The Pitfalls of Charity

Imagine if you were walking down the street and you saw a man in a nice tux, sitting on a red velvet stool, wearing a top hat and monocle, eating luxury chocolate and drinking a glass of the finest wine, with a bikini babe on his lap, and he asked you for change, would you give him change?
We never feel like helping those we perceive to be above our station. This is the curse of charity. Charity is in fact programmed human behaviour. On the outside it looks good and wholesome, but the truth is charity is an insidious beast.

Charity is exclusory. Humans have a tendency to only want to give charity to those they perceive less fortunate than them. There are many examples of people having helped people escape war or natural disaster then being outraged when finding out that these people are wealthier than them.

From a human psychological “giver” perspective the point of charity is to make the “giver” feel good about themselves. They cannot give to those who they perceive as higher station or “not deserving”.
This all seems harmless, but this invention of “charity” prevents progress of human rights. People will always be kind enough to give charity, but never kind enough to give rights. For to give rights, raises the other person to the same station or higher, but we only want to help those beneath us, because the point of charity is to make the giver feel good about themselves. These are the pitfalls of charity.

@RiskDebonair
Irish Writer, Poet & Lover