"Viewers like you"

Can I admit to you that I am most impressed with PBS when it is shilling for its very existence? What is so amazing about PBS, really, is that it constantly has its hand out, and never ever stops reminding you that it is "viewers like you" that make its programming possible.

And they're serious. The Federal Government funds about 15% of the PBS/NPR business -- and that is certainly your money. But the other 85% is from underwriting, and the majority of that giving is not from Corporate sponsors but from the pledge drives that interrupt about 15% of the air time every year (that's 2 weeks every quarter).

Now, here's what gets me about that: we Christian has a reputation of being pan-handlers. It's common for a lot of non-Christian types to point out that every church of every size inevitably asks for money under the cover of "tithe" or "the Lord's work". Yet I have never attended any church which presents the matter of giving as aggressively as PBS does -- and even CBN and TBN don't make as incredible a spectacle of passing the hat as PBS does.

I say all that to say this: Monergism.com is in need of a server upgrade (among other things), and needs about $5,000 to get the job done. They have opened up a secure method of payment, and they are (for the first time I can recall, but it may not be the first time) seeking donations. The need is clear, the scope is plainly expressed, and they are asking for you (and me), the users of their resources, to lend a hand.

Give 'em a hand. Don't make them make a show out of their need or out of your personal support of their work. $5K isn't a lot of money, and you don't have to give it all.

Thank you.