Shop4Class

It's the first ever Shop4Class week in NYC. This is a Caroline Kennedy initiative; between May 21 and May 28, a bunch of stores will donate a portion of their proceeds to buy books for classroom libraries for the city's kindergarten through third grade students.

Dear Fellow New Yorkers:
This week your purchases will make a real difference to the children of our city. There are few things in life more important than learning to read, and thanks to the many participating retailers, more of our school children will have books close at hand.

Surely, those of us planning to buy anything in the city this week should take a look at the list of shops and consider spending our money at those places. It's great that those stores want to give back to the community, yes.

But the whole thing begs the question: Wouldn't it be simpler to provide ample funding in the education budget to buy enough books for the little ones?

I mean...

Shop4War: This week only, the following retailers will donate a portion of their proceeds to the US Army to buy much-needed guns for the soldiers.

Can you just imagine?

*****

Singing for Peace

This is my home, the country where my heart is
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
~Finlandia

I ain't afraid of your Yahweh,
I ain't afraid of your Allah,
I ain't afraid of your Jesus,
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god.
...
Rise up to your higher power
Free up from fear, it will devour you
Watch out for the ego of the hour
The ones who say they know it
Are the ones who will impose it on you.
~I Ain't Afraid (Holly Near)