Dismantling USAID is a Moral and Strategic Necessity

The Times of Israel just ran a post (which was linked at Realclearreligion.org) entitled “Dismantling USAID is a moral and strategic tragedy” claiming the effectiveness of and call for the preservation of USAID. The following is the essence of this story.Make no mistake about it: USAID was and is indispensable, no matter its faults. The Trump administration’s wholesale demolition of the agency will cause untold suffering to millions of innocent people. USAID provides massive funding to essential programs for people desperate for help. That money is mostly allocated to large NGOs such as Save the Children or Catholic Relief Services and then redistributed to smaller international or local organizations. And yes, some of that money disappears along the way, as Elon Musk and others have pointed out. But a huge amount of it does get through and does fund absolutely essential humanitarian needsWhy would I talk about this on a Baptist blog? Someone has to argue against this thinking linked on a site for religious news. Biblical principles apply and we must always prioritize building a biblical worldview.What is USAID about?This is what it is about from the USAID website:Our Mission: On behalf of the American people, we promote and demonstrate democratic values abroad, and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. In support of America's foreign policy, the U.S. Agency for International Development leads the U.S. Government's international development and disaster assistance through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises and progress beyond assistance.The problem with this mission statement is found in the words, democratic values. The values that USAID has pedaled in the last few decades are immoral and anti-religious. The agency has become a socialist, DEI, and LGBTQ propaganda tool that is at odds with the values of the countries being reached while not representing the values of most Americans. None of these things are associated with the “democratic values” of our Republic, constitution, or history. They are values that are contrary to the created order and have been recognized in recent years, even by atheists, to be socially destructive. It would be better for USAID to do nothing, than for it to promote these values. Shoving left-wing social values down the throats of other countries as a condition for receiving our charitable treats is not a way to gain allies in the world—and it is wrong. …Read the rest of the article here: Dismantling USAID is a Moral and Strategic Necessity – Proclaim & Defend — or, just listen to the podcast. Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe