Priorities

When I asked my family and friends what they thought of Loeb's quote, "Our most fundamental responsibility as citizens is to love not only our own children, but other people's as well--including children we will never meet, who grow up in situations we'd prefer to ignore.", I received mixed reactions. My family and friends from church largely agreed with Loeb's statement and felt he was merely giving a detailed approach to the golden rule "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". They also think we need to empathize with those around us and those who are not well off if we are going to better our society, as action is started by empathy and passion. However, they also noted that they believe we have a responsibility first of all to our family and need to be sure they are well provided for, physically and emotionally, before we take on the causes of others.

My friends from school, work and elsewhere had other opinions on this subject. They said they thought it was a good idea in theory, but that it would be very hard to put into practice. They felt that it was all they could do to keep up with their responsibilities and priorities in life and to add more to that load of stress was not possible. They thought that they could feel love and empathy for those less fortunate than themselves, but did not feel as though there was much they could do about the situation.

I believe the fundamental difference between these two points of view comes down to one word: priorities. My family has made it a priority in their life to help those around them, even if it means giving up time and money. On the other side, my friends are in the time of their life where all their focus is on themselves. This isn't purely selfish motivation, as much of life is taken up with school and work, however I believe that sometimes we aren't quite as busy as we think. :) When it comes down to it, you will always be busy and have something else you can be doing; but you can still make time for the things that are important to you. It's all about what your priorities are.