March of Dimes or Crimes
The company I work for does most of its charitable giving through March of Dimes. There is all most constant encouragement to contribute. I do not. I silently protest; occasionally' someone asks me why I do not attend one of the company sponsored fund raisers. When I explain that as a pro-life Christian I cannot support the charity, which is the largest single completely privately funded supporter of abortion at all stages of pregnancy, they stare at me like I am some "wild-eye" fanatic.
March of Dimes does everything in their power to disguise their true agenda. To the point where their advertising is deceptive. Now let's be clear March of Dimes has a magnanimous history. At the encouragement of President Franklin Roosevelt, who was disabled by polio, a group of philanthropist formed the charity to fight the epidemic that was killing millions and had even paralyzed him. They were an important support and funding channel for Dr. Jonas Salk who eventually developed a vaccine. They have contributed to the development of many vaccines an have funded much research for childhood illnesses. They also often provide funding for medical needs of serious ill or disabled children. That can only commended.
My problem with them is that in essence they are hypocritical. When vaccines were developed for many childhood illnesses. March of Dimes had to redefine there purposes, and they now say there mission is to end birth defects. That sounds like something everyone should support. My problem is how they want to go about doing it. Number One they support abortion as means of eliminating birth defected children, and in the last few years they have gone to consciously disguising their agenda and misrepresenting their cause. The organization has integrity problem.
Frankly their fund raising efforts make me mad, as they have pre-empted pro-life symbols for their cause. They have to understand that these symbols are giving false impressions. On the main hallway of the building where I work are 100's of paper baby's feet with donors names on them. Baby feet is the international pro-life symbol. I am on the board of directors of a local organization that supports pregnant women and men and their children who choose life. Over 30 years of ministry I have been on the front lines of the pro-life movement and every where I have gone I have seen the baby's feet as the symbol of the movement. For march of dimes to use this symbol in their advertising is both disrespectful and offensive to pro-life people. Last week I became convinced that this use of symbols is intentional. I drew this conclusion, of all, places in a shoe store.
As I was checking-out there on the counter was a large "baby-bottle" with a slot in it for people to contribute on the front of the bottle was printed March of Dimes. The organization I work with as well as many other pro-life organization use baby bottles for fund raising. Pro-life people who see this receptacle instantly think they are contributing to a pro-life cause. March of Dimes knows this and I believe they have intentionally preempting the symbol.
Symbols are important. My children understood what the golden arches meant long before they could read. The money we carry in our wallet and purses has no inherent value. You can no longer redeem it for it's worth in gold or silver. Printed across the top of U.S. currency are the words "Federal Reserve Note." The currency is nothing more than a symbol of the "good faith and credit of the U.S. government." In fact the letters I am typing on this keyboard have no inherent meaning, other than phonemes that English speaking people have symbolically associated with them. Other people groups use far different language symbols. Symbols are essential to understanding and communication. The ring I wear on my finger is a symbol. It communicates something. This is why marketing departments of organization spend so much money developing logos, and creating brand awareness. When we see a little green bipedal gecko we think of auto insurance.
I am absolutely convinced the leaders of March of Dimes understand how brand awareness works and what they are communicating through the use of recognized pro-life symbols, unfortunately, it is a lie. The organization is dishonest. I personally hope that those of us who are pro-life will not be fooled by this. As long as March of Dimes continues to fund abortion they can not claim to be friends of children or supporters of life. Perhaps they should re-brand themselves as March of Crimes, rather than March of Dimes.
March of Dimes does everything in their power to disguise their true agenda. To the point where their advertising is deceptive. Now let's be clear March of Dimes has a magnanimous history. At the encouragement of President Franklin Roosevelt, who was disabled by polio, a group of philanthropist formed the charity to fight the epidemic that was killing millions and had even paralyzed him. They were an important support and funding channel for Dr. Jonas Salk who eventually developed a vaccine. They have contributed to the development of many vaccines an have funded much research for childhood illnesses. They also often provide funding for medical needs of serious ill or disabled children. That can only commended.
My problem with them is that in essence they are hypocritical. When vaccines were developed for many childhood illnesses. March of Dimes had to redefine there purposes, and they now say there mission is to end birth defects. That sounds like something everyone should support. My problem is how they want to go about doing it. Number One they support abortion as means of eliminating birth defected children, and in the last few years they have gone to consciously disguising their agenda and misrepresenting their cause. The organization has integrity problem.
Frankly their fund raising efforts make me mad, as they have pre-empted pro-life symbols for their cause. They have to understand that these symbols are giving false impressions. On the main hallway of the building where I work are 100's of paper baby's feet with donors names on them. Baby feet is the international pro-life symbol. I am on the board of directors of a local organization that supports pregnant women and men and their children who choose life. Over 30 years of ministry I have been on the front lines of the pro-life movement and every where I have gone I have seen the baby's feet as the symbol of the movement. For march of dimes to use this symbol in their advertising is both disrespectful and offensive to pro-life people. Last week I became convinced that this use of symbols is intentional. I drew this conclusion, of all, places in a shoe store.
As I was checking-out there on the counter was a large "baby-bottle" with a slot in it for people to contribute on the front of the bottle was printed March of Dimes. The organization I work with as well as many other pro-life organization use baby bottles for fund raising. Pro-life people who see this receptacle instantly think they are contributing to a pro-life cause. March of Dimes knows this and I believe they have intentionally preempting the symbol.
Symbols are important. My children understood what the golden arches meant long before they could read. The money we carry in our wallet and purses has no inherent value. You can no longer redeem it for it's worth in gold or silver. Printed across the top of U.S. currency are the words "Federal Reserve Note." The currency is nothing more than a symbol of the "good faith and credit of the U.S. government." In fact the letters I am typing on this keyboard have no inherent meaning, other than phonemes that English speaking people have symbolically associated with them. Other people groups use far different language symbols. Symbols are essential to understanding and communication. The ring I wear on my finger is a symbol. It communicates something. This is why marketing departments of organization spend so much money developing logos, and creating brand awareness. When we see a little green bipedal gecko we think of auto insurance.
I am absolutely convinced the leaders of March of Dimes understand how brand awareness works and what they are communicating through the use of recognized pro-life symbols, unfortunately, it is a lie. The organization is dishonest. I personally hope that those of us who are pro-life will not be fooled by this. As long as March of Dimes continues to fund abortion they can not claim to be friends of children or supporters of life. Perhaps they should re-brand themselves as March of Crimes, rather than March of Dimes.
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