Every minute of our lives, somewhere across the world, someone is dying of hunger and sickness. Each day, we hear and read of many catastrophes and disasters, from the severe floods plaguing China to the waves of drought and famine in many African nations.

At the same time, we hear of how the human race is being slowly devoured by the twin evils of greed and selfishness, and the degeneration of this materialistic society due to our inane need for money and self satisfaction.

However, is it really true that people today are selfish and greedy?

It is of course undeniable that such a statement has its few grains of truths, but I strongly believe such a sweeping statement couldn’t possibly reflect the entire human race.

Selfishness is defined as being self absorbed excessively while greed is defined as a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (such as money) than is needed.

As this essay is being written, billions of dollars worth of humanitarian aid are flowing to the people affected by the said catastrophes. Many Americans, Europeans and Asians have come together to provide aid to the tsunami victims in Indonesia a few years ago. Much public sympathy is being channeled to these victims. If humans are truly a selfish breed, we would have left our fellow brethren to die slowly in pain and agony.

We may hear of terrible stories where children as young as 7, commit heinous crimes for money but at the same time, we also read about how Good Samaritans stop by and help victims of snatch thefts and robbery. I have been pick-pocketed two times in my life, but the number of strangers who have come running after me because I had forgotten my bag, wallet or whatever, is so big that I can't count them.

In addition to that, there are many couples across the world who have adopted children from impoverished African nations and remote places in China. They are willing to look after someone else’s child, provide him/her with food, care, proper education, physical, material and emotional needs for 18 years, something the child’s parents are probably unable to do so. Why are they doing this for? After all, they are getting nothing much in return!

I have personally known many selfless people who are willing to travel halfway across the globe to Africa, to tend to the sick, the old and the dying people there. They are highly qualified doctors who can probably rake in thousands of dollars a month. Why would they volunteer to travel more than a thousand miles away to look after people they don’t know of for nothing in return other than to see their patients happy at the end of the day? Is this selfishness and greed?

Recently, many of us must have heard of how a tortured maid ran away from her employer to the police. She was treated with utmost care by many humanitarian organizations. They gave her a place to stay, emotional comfort and counseling and monetary aid. They helped her pursue her employer through the legal process. Isn’t it heartwarming enough to hear that people of different races come together to help a foreigner, someone who they don’t know of against one of their fellow Malaysians, just to see justice being carried out? If we are all selfish and greedy as the above topic statement implies, the poor maid would have been left to bawl her head off at the police station!

The stories that I have mentioned above are testaments that human goodwill still exists among us and selfishness has not devoured us entirely. Such acts of kindness are beacons of hope in this fast paced society. It is heartening to hear that we, humans still possess much sincerity and compassion in us.

Many may say that human beings are becoming more and more self absorbed in this materialistic world. Some cite human’s greed to look good. They try to wear the best clothes and put on the best jewellery so that they dress to impress.

I beg to differ as wanting to look good is certainly not being greedy. Its just part of some people’s wants to look good! It’s necessary to them and who are we to call them greedy for trying to look good?

Some may condemn children who put their parents into the old folk’s home as being selfish, but have you thought of their underlying reasons? Their parents are old and frail and they themselves have busy lives. They are unable to provide their aging parents with the proper care 24 hours a day. Don’t you think it will be much better for their parents to be tended fully by professionally trained nurses in the old folk’s home? If being practical and realistic is being selfish, I rather be condemned as a selfish rat than see my 80 year old father hobbling up and down the house alone unattended to.

Therefore, I wholeheartedly disagree with the topic statement and I would like to remind everyone that the goodwill of humanity has certainly not perished YET.

Mr Raj, comments please.

Labels: Musings and Thoughts