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The Self Syndrome
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Phillip Hong
December 1, 2012 |
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It's funny how people forget the concept of kindness while they think they're trying to do a world
of good.
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Twas a quiet Saturday morning and I was off visiting my father who was in the midst of a grocery
run. As we proceeded to the entrance of a supermarket, we saw an elderly lady who couldn't get her
walker onto the curb near the front entrance. As my father helped her up, another woman approached
him and tactlessly asked for a monetary donation to a certain charity, all the while ignoring the
fact that he was trying to help an immobile person! Sensibly, we ignored this loiterer as we donated
our time for more "needy causes".
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I am stunned with the revelation that so many people need something as simple as a helping hand
when there are others, claiming to be god's children, playing salesmen with clipboards in the
name of selfless charity.
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A recent development in the industry of giving involves the almost aggressive nature of the "street
fundraiser". A person would come up to you, leather folio in hand and begins to guilt you into
giving to charity in a faraway place, with plenty of exposure of photos of poor, doe-eyed kids; all
the while, not disclosing where the money goes or whether or not the children in the photos benefit
from the entire unsavoury exercise.
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This serves as a very stark reminder of people having a rather selfish side in the pursuit of being
selfless.
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A few years back my high school was kind enough to hold a charity concert after the Boxing Day
tsunami devastated countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. Posters were drawn, and my enthusiasm
was high, since the school population showed initiative in making a difference in the lives of
others.
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That enthusiasm was crushed when the advertising was printed and posted on the walls of the
hallways; the small print read "Half of proceeds will go to Student Council". Something as selfless
as supporting victims of a natural disaster became a selling point, an opportunity to line the
pockets of naive inadvertent profiteers.
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Just because you want to go to prom, doesn't mean you should indirectly snatch money away destined
for families in Banda Aceh, Indonesia who lost both kith and kin through no fault of their own! In
any way, it was misleading and wrong, though unintentionally.
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The concept of the Good Samaritan seems to be lost in translation thanks to the passage of time.
Society will always have a vulnerable population who are in dire need of our help. Seniors who lack
company and whose offspring blatantly ignore them for the sake of their own pleasures. Families who
have to rely on food banks that are increasingly barren due to lack of donations. Homeless people
of all ages and creeds, increasingly ignored thanks to people who worry more about their elongating
commutes. All of this, while many ensure that charity only gets money through a mailed cheque - oh,
and don't forget that tax receipt! I need it to redirect my income taxes and take advantage of a lower
bracket come next April.
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Where have our hearts gone?
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If there's anything that religion gladly teaches, it's the idea of thinking about people in an
altruistic manner. "Treat thy neighbour as thy own", "What you get is what you give". It isn't
fanatical or even religious to be more aware of the problems other people face, and to try to help
them.
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I've had enough of hearing "what's in it for me?"
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Phillip Hong is a columnist with 148.ca.
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