Getting the vaccine??

[iris lilies]

Yes, that is so nice of you, Tradd. I'm sure it was much appreciated.

When it comes to the inability for IL's do-gooder friends to find people to shop for, it clearly didn't fill a need for whatever reason. Maybe the older people had family members or friends that were already helping them. Maybe they belong to a church where they have close ties with the members, like Tradd. People underestimate the value in being part of church community. Maybe they enjoyed getting out of the house and went during early "senior hours." Maybe there was an element of distrust of the volunteers, but if they presented themselves as a bona fide community organization, I don't think they'd be afraid that someone would just take off with their money. But maybe they would be. Who knows?

You have hit on something here.

It is The New People in my neighborhood who seem to be anxiously quivering to “help” and I find that—jarring. It jars me out of my tidy world of boundaries where churchy people do churchy things like help the homeless and carry out poor people programs and provide Covid time shopping for those who need it. I secretly think The New People need to just go to church for god sake. Ha ha! In my neighborhood the church for all protestants is a Methodist church, and after a while those who are protestants regardless of what denomination end up going there because it’s quite open and relentlessly liberal. I love the Methodist Church and their peeps, but their point of view drives me crazy sometimes.

Anyway.

I admit that there is room for change and/or compromise here. Perhaps the new people will make a permanent arm of our neighborhood association to be a “social welfare helping arm. “It could evolve into that, I don’t know. Fortunately I am leaving in a couple years so I won’t have to see it. There’s nothing wrong with it inherently except that I am not convinced that division of focus will serve us well in the end. But maybe it will, who knows.

[Tybee]

It's funny that the term "do-gooders" becomes an insult.

When aren't we all interested in doing good?

[Teacher Terry]

I have always helped people individually that needed it. Helping strangers without some type of organization probably isn’t going to work.

[happystuff]

It's funny that the term "do-gooders" becomes an insult.

When aren't we all interesting in doing good?

From what I have personally seen, we aren't "all" interested in doing good; and it seems to be used as a negative by those who aren't interested (generally speaking). Again, personal observation which is definitely subject to change as I see and experience more.

[iris lilies]

It's funny that the term "do-gooders" becomes an insult.

When aren't we all interesting in doing good?

I do mean it as less than complimentary because their efforts remind me of herd activity, group-think, going back to high school where THE group activity was rah rah rah ing for our team. I didn’t give a flying fig about our school’s sports teams and could not wait to get out of that environment.

Do-gooding for my neighborhood has traditionally been focused on buildings, infrastructure, and beautification, all goals which I embrace. I’m on the Board of Directors to that point and so am a do-Gooder in that regard.

When they (people in my neighborhood) have to cast about for persons to help, those efforts nearly always reach outside of our neighborhood boundaries. Too much much focus outside of our neighborhood boundaries is wrong. Those discussion of “how much” to “reach out” bore me because it isn’t as though we have everything inside our boundaries under control. We do not. We lost 70% of our revenue last year. Houston we have a problem.

The most ridiculous effort was last year’s plea for money to give to an organization that works in human trafficking. Fortunately, even the members of our dogooder section thought that was reaching a little too far outside of our charter. It was a Board member who asked for the money, though. Ugh.

[catherine]

It's funny that the term "do-gooders" becomes an insult.

When aren't we all interesting in doing good?

I agree--it reminds me of the Fountainhead where Rand casts the ambitious, self-serving people as gods and the people in the helping professions as weak and banal. I hated that caricaturization. Then again, I'm not a fan of Ayn Rand.

I think your question is a highly philosophical one that belongs on the Spirituality forum. I don't have any answers, except like all good things, there is sometimes another side to a good thing. In IL's case, I think she's seen people who may have some ulterior motives for "doing good"--namely, seeing themselves as do-gooders. I remember one time our church had a gift-giving campaign for a couple of the needy families in town. So after everything was donated and wrapped, 3-4 people from the congregation went to present the gifts to the families.

I remember that they came back miffed because one of the families "didn't even say thank you!" So, is that why they did it? For the gratitude of people who are ashamed that they can't provide gifts for their own family? They probably felt gratitude, but what a position to be in as a parent, having a parade of church people march up to your door acting like Santa Claus pointing out your inadequacies.

When I think of "charity" I think of something organic--like the way Terry approaches it. To go spiritual on it, my understanding of Jesus is that when people approached him and asked for help, he helped. Otherwise he just led by example.

Yes, we are all trying to do good. Maybe we should just BE good.

[iris lilies]

From what I have personally seen, we aren't "all" interested in doing good; and it seems to be used as a negative by those who aren't interested (generally speaking). Again, personal observation which is definitely subject to change as I see and experience more.

As I elaborate below, do-gooding on the basis of differing values is the problem.

When I join organization A with goals to benefit organization A, I want to work to benefit Organization A. I do not want to spend my resources supporting values attributed to Organization B. If I was on board with those values I would just join organization B. It’s pretty simple.

I could write a lot about hobby groups and public benefit organizations because we belong to a lot of them. Mixed values and unclear goals bug me.

[Tybee]

These are really interesting responses, and thank you for elaborating. Maybe it is a spiritual question--but again, aren't they all spiritual questions? Maybe it's just where I am at in my personal life that they all seem to be.

[iris lilies]

I agree--it reminds me of the Fountainhead where Rand casts the ambitious, self-serving people as gods and the people in the helping professions as weak and banal. I hated that caricaturization. Then again, I'm not a fan of Ayn Rand.

I think your question is a highly philosophical one that belongs on the Spirituality forum. I don't have any answers, except like all good things, there is sometimes another side to a good thing. In IL's case, I think she's seen people who may have some ulterior motives for "doing good"--namely, seeing themselves as do-gooders. I remember one time our church had a gift-giving campaign for a couple of the needy families in town. So after everything was donated and wrapped, 3-4 people from the congregation went to present the gifts to the families.

I remember that they came back miffed because one of the families "didn't even say thank you!" So, is that why they did it? For the gratitude of people who are ashamed that they can't provide gifts for their own family? They probably felt gratitude, but what a position to be in as a parent, having a parade of church people march up to your door acting like Santa Claus pointing out your inadequacies.

When I think of "charity" I think of something organic--like the way Terry approaches it. To go spiritual on it, my understanding of Jesus is that when people approached him and asked for help, he helped. Otherwise he just led by example.

Yes, we are all trying to do good. Maybe we should just BE good.

A little of Ayn Rand goes a long ways and those novels of hers are excrement.


But not surprisingly, I identify somewhat with some parts of libertarian ideals, sometimes. :-)

[Teacher Terry]

When you are part of a organization doing good some of the volunteers are on a power trip and do it for recognition and the ability to boss others around. It has soured me on formal helping.