Do we dupe ourselves with our generosity?

SOCIAL STUDIES - Published Monday December 29th, 2008

Okay, I realize that I will get in a lot of trouble for this column; but it comes out of a couple of experiences and conversations I have had lately.

The first experience was going online to shop the World Vision Catalogue and see what it is possible to buy for people in developing countries. It is an amazing catalogue. My father is a doctor, so we decided instead of buying him a Christmas gift we would "stock a medical centre" in his name.

It is kind of cool, and yet, the first thing you notice in browsing the site is that spending $100 is like a drop in the bucket. The need is so great, and the impact of our giving so small, that it is truly heart wrenching.

And I know for a fact, having spent a month in a Guatemalan Refugee Camp that these are the type of people who would give their last meal to you if you showed up as a guest.

The second experience I recently had was a serious conversation with a friend who feels a little "Scroogy" about the whole Christmas scene. The real problem came about 15 minutes into me trying to get her into a more jingle bells sort of mood; when I realized much to my dismay, that she was right.

Here is what got to me: I wrote a feature about generosity in the city and discovered some pretty amazing things about how generous we all are; I was feeling pretty good about it all.
After all, we give enough to enable 1,700 Christmas baskets to be distributed by Headstart. We have donated more than 4,000 turkeys through the annual Sue Stultz Turkey Drive. It is all great, right?

But here is a quick reality check. What about the New Year?

If a family can't afford a turkey dinner at Christmas, how are they going to celebrate the change of year? Or in fact, pay for heat in February?

You see, 4,700 turkeys says a lot about generosity, but not a whole lot about justice. What kind of a world is it that has at least 5,000 people in Moncton unable to meet basic necessities like a turkey? Why is poverty so rampant?

If you look in the homes section of the paper you will find that it is hard to buy anything under $200,000 and that the average home that they feature runs in the $400,000 range. Even these homes are only three bedroom and two bath. I heard the other day that the average housing tax bill in Moncton is just over $2,000 a year, which means that the "average" Moncton home is worth a little over $200,000.

Yet we allow such extreme swings in income that people don't have the money for food.
Trust me, it is not that these people have done anything wrong, or at least, most of them have not; they simply struggle day by day to eke out an existence in a world that truly makes it hard for the average person.

I have heard many a people look down their noses at others who are poor, or on welfare, or in trouble. I have been all three in my life; and I have also been wealthy and secure. I can tell you without a doubt that it is mostly random chance that causes one's life situation.

I was born in North America to wealthy parents and I was generally healthy. Did I deserve any of that? Or did I just luck out? And because of my luck I now live an affluent lifestyle. Sure, some of it is the old me pulling myself up by the bootstraps. I went out and worked for what I have.
But I also realize that happiness is a razor wire away from despair; and there is not much I can do to tip the scales one way or another. A random car accident for example, might change everything.

So back to generosity at Christmas; the problem with which is that it is so short-sighted. In fact, it is incredibly short-sighted; so much so that it allows us to feel we have truly made a difference and therefore walk away.

I give a turkey once a year and that excuses me from all manner of social injustices; right?
We all realize how silly this sounds. We are all capable, however, of fooling ourselves into believing that being nice once a year is all it takes to change the world.

Me too; I have always argued that Christmas is the best of what our consumerist culture is capable of; and proof that deep down we are all generous and big hearted. But I am beginning to allow doubt to creep into my overly cheer filled view of Christmas giving.

I don't mean to point fingers, and I certainly don't want to stop any of the good work that is done at Christmas. I do, however, believe we have to re-examine the idea that it is enough.

If we are going to survive as a species we need to do some serious soul searching around values and identity. We need to stop thinking there is such a thing as us and them. We need to realize that to have justice and equality we really do have to give something up.

I for one believe we can do it.