothing to diminish them in the eyes of people who know them and their work. Such conduct also does little to solve any of the problems that vex Williams so much.
I suggest he reroute his fury, rethink the consequences of his letter and make more reasonable suggestions for the needs of this valley. Impoverishing 36 agencies to promote one minority idea - and objection to a woman's right to choice is a minority idea throughout this country in every poll I've ever read - is just not a reasonable approach to this area's social-service needs.
John Montgomery, of Roanoke, is an administrator of a nonprofit United Way agency.
by CNB