Atlas Shrugged is a piece of junk!

Post Reply New Topic

Why did you do it?

Because helping someone else is the right thing to do?

If and when I give to charity, I absolutely DO NOT WANT anyone to know. First off, everyone and their brother would be knocking down my door for their pittance from me. Second, I can’t stand people who make a big show of their generosity. They’re nothing but braggarts, blowhards, and egotistical morons. For example, when my mom’s health began to fail, my one brother would show up with his wife, to either do remodeling to her house (which they would never finish) or take mom to her doctor’s appointment, or bring her groceries. I learned through the grapevine that he and his wife were going back to their home congregation and were crowing about how “good Christians” they were, while implying that the rest of the family were leeches and were to be treated as such. I ended up taking quite a few places myself, mostly because I was the only one home during the day (I was delivering for both Pizza Hut, and later, Papa John’s, at the time.). I did it, especially since she made it known that if I didn’t, she would see make sure that she would see me living on the street. In short, I had to, or else. Besides, remember the story in the New Testament where the rich were giving their tithes, and a poor widow, gave her last 2 pennies. She gave everything she had, while the wealthy were giving next to nothing.

That’s how I feel. Take it or leave it!

So what? There are lots of things that are “the right thing to do.” So why choose to do the “right thing”?

This is EXACTLY what I’m getting at.

Jesus’ thing about being open about giving was about heavenly reward vs. earthly reward. Pharisees did that to be recognized for their giving and to show off how much God blessed them. The praise of men was enough that they needed nothing from God. They already have their reward. Christians do stuff in secret because God always sees and will reward them in heaven.

However, whilst true...

You hit on exactly what Jesus meant with the Golden Rule. Yes, if people know you are generous, they will come out of the woodwork to get theirs. And you’re, like, hey, I got nothin til my next paycheck. But, hey, if you’ll just help me clean my house, I can give you a place to sleep, and I’ve got just enough food to share for one meal. It’s not much, but it’s at least a little break.

Hey, free labor.

And yes, I’m aware of the thing with homeless people and mental illness, so I’m not suggesting anyone take in dangerous people who’ll rob you on the way out. But at least you can do something for your friends, cut ‘em a break, and maybe even get a break yourself.

What happens is it will make you popular. People will bend over backwards to help you with anything you want. You just have to take care of them a little bit, even if it just means sitting back and listening to them rant over a triviality or major life-changing event. You don’t have to make it public that you do stuff for folks. Bill Gates isn’t that in-your-face public with his foundation, but he does good stuff. And people show up to help. And give Bill Gates more money. Stuff like that usually gets promoted by the people involved or those who benefit, the not necessarily the head billionaire in charge.

Time is as much a commodity as money, btw. Generosity of time and energy go a long way with people. Back when I was still struggling with my weight, I’d walk the track at the park. Over time, I started speaking to other people. I was amazed what I could get people to tell me. More than anything people just want to feel important. Being generous ultimately brings influence.

Because the Spirit moves you to help those in need.
"When you did this for the least of your brothers, you did it for me."

- Jesus Christ.

Ok, so you feel it’s important to do what the Spirit moves you to do?

Because I don't want other people to suffer if I can help it.

In other words, because you value other people.

In a word: yes.
Though I also like what Walrus said about valuing other people.

Valuing things or people, obeying the Spirit, and so forth are choices we make on our own terms. We care about people not entirely unlike the way we care about a favorite possession.

It’s like when someone dies, or if you’ve lost family member or someone close, it’s never really for them that you cry but for yourself because of the pain and sense of loss. For the one who has suffered, death is a release, a reward in a way.

I think of King David and the loss of his baby with Bathsheba. His subjects were amazed when he decided to forego the usual mourning. While the child was alive, David could plead for mercy. When what David wanted and prayed for was taken from him, nothing was left but to get back to ruling Israel.

Caring for others, again, is a selfish act because at the root of caring is our personal desire to do so.

We can’t escape our nature. But humanity always benefits when what we want (for ourselves) is to do good things for others.

Yes, we mourn when we lose someone, but because we had loved that person who is now gone.
Perhaps you are only speaking about yourself in regard to selfishness being the heart of selflessness?

No, because everyone sooner or later displays that attribute. Because of that, there’s no “real” thing is “good.”

The closest we can come to selflessness is that what we want most, even if it is only for ourselves that we want it, is for the good or benefit of all. If you are anonymously generous, you probably still feel good about yourself for giving.

Besides, there’s always a reward. If you anonymously spend a billion on eliminating AIDS in Africa, you help lessen the risk of yourself or someone you love being affected by that disease in that part of the world. Or even if neither you nor someone close to you sees any immediate benefit, humanity always gains from the effort by learning knew things. Like going to the moon. We went to the moon; we got bored, so we came back. The leaps in tech gained from a few moon trips have much to do with how we’re communicating on this very website.

But, see...I think we’re too accustomed to thinking selfishness is evil. And maybe it is. But we don’t exactly waste our lives feeling guilty, or falling all over ourselves trying to cover it up or call it something else. If our hearts’ desire is to benefit each other, or to try our best to please God in what feeble ways we can, exactly how is that such a terrible thing?

Back to the original point, the idea of a virtuous selfishness isn’t far off the mark. Rand might have a point.

I was just reading an essay by David Kelley analyizing the relationship between benevolence and altruism when I thought about this thread. Enjoy:

Rand didn't object to "socialism" paying for her medical bills. This is reasonably well known to informed biographers:

https://www.thomhartmann.com/users/canu ... y-medicare

She applied for social security benefits under the surname of O'Connor, her husband's surname, as the Guardian made known -
Quote from The Guardian piece:

She was elderly and sick and needed surgery (lung surgery, after knocking down two packs a day for decades). Presumably she had a fair amount of money. But she turned to Social Security and Medicare. And under her husband's name!

All right, I hear some of you now. We're all hypocrites to some extent. I accepted the Bush tax cuts I oppose (although I do make charitable contributions that I think cover the difference, so I give the money back).

But I am not the leading "moral" philosopher of my age on the subject of rates of taxation, as Rand was to her many disciples on the question of the state. Besides which, there is no way to tell the IRS, look, I want to be taxed at the old Clinton rate. Whereas Mrs. O'Connor could surely have turned to other sources. What a hypocrite and fraud.

Perhaps some, but the true meaning of charity is to do something for someone less fortunate than yourself because it is the right thing to do, not because it makes you feel good, or because you want to improve your reputation for being a "good person".