Those Poor People

We’ve all seen the commercials. Scenes of a loving family sharing Christmas morning, followed by a sudden cut to a homeless child trying to get cozy in the freezing rain. Invariably, some sort of connection is made between these two scenarios, usually between the children being the same age, gender, generic cuteness, etc.

We’re sitting with our own loved ones. Wanting to seem giving and kind, we reach for the phones, tell the operator we want to make a donation, then struggle with the decision of how much seems fake and how little seems cheap. Credit card number is given, call is ended. Silently, we muse afterwards that if we had been alone, we probably wouldn’t have made the call in the first place. It’s just a show for the relatives.

Then, we feel bad that we even dared to think that, and mentally berate ourselves for it. The commercial break ends, we’re back to watching It’s a Wonderful Life.

We forget all about the poor homeless child. We’ve made our donation. We feel good. The five or ten dollars will buy someone out there a warm dinner, and we can continue our lives.

It’s good, of course, that we bothered to pick up the phone and make a donation, but what does it say about our society, that good deeds are only done for a reward? (In this case, improving what others think of you.)

The good deed that was done was hardly anything extraordinary anyways. The donation means a few less coffees over the course of the week.

This is what we’ve been reduced to. We feel smug and satisfied. Like Scrooge allowing Bob Cratchit Christmas Day off, we’ve given a pittance and we know it, but unlike Mr. Scrooge, we think we’re some sort of deity.

We tell ourselves that we’ve given the gift of hope to a stranger, and that by doing so, we’re good people.

Acceptable people, maybe. Better-than-crap people.

We then see the stories in the paper. A Christmas banquet was served to over three hundred homeless. We remember our “good deed.” We smile and think “I helped.”

Did we help? Someone was there serving them. Someone was there cooking. These are not paid positions. Someone was using more than their credit card, someone was donating their time and effort. Instead of being with their families, they decided to help other people who couldn’t be with their families.

Now THAT’S Christmas.