by Lausten (Posted Mon Dec 16, 2013 3:44 am)
As someone who has tried to convince people to give money to help starving children around the world, I wish I knew. I usually quickly add "and in your local area too" when I make my plea. Not just for marketing but because there are hunger problems right here in River City too, and the group I work with does work both locally and globally.
I think the reasoning is much more genetic than the cynical answers given so far. Something to do with tribalism. And really, it makes sense that I would care more about people I know, and that I would feel more qualified to make the giving decision about someone I could assess with my own eyes. Trouble is, we are all both affected by and have an affect on people very far away. We can't close our eyes and hope someone else will take care of it when all the evidence says we are needed.
Time to evolve.
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Lance wrote:The question is why? What is it about humans that means we cannot ignore a starving child in front of us, and yet we can blithely ignore the fact of starvation that is out of sight? Is there something wrong with the human species because of this trait?
As someone who has tried to convince people to give money to help starving children around the world, I wish I knew. I usually quickly add "and in your local area too" when I make my plea. Not just for marketing but because there are hunger problems right here in River City too, and the group I work with does work both locally and globally.
I think the reasoning is much more genetic than the cynical answers given so far. Something to do with tribalism. And really, it makes sense that I would care more about people I know, and that I would feel more qualified to make the giving decision about someone I could assess with my own eyes. Trouble is, we are all both affected by and have an affect on people very far away. We can't close our eyes and hope someone else will take care of it when all the evidence says we are needed.
Time to evolve.
Read Main Topic