We thought we were being generous when we gave money to the Salvation Army. After all, almost all of their donations are used for charity, not a bureaucracy to run the place. Turns out we were wrong.
We thought we were being generous when we donated bags of groceries to the food pantry, when we gathered up the coats that the kids had grown out of so that some other kids could be warm.
When we scraped up the spare change and gave it to the Augustinians to help cover the tuition costs of the needy, we thought we were doing the right thing. Who could have guessed that we were so wrong?
It was all selfishness, as selfishness has been re-defined by the man who would be president.
The government is to be the source of all bounty, and if you do it yourself you're being selfish. If you thought that you had the sense to choose which charity to give to, if you thought that you were being generous, you've been misguided.
Sure isn't the European model the ideal, where the government handles all the hand-outs and the citizens are spared the concern. Am I not my brother's keeper? Apparently not, according to the new definition of selfishness.
Americans are the most generous people on earth, giving what they can't well spare to help someone with even less. Turns out they weren't being generous at all. We'll look to Europe as an example in the future, where everyone assumes the government will be there to help and no one needs to give of their own accord. With a new definition of selfishness you may venture forth in a manner that you once thought of as selfish, keeping your hands in your pockets when you're confronted with need. Go see a government official, you'll be able to counsel the homeless and the hungry, and you'll not have to feel guilty.
Grand system, over in Europe. So why did so many of us leave and never go back?
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