Wednesday, February 29, 2012

What Happened to "Help Your Fellow Man"?

My husband donates blood as often as he's allowed. He's the precious blood type of O- that is coveted. Since he donates often, he regularly gets newsletters mailed to him from the Red Cross with updates, the latest location nearest to us that is collecting, and other Red Cross news. One just came in the mail, not ten minutes ago, and I decided to flip through it. Imagine my disappointment to find that the Red Cross had implemented a rewards system in the beginning of this year to encourage people to donate blood and platelets.

Am I the only one who feels badly about this? I don't think doing the greater good and helping mankind should be contingent on what prizes one can redeem their efforts for. It's not the Red Cross I'm upset with for creating this system, it's the fact that we humans have gotten so selfish that so many of us will not even consider doing something for nothing. When I posted this on Facebook, a friend replied "Some people need encouragement to help them to build up the courage to do it". I reject that answer because out of all the reasons to get over their fear or apprehension to donate blood, such as saving lives, it takes the prospect of a prize to spring them into action?

It is really disheartening to hear and read so much "ME! ME! ME!" propaganda. Many don't seem to be concerned with the state of the world and how we all need to come together to keep from falling apart. It's about one's own personal convenience, everyone else's inconvenience be damned, and the line of thinking that is becoming all too common: "This benefits me how?"

Granted, I understand that there are some times when we have to be selfish for our own good. You can't just lend money to every one in need, or go without a necessity to help someone else, but when it comes to something that we are freely able to give, is it right to essentially hold it hostage for remuneration?

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