I'm confused.
Normally I am a big enough person to admit when I am wrong; and this might be one of those times.
The theater in which I work is doing a collection for a local community resource. Every year for three years we have taken up a collection for the Rhode Island Food Bank and it is been very meaningful. I think, and this is an estimate, that in two years we have collected nearly $100,000. This year, with the economy tight and the unemployment rate in Rhode Island one of the highest in the nation, we are still collecting and despite my estimation of virtually no collection, we are actually collecting more money. In the the last day we collected $2,000. That is one day, out of 30. If the pace of giving keeps up we are going to collect more money than ever for RIFB.
Now... The cynicism...
I start off a lot of sentences with phrases similar to, "What is wrong with the world..." I am wondering if I am wrong, or if I am maybe being small minded in my view of what is actually going on? If our society is so willing to give, why is homelessness and malnutrition and poverty so high. In a country as wealthy and wasteful as our is, why do we have homeless people? Why do we have children that still can't get the food they need? When clearly we are a charitable people.
I think that the issue might be the money, as weird as this is about to sound, it seems like the money is a cute little cure-all; a person puts a little money in a jar, and they feel better. To them the problem just went away, or at least it diminished a bit.
But then, maybe I am being too cynical. I know that I work my ass off, and between my job(s) and my other things that I do, like reading or going to the gym, I rarely have the time or the energy to go and volunteer at Habitat for Humanity or soup kitchens or whatever. Maybe the people that are so giving right now are no different?
So, SG, what do you think?
Normally I am a big enough person to admit when I am wrong; and this might be one of those times.
The theater in which I work is doing a collection for a local community resource. Every year for three years we have taken up a collection for the Rhode Island Food Bank and it is been very meaningful. I think, and this is an estimate, that in two years we have collected nearly $100,000. This year, with the economy tight and the unemployment rate in Rhode Island one of the highest in the nation, we are still collecting and despite my estimation of virtually no collection, we are actually collecting more money. In the the last day we collected $2,000. That is one day, out of 30. If the pace of giving keeps up we are going to collect more money than ever for RIFB.
Now... The cynicism...
I start off a lot of sentences with phrases similar to, "What is wrong with the world..." I am wondering if I am wrong, or if I am maybe being small minded in my view of what is actually going on? If our society is so willing to give, why is homelessness and malnutrition and poverty so high. In a country as wealthy and wasteful as our is, why do we have homeless people? Why do we have children that still can't get the food they need? When clearly we are a charitable people.
I think that the issue might be the money, as weird as this is about to sound, it seems like the money is a cute little cure-all; a person puts a little money in a jar, and they feel better. To them the problem just went away, or at least it diminished a bit.
But then, maybe I am being too cynical. I know that I work my ass off, and between my job(s) and my other things that I do, like reading or going to the gym, I rarely have the time or the energy to go and volunteer at Habitat for Humanity or soup kitchens or whatever. Maybe the people that are so giving right now are no different?
So, SG, what do you think?