Virtue ethics. I've been really pondering the question of what I wanted to say here. I've always looked upon people with compassion, and I've felt it has resulted in being taken advantage of; from letting people into traffic, parking lots, and a customer service aspect at my jobs. When trying to do what you feel is right conflicts with other humans vices of greed, apathy, and general callousness, I find it difficult to practice virtue ethics and general benevolence to my fellow man without feeling like I am weak and being taken advantage of.
I generally operate on the idea that helping others makes me feel complete; happy. That is my teleos, my end. I give to others, because others gave to me. When I was a child, some of our best Christmases were the ones where Mom didn't have any money, and put our names onto the Salvation Army tree. The kindness of strangers gave us clothes, food, and a simple, fantastic toy you relished that much more because you knew, without that, you had nothing. That imprinted me.
Some of my favorite Christmases were the ones in my early 20's where I had no money whatsoever. It was Christmas, and I had $100 to my name. I took that $100, told my family that they would receive no gifts from me those Christmases, and I would take a name off the tree and buy that kid two of everything he needed and the best toy of what he/she wanted. I know what that felt like. I wanted that child to have the same.
Ignorance is bliss, right? I had a coworker who drives a Durango. Multiple flat panel TVs in their residence. 3 XBoxes. 3 Playstation 3's. 3 Wii's. Piles of games (I sold her several of mine). Nice clothes. And then, while I was espousing a moment of pride about giving to the Angel Tree, she states, almost with pride, that she puts her kids on there every year. I was, quite frankly, speechless with anger.
When I do community service for a friend's church, I take turkeys, ham, and other food out to families "in need." The right thing, the benevolent approach is that the good, as always, outweighs the few who abuse the system. I just can't take driving up to a home with a pile of food to give to a family with an Escalade (true story!) in the driveway. It's unconscionable. I've become quite jaded at the Christmas time festivities and the season of giving when I've experienced these things.
For the first time in 5 years, I didn't donate to the Angel Tree, and that grates on a part of my soul. It's a moral quandry I find myself stuck in.
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