Solidarity: Charity and giving

From a very young age we all learn to share. It is something we learnt from my parents at home, from teachers at school and from friends in playground. However when adulthood arrives and we earn our own money, sharing is easier but also much more difficult than it was in childhood. There seems to be many different barriers and questions to giving as so many organisations want our money,  and it can be time consuming choosing the right one (Abrams, 2006). Many questions will arise like; who should I give the money to? what should the cause go towards? for how long do I give for? how much should I give?

To solve these tough issues ideally people need to give up time, money and come together as one and work through a solution peacefully.  But this way is too difficult, unless you are a billionaire or have an endless amount of time, and it is also too unrealistic to produce results, therefore force in the form of charity is a better, default option (IIIingworth, 2011). Personally I think giving is apart of the moral responsibility for those who can afford to give, and only to give as they feel led. However when considering that giving is already current in society and yet issues such as poverty are ongoing, different attitudes need to be recognised.

Philanthophy as a sign of love and caring within society regarding 'what it means to be a human' focuses on the cause of the problem. It also tries to avoid feeding the issue with money as it actually thinking about its impact. Giving could be a form of thoughtful action like sponsoring a child or giving funds for a clean community water source. The process of giving has to start somewhere and in the form of donations whether it be 10% of someone's income or a comfort amount can make all the difference (Illingworth, et al, 2011).  

As long as large sections of humanity are suffering chronic poverty and dying from treatable disease, I believe organised giving regardless of size can save or enhance millions of lives. We don't need to have massive wealth to be charitable and it is not the size of the amount that counts, it is how you use it!

References:
Abrams, H. N. (2006). World changing: a user’s guide for the 21st century. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Illingworth, P., Pogge, T. & Wenar, L. (2011). Introduction and Chapter 1: What Should A Billionaire Give – And What Should You? In Giving Well: The Ethics of Philanthropy. London: Oxford Scholarship Online

Equality: Privilege and underprivilege

Our society, in its desire for equality, has to realise the many differences in social divison due to the structured world. Living for equality is commonly thought to be supported however never acted as the privileged are criticized but not changed. The cycle of privilege will keep going strong unless there is recognition and agency for change. Yet the privileged are not comfortable or willing to give up or reduce their benefits in the fear of disadvantage as they can see its impacts on life (seen in the photo below), however they are unwilling to remove the 'false conscious' from their minds (Pease, 2010). Also the underprivileged are seen to have no choice in their status and blame or discourage themselves for their 'lower' position. This disadvantage can cause a struggle for agency and a way out of their marginalisation. 

The ideal of social justice is challenged by inequality, as everyone from birth does not have a clean slate and does not have immediate freedom of choice rather they are subjects of their social position (Urban, 1979). If everyone in the name of equality had the desire to owe everything to themselves and start a fresh with life, without parental assets or help I believe the world would be a very different place at first. However later as society forms the structure of privilege would also form.

To change the structure of privilege there are certain measures Urban (1979) has challenged me to believe that could be taken. This includes the idea of agency to change, for example if born in a disadvantaged neighbourhood and you accept its consequences without a fight then you have minimal hope to change your the cycle and underprivilege will continue. However, if you recognise your ability and opportunities to improve yourself, then gap between privilege and underprivilege could lessen. I believe change the structure of privilege and underprivilege people must work hard with human agency regarding breaking the barrier. Therefore to make a difference in equality the ignorance of change and unconsciousness of advantage or disadvantage needs to be recognised.


References:
Pease, B. (2000). Oppression, Privilege and Relations of Domination. In Undoing Privilege: Unearned Advantage in a Divided World. London: Zed Books

Urban, J. (1979). Equality and privileges. United Kingdom: International Journal of Politics, 9(1), 27-40.

Human dignity: Voice and recognition

Voice makes it possible to make a difference to the world by clearly communicating which parts of the world need changing. Wrongs that are not heard are rarely righted with recognition, and with the problems society faces today everyone needs input with ideas to create change (Abrams, 2006). However these complex issues cannot be solved only by talking. Sharing a voice goes hand in hand with listening and recognizing change needs to be done due to what is being said. For some being heard is difficult and therefore there are new ways to express voice and challenge authority in the form of protest, or a few posts on a blogging site, photos and videos (Abrams, 2006).

Recently, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has been consistently expressing their voice in many forms and are finally being heard. The UN is now recognising LGBT rights as human rights, which can be seen in the message of the new anti-homophobia video titled "The Riddle" (shown in reference list). Due to many listeners of the gay community a change in attitude has started to appear in society. Gay marriage has been a big debate worldwide, and many countries have been acknowledging gay rights, even changing laws to implement equality. The continuation of these societal debates “will hopefully lead to discussion to take forward the work needed to integrate human rights advocacy with shifting and diverse sexualities” (Reddy, 2001, pp87).

As members of the world’s society we have an obligation to listen, even if we do not agree as all humans have the capacity for voice and recognition  (Couldry, 2009). From personally having experienced talking and not being listened, at first I was frustrated but with persistence I was heard and change eventually occurred.  Therefore change can only occur when voice and agency are used to express ideas and when those ideas are heard and recognized. Human dignity regarding active voice and recognition are major parts in understanding the differences and need for change in our society. 

References:
Couldry, N. (2009). Rethinking the Politics of Voice. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 23(4), p579-582. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.

Reddy, V. (2001). Homophobia, human rights and gay and lesbian equality in Africa. Agenda, 16(50), 83-87. Unknown.

 Abrams, H. N. (2006). World changing: a user’s guide for the 21st century. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Humanrights, UN (2013). The riddle. Youtube. Retrieved May, 14, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sYFNfW1-sM8