Posted by JenStar on August 23, 2004, at 20:21:06
hi all,
I read a fascinating article in the New Yorker about a man who donated a kidney to a complete stranger. (It's called a non-directed donation, it's done for free, and the organ is given to a random person on the waiting list.)He felt it was the start of moral life; that NOT donating a kidney to a random stranger who needed it was akin to murder; that if his wife tried to argue him out of it she would be an accessory to murder. He had also donated most of his millions of $$ to charity.
My question is: Do YOU think that people are not nice enough these days? I'm not just talking about failing to donating a kidney if we have two functional ones.
Should we be doing more just to help each other out -- donate money to charities, let someone in during rushhour traffic, smile at a stranger, give away a seat on the bus to an elderly person, etc?
The article made me think about society and how we treat each other on a day-to-day basis. It made me wonder about the act of Doing Good. Obviously there has to be survival benefit to Doing Good, even from donating a kidney (which seems sort of dangerous and anti-survival). It brought this man a huge wealth of joy and happiness and obviously made him feel that his life was full of meaning. Is Doing Good really a selfish act? In the end, does it matter, if it benefits others and society at large?
Just pondering.
I would like to hear what you all think about this!JenStar
poster:JenStar
thread:381523
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040820/msgs/381523.html