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But why is it?
Does it make you a 'better person'?
Giving to charity is never a selfless act though. Most people give to charity because it's makes them feel good about themselves.
who gives a fuck what it makes you? it helps people that need help.
say there are two people, person A and person B. person A is financially comfortable. person B is destitute.
what if person A gave person B some of their money? and what if they gave it because they had it to spare, and person B didn't. What if they wanted t help simply because they could. not because they wanted people to think of them as generous. not because they wanted to be a good person. not because it made them feel guilty not to. what then?
don't you think those people exist?
Someone said something to me the other day, that a good act is supposed to be selfless in order to be good. My response was that nobody is perfect, but if the good act is done, showing off about it isn't really hurting anyone. Imagine if everyone in the country gave 5% of their earnings to charity and then went off down the pub and showed off about it. And even better; they got praised for it! "Nice one mate, let me buy you a drink."
Etc etc. I think, from my perspective, it seems like a competition to a lot of people. I've only met a few americans in my life, but they give a lot more to charity than we do of their own accord but they also show off about all manner of things. I am a strong beleiver that too many people are modest these days. If someone does something good they should be praised, as it encourages them to do it more.
True, and that can only ever be a good thing.
then again, considering how this thread's gone, maybe i am wrong, and people DO need to be bribed to give. if that's true, then the world is sadder than i thought.
I think that a lot of people crave recognition for their "good deeds", and that that is quite sad.
Exactly.
i'm more concerned that people think it's perfectly fine to only help other people out when there's something in it for them.
the charities do what they have to to maximise profits. my beef is not with them.
Other people donate because they want to make themselves feel like they're generous, or they want everyone else to know they are generous.
Most people are a mixture of the two. I donate money to BHF and to CHUF at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle because I want to donate money to a good cause, but I chose those two charities because they have saved the life of GWST's sister on numerous occasions, and still continue to do so. Others choose CRUK, or whoever, for similar reasons.
Anonymous benefactors are better than those who scream "look at me! aren't I good!", though, and I can't believe people are trying to dispute this.
Hmm. There's no inate reason why that should be though. If two people give equally to the same charity, one says nothing and the other tells all and sundry that he has given to a charity, that doesn't make the quiet person "better". It makes no difference to the funds that the charity gets.
For me, the only problem I see is that if someone is wearing a band (that is intended) to show support for a charity and has never actually given anything to the charity, then that's wrong, but if people actually have given to a charity then personally I see nothing wrong with saying so.
It doesn't make them a better donor but it does make them a better person, IMHO.
Donation shouldn't be done for the sake of public gratitude and acknoledgement, but everyone would rather people donated and made a song and dance about it than they didn't donate at all.
Anonymous benefactors get to feel good about the fact that they donated and didn't want recognition ... but that's where it ends.
It's a difficult argument and one where I don't really know where I stand. I'm just kind of playing devil's advocate with my replies because I honestly want to know what people think.
A man who donates £1million of his multi-billion fortune is a better donor than the bloke who gives his last quid, but I know who the better man is.
I'm sure you don't really care, but biblically speaking you're never supposed to boast about the works that you've done.
I don't live by some words in some old book.
ETA: Totally read that wrong. Got it from the heart foundation shops and its got the heart foundation sign on with 'Feel the pulse'.