ACORN considers bankruptcy: Some conservative thoughts

Posted: Mar 20, 2010

I'm sure liberals will not be surprised that a conservative would be happy that ACORN is going under, but the reason will surprise them: I'm happy about the prospect of ACORN's demise because it will make room for better social aid organizations that operate with greater integrity. Anyone who believes that there are not still citizens of this country who need help in gaining access to basic services, who need help in navigating their way into the "main stream" of American society, who need someone to help them with taxes, someone who is watching landlords and employers to see that they are not discriminating or taking advantage of the disadvantaged, and yes, even to see that everyone who wants to participate in the political process is registered to vote, is either misinformed or isn't paying attention. Many of us can't imagine, for instance, that there is anyone in the country who would need a bridge between their present situation and the multiplicity of both governmental and nongovernmental assistance organizations and programs that exist today for everything from basic subsistence to education and healthcare. In fact, the very number and variety of such programs, which might be scattered throughout a metropolitan area or a county, is one of the things that presents the need for some "umbrella" organization, or "ombudsman" if you like that better, who can be this bridge, or conduit. But such an organization must operate with integrity, and that means, first, that it cannot be tainted by any political agenda, especially if it is government-funded. Second, such an organization must operate within the law. In no way can it advise or assist anyone in anything that would either violate or circumvent the law. Nor can the organization itself use methods or "tactics" that do so. It must be free of corruption and completely transparent in every aspect of its operations. What I dislike most about ACORN is that bad organizations tend to suck all the oxygen out of the room for good ones. ACORN allowed itself to degenerate from what might at first have been a good idea into a corruption of that idea. Such an organization can never allow itself to become an arm of any political party, whether Democrat or Republican. Such an organization can never allow its zeal for society's underprivileged to seduce it into using methods that are illegal, or using funds for questionable purposes. ACORN allowed these things to happen. One thing that interested me about the now-famous "sting operations" that the two young "reporters" conducted against ACORN has never, to my knowledge, received even one word of comment, and that is this: These two "reporters" were white, and yet they seemed not to have the least difficulty in getting into an ACORN office, nor in getting the assistance of ACORN counselors - however misguided those counselors might have been. Whatever you thought about the advice the counselors were giving, I was struck by the fact that they were not the least bit reluctant to "help" these two people. In other words, ACORN seems to be racially agnostic. Their doors are open to everyone, and I think that deserves mention. But the fact remains that we need an organization like ACORN that operates "in the clear", both legally and ethically. Since the exposure of its failings in both of these regards, ACORN has not been able to right the ship, and no amount of name-changing or reorganization can erase the stain, whether fairly or unfairly. This reputation will now forever hinder ACORN from being an effective bridge from "here" to "there" for the underprivileged, and it's time for it to make room for new bridges that are not hindered by legal problems, financial problems, suspicion and public distrust - nor by a reputation that makes them politically poisonous in the halls of government. So, I am happy for the sake of the work that needs to be done, and the people who need it, that there may be an opportunity for an organization to arise that we can all support, and even one that people of goodwill, regardless of party, might be willing to serve as volunteers, to donate money, and to recommend to those we might encounter who have a need. I don't think the demise of ACORN needs to be, or will be, the demise of the ideal. Let it, though, be the demise of the corruption of that ideal. ;