I think an important habit—especially important for young people (since it is such a great time to form positive habits!)—is the habit of giving back. This is especially important for those of us who are privileged. And while we are not as privileged as, say, Republicans (who just abuse their privilege anyway!), we kossacks are, on average, more privileged than the average bear.
Some thoughts on giving back to our communities below the fold.
I’m a good little Marxist (well, hypocritically so), and I think there is great wisdom in this quotation from Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program.
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
Ultimately, I see the same wisdom at play from Jesus, who according to St. Luke said,
To whom much has been given, much will be expected.
Ultimately, I believe we should give a lot back to our communities. I for my part find that I have great ability to give. I neither want for housing, clothing, food, nor money. Likewise, much has been given to white, male, straight, middle-class me.
Lots of times, people make arguments that we should give because we will feel good. Yes, giving makes you feel good, but giving should not be a type of masturbation. We should give because we have deeper motives.
I believe that we must give back to our communities because Fortune has given us the ability to give back. Since we have the opportunity, we must seize that opportunity to refashion the world in ways that we desire it to be. Indeed, there is tremendous resistance to positive change. In fact, one could say there is great evil afoot (e.g., all of the crap that comes from the Bush Administration), and we must do everything we can to turn that tide.
We can sit at home and wish that the world became a vision of peace and prosperity for all, or we can work to make it so. We are obligated to do that work.
I feel like I do a lot to give back to the community. Here is a sample to get you started thinking:
- I give away money. I give money to my parish, Community Food Share (they turn each dollar into 4 meals!), The Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, Heifer International, and Episcopal Relief and Development. Every month, I put 10% of my gross salary to work in the community.
- I give away time. Most of that time is given via my parish, where I spend time working with youth, mainly just hanging out (which really does make a difference!). Come fall, I'll start spending more time with lonely folk, too.
- I go do things...I love going and doing work among those who are less fortunate. I find that I learn a lot, and hopefully, the work makes a difference. For an example, here is my diary about my trip to Navajoland last year.
- Oh, and I give time and money to get Democrats elected.
I have lots of cool friends. Among the things they do (again, just to get you thinking)
- sit on the board of community organizations that positively impact the community.
- work with Engineers without Borders, spending a week of vacation to help improve waste water conditions in third world countries.
- volunteer with Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance to ensure that the nearest Wilderness Area is safe and to provide education to keep it wild.
- organize school projects that provide school supplies to students entering foster care.
- tutor an adult who is learning English, via the library.
- tutor adults learning to read, via the library.
Also, most of my friends work in the non-profit sector. I wouldn’t change working here. Yes, I could make more money and work less, but every day I have the opportunity to change the world. My teacher friends give back every day. My friends who work at food banks, homeless shelters, a non-profit that provides computers to schools, and tutoring programs, have made a choice to give up wages in order to make a difference through their vocations.
Right now, I’m feeling a little self-conscious. This diary isn’t mean to be bragging. Rather, I am trying to illustrate that each and every one of us can find some thing to do that benefits our communities.
What do you do? What have you done? What new thing can you add?