Tuesday, April 9, 2013

My reflection on “On Compassion” by Barbara Lazear Ascher


After giving it much thought, I completely agree with her that compassion is not a character trait but something that must be learned through experiences. We can all learn to be better versions of ourselves quite on purpose. The other idea I agree on is giving out of compassion like the French woman in the shop; But I think another side is giving for the sake of giving. Now now, here me out on this before you call me Mr. Scrooge. Let’s take for example Christmas time. I love Christmas. I love the snow-themed everything and even though it might be Malaysia I still make the most of it. Again, I’m in love with giving but do we need to buy to give? We seem to think that buying is the solution to any problem, but that has lead to a society that is deeply in debt and piled high with needless stuff. We give because it’s the social norm. No-one wants to look like that guy or girl who didn’t buy their friends gifts because it hurts the environment or because they think it’s stupid. So we tend to go with the flow of the crowd and this act of charity ends up being a chore that we can cross off our list. I just wanted to remind anyone who is reading this that if you really want to give do it because you want to and not because you have too. 

3 comments:

  1. I really agree with your viewpoints on this. The fact that we should "give because you want to and not because you have to." Just like your previous blog post, you've got a very strong voice. Most people took a turn for the morbid with this post (including me), but you made it sound personal and even bright, which made the post fresh and interesting. I love how you allude to Christmas when giving an example of "giving" and how you referred to yourself as "Mr. Scrooge" at one point.

    Good use of examples, funny voice, and great job :D

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  2. I guess it's difficult to know when people give because they want to as opposed to when they have to. I must admit there must be some out there who gives because they want to , but I must agree with you that there are cases when people give because it has become a social norm. I like the allusion of Mr. Scrooge, it says a lot with a single name.

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  3. I love how you're short and to the point, Justin! This was very interesting, and I liked how you pointed out how giving has become the social norm. I definitely agree with you, in the sense that giving should come from the heart, and not just from your wallet. I love your style of writing and tone because it always seems so personal, like we're having a casual conversation face-to-face. I liked this a lot:)

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