About once a month I volunteer at the local food bank. I don't do anything dramatic--I just unload and load boxes in the warehouse. There are many volunteers (not enough, but many), and many businesses around town collect and donate food. Some weeks, the Boy Scouts, a fraternity, or a church come in and volunteer. I know some of the churches, some of the businesses, and some of the individuals are extremely conservative...but we never talk about that. We all work, jovially, to help the large number of people in my county who are hungry obtain food. We do this, because all of us know it is the right thing to do. Feeding the hungry is above personal politics, so we all work together.
Fire Dog Lake is now proposing a boycott of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation because Hadassah Lieberman is a paid, part-time, employee of the foundation. Many on DKos support the boycott, others oppose it. I believe that boycotting Komen is wrong, at a very basic level. Let me explain why.
There are many reasons those who support the boycott cite in their argument.
- Joe Lieberman is a shill for the insurance industrty.
- Joe Lieberman must be forced to either support HCR, or face the consequences.
- Hadassah Lieberman is a paid lobbyist for the insurance industry, so she is also working to kill real HCR.
I accept all of the above statements as true, but I still oppose a boycott of Komen.
There are, and there should be, causes that transcend party politics. Fighting disease, hunger, poverty to name just a few. Just as in the food bank where I volunteer, all people, regardless of political affiliation, should be welcome. This is the case at the food bank where I volunteer, and it should be the same for Komen. Breast Cancer strikes people regardless of whether they are Republican or Democrat, rich or poor, white or black. We can all agree that it is a disease worth our efforts to cure.
All of us here are working toward a Democratic majority, and we all support real HCR (conceived in various ways). But that is not all we are. Just like our political opponents, we are people who must help others who are less fortunate. I believe that much of what the Republicans do hurts the less fortunate. But in those areas where we can agree, those non-politicized realms, we can, and should, work together.
I respect what nyceve, slinkerwink, and FDL are doing. But this boycott is wrong. Not because Hadassah Lieberman or Joe Lieberman are good people, but rather, because we should not politicize the fight against breast cancer. The Liebermans are loathsome people, and it is likely that Hadassah is only receiving a paycheck from the insurance companies because she is married to a senator. But that doesn't matter. I will thank Hadassah for the time she spends working to cure breast cancer.
There are charities and causes that transcend party politics, and I believe that Komen is one of those charities. A boycott of Komen is wrong, and I hope that FDL will reconsider.