Gimme some money...
http://www.incharacter.org/article.php?article=70
So, in a nutshell, this article says women are more generous than men. First off: Who wouldn't have guessed that? Second: Who cares?
Generosity is not exactly a virtue. It is the same attitude that creates crippling dependency. The night before a concert, I was walking about in a crummy part of Chicago. We found a gas station and I bought two bottles of water. Walking back to our car, we happened across a young woman in an alley. She asked for some water. I looked at her, looked at my water and said "No." Then I walked away. My friends laughed about it. But I felt as though I should have felt bad for doing that.
But looking back, I think I did the right thing.
Why should I be fostering dependency? Maybe feeling that thirst and hunger will make her realize her life is at stake. Survival is an amazing incentive. I read that China got rid of their opium "addicts" really quick by putting them to death. Turns out impending death gets folks to ditch the opium pipe!
Taking care of someone's immediate needs is "nice" and the giver gets to feel better about themselves. But does it improve the taker's life? Look at Africa. We've been giving and giving to the Dark Continent for about 50 years now.
Quoting the amazing Dr. Walter Willams of George Mason University:
"Nearly every sub-Saharan African nation is poorer now than when they became independent during the '60s and '70s. Since that time, food production has fallen by roughly 20 percent. Since 1975, per capita GDP has fallen at a rate of half of 1 percent annually. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo estimated, "Corrupt African leaders have stolen at least $140 billion from their people in the [four] decades since independence." The call for more aid by George Bush, Tony Blair and other G-8 leaders will produce nothing but more of the same."
(From HERE)
Have those billions really done one bit of good? Evidence suggests it hasn't. Adversity builds character. But the "givers" look at the striving and think it's a sign to give more and more. There has to be a better way. I know I'm simplistic, but I say it's called "Tough Love".
So, in a nutshell, this article says women are more generous than men. First off: Who wouldn't have guessed that? Second: Who cares?
Generosity is not exactly a virtue. It is the same attitude that creates crippling dependency. The night before a concert, I was walking about in a crummy part of Chicago. We found a gas station and I bought two bottles of water. Walking back to our car, we happened across a young woman in an alley. She asked for some water. I looked at her, looked at my water and said "No." Then I walked away. My friends laughed about it. But I felt as though I should have felt bad for doing that.
But looking back, I think I did the right thing.
Why should I be fostering dependency? Maybe feeling that thirst and hunger will make her realize her life is at stake. Survival is an amazing incentive. I read that China got rid of their opium "addicts" really quick by putting them to death. Turns out impending death gets folks to ditch the opium pipe!
Taking care of someone's immediate needs is "nice" and the giver gets to feel better about themselves. But does it improve the taker's life? Look at Africa. We've been giving and giving to the Dark Continent for about 50 years now.
Quoting the amazing Dr. Walter Willams of George Mason University:
"Nearly every sub-Saharan African nation is poorer now than when they became independent during the '60s and '70s. Since that time, food production has fallen by roughly 20 percent. Since 1975, per capita GDP has fallen at a rate of half of 1 percent annually. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo estimated, "Corrupt African leaders have stolen at least $140 billion from their people in the [four] decades since independence." The call for more aid by George Bush, Tony Blair and other G-8 leaders will produce nothing but more of the same."
(From HERE)
Have those billions really done one bit of good? Evidence suggests it hasn't. Adversity builds character. But the "givers" look at the striving and think it's a sign to give more and more. There has to be a better way. I know I'm simplistic, but I say it's called "Tough Love".
posted by mmaier2112 at 11:51 PM
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