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About Me
- Susan Harwood
- It's one of those odd things . . . I live in my little house by the sea and listen to the radio and reckon I know best about more-or-less everything . . . as I keep telling the news-casters, the policiticians and all the experts interviewed there. I shout quite loud - but I'm beginning to suspect they can't hear! Sometimes, I write to my MP . . . but there's always more to say. So, here it is!
BOOK ON A BLOG
THE BRICKS IN THE CAVE - A full length children's adventure story by Susan Harwood - click on the book to read it.
ANOTHER BOOK ON A BLOG
TIMES RHYMES - For people who want to learn 'Times Tables' the easy way!
7 comments:
Because we leave it to our children.
Hello Gareth . . . I was hoping you'd rise to that!
But I was also hoping you'd say a bit more.
I keep asking myself this question.
'Because we leave it to our children' isn't a complete answer.
Many people without children work hard to leave the world a better place.
In fact, I know I did much more for 'the world' before I had children than I do now.
(They take up so much time!)
And I'm not asking this flippantly or provocatively . . . I really don't know why.
(Not that I think we shouldn't, of course!)
Susan
Although 'our children' can refer, and does in my case, to one's own biological children, I was also using it in it's widest possible sense, ie 'the children of humanity'.
There are of course other reasons and they may vary from person to person.
I believe we owe it to our predecessors who left it a better place for us.
I also believe that we owe it to the living, including ourselves.
And finally I believe we owe it to the planet and all life forms (and their 'creator'). I'm not a creationist but I do believe in a God who must have been involved in some way, although precisely how I'm not sure.
The problem is that religious belief insulates us from questions like this.
Probably, every time we do something for the people around us, we are doing something to make our society better, not only for others but also ourselves.
A community of citizens that cooperates grows. A community at war with itself dies.
Using deism as a reason to be good doesn't work for many these days because we have looked inside the atom and out to galaxies that crash around like snooker balls, presumably killing whole civilisations of sentient beings, in the process.
The first step to making our communities happier places to live for all of us is to start understanding why working together and cooperating is a good thing to do without any reference to a deity.
What an amazing blog!
Each individual's philanthropy is fuelled by his or her own personal driving force. For some this will be their political allegiance, for others their humanitarian principles, for others enlightened self interest, for others their religious faith ... and so on. In many cases I imagine it will be a combination of one or more of the above.
As long as philanthropy is unconditional, ie no hidden motives, no strings attached, does it really matter why an individual chooses to try to leave the world a better place? Isn't it enough that s/he does?
I have campaigned for various issues alongside individuals of other faiths as well as of no faith, and it hasn't mattered a jot. We respect each others' positions and get on with the task in hand.
Far from insulating me from questions such as these, my faith forces me to confront and deal with them.
Hello
I very much feel I want to put some more thought into this but am struggling with words.
(Children rattling around and being 'Easter Holidayish' doesn't aid concentration! I'll try to think more when they are back at school!
Meanwhile, I'm reading what you are saying with interest and will try to add something myself soon.
Meanwhile . . . I'm thinking I chose the wrong heading for this post . . . Perhaps 'Philanthropy' does imply there are strings attached, whereas what we are talking about here is activity that springs from an inward and unselfish compulsion to leave the world a better place.
I think the question arises from age. When I was younger, I think I was much better tuned in with that inner urge that makes us want to make the world a better place without asking why. In a sense, that's part of it - not asking why.
I think I am also overwhelmed by the ever increasing awareness a.) of what previous generations have done for me and b.) how overwhelmingly fortunate I am to have been born in my circumstances, in this country, at this time in history. In this context, anything I can do seems paltry, a tiny scratch on things - and I have to be careful not to let this freeze me into inaction.
Sometimes, I think it makes me harsh and cold. A sort of self defence.
But . . . just at this minute, I can hear footsteps overhead - which means I am just about to be propelled into 'getting the breakfast' kind of action by offspring . . .
Happy Easter!
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