Charitable Finger Pointing

Inspired by the following anonymous comment, written as a response to my post about the bachelorette party on 8/29/05:

“you should come down from the high horses of pleasure seeking and channel some energy to help the less fortunte.you will have more satisfaction.”

Ignoring the obvious typos, this anonymous person is making two bold assumptions; a) that I spend all of my time 'pleasure-seeking,' and b) that I am not charitable. Instinct, of course, was to retort and defend myself. But in this case, I believe a full post is necessary.

First, in the wake of one of the nation’s most horrific natural disasters, I realize that I spent the week writing about bachelorette parties, men who mooch, and my new car. This was a conscious choice. I understand what has happened. My heart aches. I am doing everything that I believe I’m capable of doing to assist. But life as we know it shouldn’t come to a halt either. My blog is not a response to the world’s social woes; it is simply a humourous break from the monotony of the day. For readers who are upset that I choose to discuss leisure over catastrophy, romance over politics, or the joys of my day over world news, feel free to insert negative comments, but recognize that you have missed the point of my blog.

Second, I have always been of the opinion that the most charitable people are those who do so anonymously. People who don’t require recognition for their donations, who volunteer in the community but don’t spend hours talking about it, who make sacrifices without requiring remuneration; these are the requirements for true selflessness. The anonymous commenter is correct. Focusing energy on helping people who are less fortunate is far more satisfactory than any other form of recreation. But for obvious reasons, I choose not to discuss my charitable efforts on a public forum. What purpose would that serve?

There you have it. Back to 'pleasure-seeking' tomorrow...