The backgrounds of NGO staffers are much like those of their board members except at much lower echelons and fewer from the government and business world. Nearly all staffers are college educated. Senior level staffers tend to have circulated within the complex before landing where they are currently.
Staffers are the careerists that keep the machinery of their NGOs running smoothly. Journalist and best-selling author, Chris Hedges, believes that careerists are the "colorless human beings" that make the "greatest crimes of human history possible." "They do," he says, "the little chores that make vast, complicated systems of exploitation and death a reality."[5]
Mea culpa to some small extent! I was once a colorless careerist working in the bowels of the federal bureaucracy for a good part of my career. I was there during the Vietnam War. I detested it but I didn't join any street protests. In my defense, I was not in a position of any relevance and I did nothing actively to help keeping the war going. On a continuum of socially detrimental careerism I would put NGO careerists further from me at one end (like dentists, e.g., who may hurt, but they don't hurt America) and closer to careerists at the other end working for the seats of power in the White House, for political appointees in cabinet-level agencies, for the Congress, for the military, and for corporate America.
I had a sense of shame during the part of my career just mentioned. I have no idea if NGO careerists feel any sense of shame. Perhaps they shield it with a host of rationalizations like I did.
NGO Work
Position titles hint at what NGOs do. Reading the "What We Do" types of sections on their websites tells much more. Here is a sample of activities taken from those sections: Assists communities harmed by corporate projects to assert their rights. Comments and/or testifies on legislative matters. Compiles, analyzes, and presents economic data. Conducts community-mediation services. Conducts local campaigns aimed at defeating legislation. Conducts training and workshops. Convenes organizers, activists, and policy experts to help forge powerful coalitions. Designs public policies, performs research, and runs advocacy and public-education campaigns. Develops and provides educational materials. Develops and provides tools for organizing. Files FOIA requests. Litigates. Monitors and reports on corporations and governments. Organizes peaceful marches and rallies. Organizes petition drives. Provides advice and support to citizen-action campaigns. Publicizes injustices (e.g., works with fraud victims on press events, makes documentary films, organizes touring caravans, writes articles, stages exhibits, organizes conferences). Tracks money in politics. Writes amicus briefs. Writes grants. Raises funds.
That is all busyness, and these NGOs are very busy with it, which brings me to the first postmortem.
Postmortem: Reported Impact and Achievements
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