I'm going to be doing a community service programme involving visiting elderly residents, after being pushed into it by my school's scholarship programme.
And it got me thinking: this community service is ridiculously insincere, and the school doesn't even try to make it sound like we're being charitable, it literally says good for students intending to study medicine etc. it doesn't even mention actual charity just cold hearted "instructions" (what the actual title of the sheet of paper was)
Apparently this system is also very obvious to the rest homes, my friend's father who owns a rest home expresses great disdain and hatred to the teenagers who come and have blatant ulterior motives.
But then, how can we define what is real charity and what isn't? Isn't the reward always there, whether an investment for the future or a feeling of satisfaction etc.
When is charity a system of profits and when is it an expression of altruism.
And for that matter, do you think it's wrong to have pragmatic mindsets for charity. After all, both parties benefit in many cases. Should people let an ethical qualm delay a quasi-beneficial deed?
Lil if it'll help your future I say go for it... But do something you want to do not something you are being kinda made to do. Community work can be awesome fun. I use to do quite a bit of it when I was at school. It's also a great way to met new people and have some fun. We even went to rest homes... That bored me every time. We would also fund raise for different charities. Mostly for GLBT people. But the good thing about the work I did was that it was totally flexible and we got to choose what we did. Maybe you should approach a teacher and tell them that having the students deiced what community work they do. We even helped out at the SPCA a couple of times.
Well, honestly, I don't think there's such a thing as someone who does community work just because, unless someone is super rich and is bored or something.
Like I volunteer at a hospital, not for school but because I really like it, but I have the ulterior motive of doing this so I can put "worked at a hospital for 5 years" on my resume someday. Er, 6. So I'm not totally pure and good and shining I guess? I don't think that's a problem though, because I do what I do right, and I like it.
Even the other volunteers, such as the older retired ones, have the ulterior motive of wanting to relieve their boredom. Everyone has their own motives --- even the rich people have the motive of wanting to feel like better people, right?
I think it's more important that something good is actively being done .
True charity, comes from the giver, not an instruction manual; there are no tangible rewards or bonuses as a result of a charitable action, except your own personal satisfaction, if you've done it correctly.
How you act and feel when you are visiting is entirely up to you.
In the end, whether someone has ulterior motives or not when doing charity he/she WILL be making a difference. I suspect a lot of volunteer workers are doing it partially for the feeling of satisfaction they get, but that doesn't mean there's no room for a genuine will to help.
I used to work at a day program with adults with developmental disabilities (the "politically correct" term, something I have a problem with, but that's for another thread...). I wasn't at all looking for that kind of work, I just fell into it. The work is taxing and the pay is shit, and the one thing that binds all people who work those kinds of jobs (in my experience) is not a charitable nature, it's desperation. Unfortunately, because of the minimal qualifications necessary to work with that population and the general lack of oversight, there's a lot of abuse that goes on in housing facilities (for the elderly as well) perpetrated by an embittered, impatient, uneducated, and underpaid staff. But I'm getting side tracked...
I worked there for three years and I couldn't hear enough from friends, family (extended) and strangers about what a great a person I was for working with the developmentally disabled.
"It takes a real special kind of person to do that job..."
Bullshit of course. In fact it kind of becomes a joke amongst staff workers. I even got out of a speeding ticket once (90 mph in a 50 mph zone) because I told the police officer I was running late to my job where I work with adults with developmental disabilities (it was true). My doe eyes and white skin probably didn't hurt either.
This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy my job, I did. And I really liked most of the population I worked with (some were right cunts though). But if I'm being honest, there was no part of me that wanted to work there, or continue to work there, because I felt like it was a moral thing to do. In fact when I interviewed for the job, my boss told me that one of the perks was that I could get a good night sleep knowing I'm doing good in the world. I thought it was gross when she said and I still do, especially knowing what horrible, manipulative, abusive person she is. But again, that's another thread...
