Response to Samantha

Is it better to give money to a charity that could potentially be fraudulent or do nothing at all?

                It is worse to give money to a potentially fraudulent charity because that encourages the existence of fraudulent charities. If people were discerning then those charities would fall apart. It is better not to help someone then to make things worse. Donating to these charities teaches people that they can get away with running these scams and if they become too common people may stop donating at all because they will not feel like they can trust anyone. Then donating backfires a lot even though the person had good intentions. On the other hand, it is a positive sign about the individual’s character that they are willing to donate. They may still be a very good person, but they should make the attempt to learn how to discern between charities. As we discussed in an earlier discussion a person can still be altruistic if they attempt to do a good deed but end up hurting someone. The difference is if the person donates knowing there is a good chance the organization is a fraud they are not really donating thinking they are doing a good thing. They think they may be but know they may not and this seems like someone who is too lazy to fact check before they give money. The best way to go would be to research charities, find one that you feel is really important and legitimate and then donate.

                Is it better to donate money to charity or to help people out personally even if the person may be less needy then the one that will benefit from the money?  

Patriotic sentiment

People often feel patriotic towards their country but why is this? Do they feel particularly close to the people because they are within the same boundary? Are they responding to history classes that teach the positive and neglect the negative? Are they thankful to have received the benefits of the place they were born no matter how arbitrary it is that they receiving those benefits? I do not think that patriotism is a morally bankrupt concept in the sense that it does not have to cause anyone to act in an immoral way, but it does not seem to be a particularly moral or even thought out concept in people’s mind. It is accepted that if one is from one’s country then they should take pride in that fact. What is not clear is why they should take pride. I do feel that if people feel like they are actively contributing to the country in some way then they can take pride in the country as part of a group effort where they are a member of the group. This idea becomes irrelevant though if patriotism becomes combined with supporting a country no matter what they do. Then the person is accepting that they are not involved in the decision making and yet proud of them anyway. People who are patriotic could also become easily offended by what people from other countries say about them. It seems like it could become an excuse not to listen to other people but instead to become defensive. Patriotism is a problem if it is people saying how great there country is and how bad other people’s are.

Does patriotism boil down into conviction that your country is the best since you were born in it without thinking about what about your country you appreciate?  

Patriotism and what it means

Patriotism comes in degrees as I think we agreed in class, but what delineates where patriotism begins and ends. I think we can safely say that someone like Nathan Hale who said “I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country” is a patriot. He not only said that he was willing to die for his country, he did. What about in the example from class though of the person who admires Italy and so wants to make the United States more like Italy. He may feel he is part of the United States, care about the United States, want to make it better and sacrifice his time making it like Italy but is this really patriotism. It seems to me that pride in one’s country is a necessary component of patriotism and thinking that every aspect of your country should be changed to be more like another does not show pride. I do not mean by this that one cannot or should not want aspects of their country to change but feeling a couple things would benefit from other countries ideas is a far cry from finding that the country should be like another. The person who wants all these changes may love their country, but they do not seem to respect it or take pride in it. I think respect and pride in the country are likely necessary aspects of patriotism even though they start to head towards people preferring their country over others regardless of reason. It does not have to go that far though. People can certainly recognize flaws in themselves that they want to work on and change while still having self-esteem and caring about others. It seems that the same could be said of one’s feelings towards a country. They could think highly of their country while still seeing flaws that are worth working on and changing and take pride in being a member of their country. It also seems that someone could have pride and respect for their country and not their government. Would they be patriotic? The government and the country sometimes become so intertwined that it is hard to see one as separate from the other but it seems possible that one could take pride in the people of their country and their heritage, but not the current governmental system.

Is it more patriotic to actively try to solve problems in one’s country or is it more patriotic to turn a blind eye and extol about the good?