Volunteerism & The Nature of Social Responsibility

I've read, seen and experienced a fair share of selfless people supporting causes both good & noble in my time. I'm sure you have too. Some charitable works are clearly designed to help those in stressful or even dangerous situations. Some are 'cause-oriented', and by that I mean they are pushing an idea that seems socially responsible, that is in fact still in hypothesis stage. Some of the green movement falls into this camp for instance. And then you have those that are pushing an agenda, and dressing it up as socially responsible for the sake of seeming to care.

This latter groups bugs me I'll admit, as the bandwagon effect of a given cause often attracts those who are simply seeking association with good works undertaken by others. AC/DC's Brian Johnson recently spoke out about this, seemingly criticizing the likes of Bob Geldoff and Bono, for being so publicly altruistic. While I'm not sure those two deserve that comment, there doesn't seem to be a celebrity anywhere who wasn't on the "Let's help Haiti" bandwagon. Many of them did nothing more than urge awareness, by use of their own celebrity status, but it was a bit much to hear this everywhere. There's nothing about any of these people that makes them worth listening to for their opinions. An acclaimed actor or singer is often a wonderful entertainer, but they aren't lauded because they believe in this or that. Great examples are Charlton Heston and his NRA support or Anita Bryant with her anti-gay crusades. While I don't personally support what they were pushing, I will give it to them both that they seemed passionate beleivers in what they were saying. They walked the talk. It's nice to see true colors occasionally, as at least you know that you don't like what they're saying.

Which brings me to the point - spend a moment and think through the rationale and reasoning behind someone's volunteerism or move to say or do something dressed in the cause of social responsibility. Is it without doubt a self-less act we ought to celebrate, or is it in fact posing to get the halo effect of seeming to care. We are lucky as the former situation isn't that rare in this day and age, while the latter situation should be flogged in public. Sadly, there's no lack of poseurs looking to ride a good cause, or convince us that their agenda is the one we should be following.

Always, always be thinking. Always be watching for transparency, and motivation, and be vigilant for those trying to manipulate you and I. Remember there's no requirement to act, rather those that do, are doing so because they were motivated by something.

Lastly, celebrate those that truly are giving to their fellow person as these acts of kindness and leadership are what we all should strive to emulate.