Rationalizing A Refusal to Help

I see it all too often these days.  People who think too much about their bank accounts and not enough about the general good of the population.  They refuse to donate time or money (maybe because as the old saying goes- time is money) to any cause unless they are reimbursed in some form.  I knew plenty of people in high school who did community service merely due to the extra padding on their resumes.  It had nothing to do with the cause, just their ambitions to get into some prestigious college or another.  And while these people aren't all "evil," I think there has been a certain amount of programming in our culture that lends itself to such selfish attitudes.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/lonnie-hodge/2007/06/compassion-fatigue

First of all, Americans have an independent attitude almost to a fault.  I'd even go as far to call it counter-dependent.  We tend to make decisions and justify them with "because we're American, we can do that."  It's like the remnants of manifest destiny and the idea to "go big or go home" drives us to personal development.  There's nothing wrong with self-betterment, but it becomes a contest and the entire world is the opponent.  That's where the system breaks down.  Everyone thinks they're a leader in their field but a true leader is "adept at cultivating people's abilities [and] show a genuine interest in those they are helping along." (pg. 332)  Our society has a tendency to skip over that very important fact and instead of aiding the growth of others, we revel their incompetencies and shun their pleas for help.  Why can't they figure it out on their own like we did?  It's immediately gratifying to know you're better at a skill than someone else but it means nothing in the long run.  We, as humans, are social creatures and need to interact and create together to achieve the greatest potential.

Another problem is our inane belief that we simply don't have the time to help.  Like the white rabbit, we're franticly trying "catch up" but to where, we don't always quite know.  So when an organization plans a community service type of event, it can be tough to get participants.  Everyone has something better to do than do work without pay.  In the mode of purely logical reasoning, it just doesn't make sense.  We'd much rather spend our time elsewhere and it's only incentives like community service scholarships that provide impetus to those who would otherwise prefer various forms of self-centered activities.

Monetary concerns is the last main issue plaguing our ineptitude of compassion.  The United States holds money to be a key indicator of social status and even a gauge of happiness.  So when people wont donate time, the next thing they are asked is if they could make a contribution.  It becomes the easy way to bow out of any real involvement.  But even this option is quickly exhausted, known by the term "compassion fatigue."  In fact, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it's a term that originated in the US.  Someone who has compassion fatigue demonstrates "apathy or indifferent towards the suffering of others" and is "typically attributed to numbingly frequent appeals for assistance, especially donations." (pg. 347)  It's a terrible affliction and, in my opinion, a terrible excuse.  Just giving a couple of bucks to the local charity doesn't count as compassion in my book.  You have to be personally involved and able to see the difference you're making for it to mean anything personal to you.  It just takes a bit of motivation and the emotional reward of seeing the change you can make will do the rest.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/c/compassion_fatigue.asp