My loose interpretation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs is that only people who have reached the top of the pyramid can really be concerned about and work towards making real positive change in the lives of others. However those lower needs are met; whether by tangible means, or by faith in God to meet those needs, or by a zen-like denial that they are needs; I think that (most) people who are able to focus on making positive change are ones who are not focused on meeting the needs farther down in the pyramid. Affluency allows people's lower level needs to be met; so, how do we Educate and Movtivate affluent people so they can begin to make postitive change?
Not to long ago in the history of America, many of our ancestors did not have their lower-level needs met. They suffered through the Great Depression, or they suffered through the upheaval of the South and discrimination, or just suffered to do a little better than their poor parents did. Many of today's affluent people don't have to look too far back into their histories to find relatives who were barely feeding themselves and their families. So, why do their affluent children and grandchildren not realize the good they can do?
Is one reason that the values they have been taught by their parents, the culture, and the church, do not glorify sufffering and self-sacrifice but rather safety, comfort and self-sufficiency? The 'Greatest Generation' suffered greatly and sacrificed much; but rather than teaching their children the value in suffering and self-sacrifice, they protected them and tried to 'provide' them with a 'better life'.
How do we protect our children today from suffering and self-sacrifice and instead try to provide them with a better life? How are our misguided principles of 'giving' (too many presents that are too expensive) and providing (cell phones, cars, even college tuition) teaching kids the wrong values, or robbing them of values all together?
A book I read not to long ago was written by a psychologist who treated the kids of affluent parents, and she talks about how these kids never learn to know themselves or fully develop values: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=the+price+of+privilege&z=y
However, very wealty families who have had wealth for generations often are very committed to doing good with their wealth: Barron Hilton, Paris's grandad, just dedicated 97% of his vast wealth to charity: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20168283,00.html
Ditto Warren Buffet: read his comments here: http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/25/magazines/fortune/charity2.fortune/index.htm
Some good stuff seems to be going on here too: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/AboutUs/WorkingWithUs/GettingInvolved/default.htm
There are people at all levels doing good. How can we get more people doing good? By teaching them about what's wrong, sure, but also by teaching them to value doing good. And, I'd say, by teaching them that doing good fits in with the values they already have and are not in opposition to those values. And, by giving them easy small steps to get started with, so they don't feel like giving up before they even get started. By showing them how they can do good as they struggle to meet their various personal needs on Maslow's pyramid. By chipping away in whatever ways we can and by never alienating any group; not big companies (who are really just big groups of people, some of them vary powerful and some of them making minimum wage) not government (another group of people, some of them very powerful and some just getting by).
I'm reading another great book right now: Collapse by Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse:_How_Societies_Choose_to_Fail_or_Succeed
I got interested in it after reading about the Demographic Transition Model: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_transition and thinking about why some societies succeed while others fail.
Thoughts, anyone?
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1 comment:
See my comment on the video post, too.
Yes. I agree. I think that we are all created with a desire to do good...or at least to make a difference. I agree that we need to instill in our children a desire to do good, but mostly I feel like it all boils down to the Great Commandment.
Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is as important: To love others as yourself.
If we are truly loving others, as we do ourselves, then we will see that our sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers are not only the ones in our household or town or state or country, but all over the world. When someone in Haiti is hurting and i know about it, then so should I be hurting. If I am loving someone in Ethiopia as myself, then I will desire to feed and clothe them, and provide them with an education, as I would myself.
To do good...yes. But to truly love. I think there is a big difference in motivation, as well as long term action.
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