In Charles Dicken's novel, Bleak House, he describes the character, Mrs. Jellyby, as someone with "telescopic philanthropy." It's a clever Dicken's phrase of someone with a burning, all-consuming, passion to do good but at a great distance. Mrs. Jellyby is living in England but is so devoted to causes in Africa, like the superabundant home population, that she fails to recognize the needs of her own brood at home!
Dicken's describes Mrs. Jellyby as having "handsome eyes, though they had a curious habit of seeming to look a long way off. As if, ...they could see nothing nearer than Africa!"
Telescopic philanthropy is a great term for people who get so absorbed in remote issues they might neglect problems nearer to home. Kind of the opposite of grass roots service!
Sometimes celebrities get obsessed with things like Freeing Tibet but remain oblivious to problems within their own families! Often there is more glamour in distant philanthropy; service to a smaller audience might not garner kudos, praise, or a gold star on the forehead!
Certainly charity in every form is admirable! We need donors who take on global causes as well as people who serve quietly. I might have the opposite problem of Mrs. Jellyby. Nurturing those in my path keeps me busy and sometimes I don't extend charity as far reaching as I could.
It seems there will always be hosts of good causes that compete for our attention. And, however much we do, we cannot possibly give to every cause! So, when all is said and done, we need the Mrs. Jellybys and grass roots volunteers too! The world seems big enough for macro, micro & yes, even telescopic philanthropy!
