I would like to state for the record that doing what I think is right is not about my soapbox or my ego or some kind of beautiful self-sacrifice. It is about my own self-interest.
Allow me to explain:
- I believe that my own security is jeopardized when others are in a state of desperation.
- I want to be part of a world wider than my own socioeconomic status.
- I would rather be defined as a person than as a worker; better to be a citizen than a consumer.
- Life is too short to spend your days working against what you really want.
So I can’t stand it when people who hear I work for a nonprofit call me noble. I’m in it for myself too.
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I think it was very noble of you to write this post.
😀
Ok, I set myself up for that one.
I have to admit, this post makes me look a little harder at the concept of altruism in general – does it really exist? Maybe nearly 1AM isn’t the time to make that decision. 🙂
There’s a lot of question about altruism and whether it really exists. Heinlein says in [b]Stranger in a Strange Land[/b] that altruism is a false concept; a man will do what benefits him most or what hurts him least. It might be “noble” of a man to give up his beer money to feed some children, but that only means that the thought of the children being unfed hurts him more than drinking beer would assuage.
Deep thougths. 🙂