Charity - A Way For People of Privilege to Feel Good About Themselves

 

My favorite morning news channel was reporting from a charity event somewhere in the City. Dozens of volunteers were packing boxes with surplus food. Others were handing them out to anyone who wanted one. It looked a little like a big party. Everyone was smiling and laughing. A great deal of friendly banter was going on. 

The reporter was talking to some of the organizers and volunteers. The number of people in need was increasing, they said. Hundreds of people were getting tons of good and useful food that would otherwise go to waste. It really made them feel good to be able to be a part of this, they said.

Although the effort sounded really good and noble, but Immediately a red flag popped up in my mind. If it makes them feel good, who, then, are they really doing it for, the hungry people or themselves? It reminds me of the old-fashioned charity balls rich housewives would organize to help the poor, but not a poor person in sight, just rich people handing out spare change while having a good time with their friends.

It seems to me there’s a possibility that modern day food distributions could be a continuation of the class culture of the past. Events such as these may help a few hundred people for a brief moment, but there are millions who are in need, but who get nothing. It may feel good to help, but the truth is that, in the grand scheme of things, the impact is very limited. At most, it makes a few already privileged people feel good about themselves.

What is really needed is a complete cultural transformation in the way we treat each other so that there will be no one in need anywhere anymore. That means universal health care for all. It means putting the brakes on the senseless production of more useless products and the constant campaign to buy more. It means educating everyone who wants it. It means decent housing for everyone.

Of course, doing all that cannot be done by a few volunteers at a food distribution event. It needs a coordinated effort from everyone. Stop buying products made for the sole purpose of making rich people even richer. Make them pay their fair share of taxes. Make them pay living wages so workers can at a minimum afford food, shelter for themselves and their families not to mention childcare and educational opportunities. Better yet, remove the profit motive from the production of basic necessities, healthcare, education and housing. 

For any of that to happen a renewal of our collective minds is needed, a return to cooperation and true compassion and I am not talking about one neighborhood in the City. I am talking about change on a global scale.