Hot and bothered
Sir: We mostly enjoyed Damian Thomp- son's article about Christian Aid's Coven- try festival ('Politics begins at home', 28 July), particularly the clean-shaven among us who only wear sandals when it is very hot. What really bothered us was not the faint whiff, but a rather strong smell, of 'intellectual dishonesty'.
When I talked to Mr Thompson he struck me as having already made up his mind. First, as I told him, the formula that campaigning should be ancillary to the main objects of the charity is sensible and clearly Understood. Other things may be puzzling, but not that.
Secondly, I also told him that we recog- nised there were good arguments for and against charitable status and that the be- nefits lie in remaining a broad-based move- ment far more than in tax advantages. Thirdly, there is no proposal whatsoever to campaign against the arms trade, only because we have been making the point for a very long time that war makes people poor and that if governments spend money
LETTERS
on arms they have less to spend on development.
It apparently suits Mr Thompson to focus the issue on 'party politics'. The issue is actually whether Christian charity, or love, properly understood, can turn a blind eye to the structures which crush the life out of people and simply concentrate instead on picking up the pieces.
Michael H. Taylor
Director, Christian Aid, P.O.Box 100, London SE1
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