People rarely do things lacking self interest (not always, I understand. Look at those police rushing towards the explosions at the Boston bombings, then again, they were on the clock....). But that's okay. Self interest is not a bad thing. A lot of good can come from self interest, as others have pointed out above. That's why, in theory, capitalism is a beautiful concept: Take people's natural inclination towards self advancement, throw in some healthy competition, and the whole society ends up benefitting.
Since you are entering the medical field and most likely will be put in a day to day situation of dealing with the suffering of others, you might as well learn now about caregiver burnout.
You will find there is a lot of instructions in the area of charitable organizations - yes the instructions are often cold and calculated, however that distance is needed between the giver of charity and the recipient. It helps to delay and sometimes prevent caregiver burnout.
Trust me, after abut the 5th death of a patient you got attached too, the misery of each death thereafter either destroys you or you become indifferent. Too much empathy is as bad as no empathy at all.
This particular lesson will benefit both student and recipient of this 'charity' both sides will come away with important lessons and some of their needs will be met.
I think selfishness, like selflessness, can be healthy & unhealthy. I also think people who have some self-interest involved can be counted on more to live up to the commitments they make rather than people just following their hearts (as hearts tend to be whimsical).
That said, it doesn't sound like most people are getting into medicine to help people if they balk at this. Ah well, at least they'll help one day (hopefully)...as mercenary medics for a price.
Of course too much self-interest is bad, like a preacher who (in addition to being an antigay bigot and telling homeless people that they deserved their condition) only worked a food bank as part of a scam to get grants which he used for his own selfish gains (like getting a new car) and who is believed (but can't prove) to have embezzled from the place so that it ended up having to shut down. Though at least while it was open he suckered his congregation into doing a lot of work (which he stole credit for, of course), and he was even indirectly responsible for getting me there by using his daughter in scouts to get her troop to volunteer there which got my girl to go and me wanting to keep an eye on them to volunteer as well, though unlike the preacher I had compassion for the people coming there. Some homeless Christians were surprised that I wasn't a Christian after I helped them organize a Bible study and got them free Bibles when even the preacher wouldn't do that for them (heh, God works in mysterious ways...).
And just because someone does so out of altruism doesn't mean they can't benefit. For example, a Summer Reading program had a score of kids (some of them under 5, and I think the oldest was 10) which had 2 librarians over it and had gotten 12 volunteers knowing some would flake, but they were shocked when ALL 12 flaked. So in a panic they called me desperately pleading. I liked them and they'd done me enough favors that I did hoping it would be a one time thing and some volunteers would show up the next time. But nope, they never did...and understanding how incredibly difficult it was to watch over that many kids (especially as it included things like going to the beach, which included getting a score of kids across a busy street and then making sure they didn't wonder off) I stuck with it though it was extremely difficult. Still, it was good karma in the end because when I was desperately trying to think of a way to make money I remembered that and the librarians were still grateful enough that they gave me a smoking hot reference which I used to make a lot of money with through the years, and without it I wouldn't have been with the family I'm with now.
i dont now wade. i have staff who help me and who i lvie with beacase we have learning disabilities . i hope they do it job becase them care about us .the staff think its bad if peple with learning disabilities dont go a good life and there job to help it. if my staff wasnt i wouldent want them. some peple hate if pople with learning disabilitys have a badlife and they wont to help. my staff is good becuse they think ii matter and my life
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So in a panic they called me desperately pleading. I liked them and they'd done me enough favors that I did hoping it would be a one time thing and some volunteers would show up the next time. But nope, they never did...and understanding how incredibly difficult it was to watch over that many kids (especially as it included things like going to the beach, which included getting a score of kids across a busy street and then making sure they didn't wonder off) I stuck with it though it was extremely difficult. Still, it was good karma in the end because when I was desperately trying to think of a way to make money I remembered that and the librarians were still grateful enough that they gave me a smoking hot reference which I used to make a lot of money with through the years, and without it I wouldn't have been with the family I'm with now.
