My Crazy Philosophy

Heh, I posted that whole rant about being thankful for being so fortunate and having money and being able to study whatever I want and go wherever I want in several different places, including my MySpace. Several people replied to the MySpace post, and all of their replies were very different. One thing that caught my attention was my aunt's reply.

My aunt is very nice; I don't know her very well personally, but I look up to her because she has traveled around the world and seems to be a very good person despite being pretty rich. She replied that I should share all of my gifts with those who are less fortunate than me. A very nice sentiment.

I couldn't help but scoff at it.

I know that it's a very nice thing to say, and I know that there a lot of people out there who might be stuck in a sucky situation, like being a single mom who can't get ahead, because if she gets a job she will get less help from the government, and she'll have to pay more rent and pay a babysitter, so really, if she works she'll have less money than she has when she stays home all day with her son. It sucks. There doesn't seem to really be a way out of it unless she gets a boyfriend/sugar-daddy, and how demoralizing is that?

But I digress.

I was saying that there are a lot of people in sucky situations: single moms, homeless people, orphans. And that's just in this country, the U. S. of A. where opportunity is running rampant. I've been reading a lot about Africa lately and the kind of disparity going on there. But that's their lot, right? These are people who were born in a country that is unstable, unbalanced between what was and what is, and they have no choice but to deal with it.

But what can I do to help any of these people? Share my knowledge with them? I can't share my scholarships with them. I could volunteer my time for them, but why are their unfortunate situations my responsibility just because I'm in a good place.

I know that sounds like I'm being a total asshole. I really can see both sides to it; I know why it makes sense for those who have more to give to those who have less. I know I've been frustrated seeing some people buying $1300 pants when I get mine second-hand from my sister. But then again, if that person earned what they got, why should they feel obligated to give it up to people who've done nothing to earn it? Isn't that just harboring a system that rewards those who do nothing?

My friend Andrea's sister's fiance (that's a mouthfull) used to complain that his friend used to brag about living completely off of the government. He and his girlfriend didn't work or go to school or anything, just sat around and recieved checks for doing nothing. Is that fair?

I can't decide, actually. So I just do what feels right to me. If a situation comes along in which I'm able to use what I have to help someone less fortunate, I will probably take it. If not, I'll keep doing what I'm doing.