al·tru·ism
noun
- the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.
“some may choose to work with vulnerable elderly people out of altruism”
So here is where the fun begins. Has anyone here ever watched the end of “The Never Ending Story?”
Of course not, lest you not be here now, but I watched the cliff notes of the movie and found my way back here to the CFI form.
- Engywook : Next is the Magic Mirror Gate. Atreyu has to face his true self.
Falcor : So what? That won’t be too hard for him.
Engywook : Oh, that’s what everyone thinks! But kind people find out that they are cruel. Brave men discover that they are really cowards! Confronted by their true selves, most men run away screaming!"
This is the core of Altruism. The belief that you’re a good person because you’ve done things that make you feel good about yourself, but nothing of what anything you’ve done has really made any sense to anyone but yourself. If you give money to a homeless person, then he sees only what he’s gained and really cares little of what you’re intentions were. You feel good, he feels happy and both parties are in agreement on the result of the situation. It’s what keeps people pushing forward to give without question. It’s why people dial the phone numbers to give money to an organization that they saw on TV showing starving children whom you could save for the price of a cup of coffee. You feel guilty living the good life as the lesser Morlock children suffer beneath you. You give a little to gain a lot, that’s what Altruism really is.
Altruism is a concept that makes people happy about themselves, but it seems to me that people are a little misaligned about the true meaning of what altruism really is. I’d never challenge myself to think that I could ever achieve such a high status, but I’ve seen so many confident to believe themselves to be true and blue altruistic. The thing is, altruism means to be selfless. It seems simple in its own right, but it becomes (at least in my twisted little mind) a bit far more complicated. You feel good because you’ve done good deeds, but the reality is the only reason you’ve done a good deed is so that you feel good. So…does that make you good, or are you addicted to the endorphins of feeling that you are a good person for committing such actions? Maybe you feel that you were altruistic because you’ve reacted to a situation. After all, it was your obligation to do such, or better yet, you paid money to a cause that you felt bad about so in paying them you feel less guilty.
Here’s the problem with Altruism. You’ll never get there lest you’re not human. We sacrifice parts of what we have to feel better about ourselves, and everything about what we believe to be selfless is not selfless. We do things selfishly, but that’s okay. We shouldn’t have to justify our actions as being 100% selfless to justify ourselves as human beings. Trying to become as such makes you less human. Accepting this single truth is what makes us better people. Or, maybe you disagree, please rant against me, I won’t be offended, and I’ll give you an honest perspective.