Kindness

Kindness. An act that’s difficult to explain by any standard. We often take it for granted, but if you really thought about it, could you really explain why the Salvation Army received $2,827,795,000 in donations and support?

What is it that drives individuals to take money out of their own pockets and place it in the hands of complete strangers?

Some say that kindness is the product of an internal goodness placed in the hearts of every man, woman and child that transcends the biological inclination to compete. Others say people ultimately only do things because it benefits themselves, whether it’s the warm feeling they receive from being charitable or the belief that giving will ultimately come back to bless them.

As a seventeen year old, unexposed to the harsh realities of this big bad world, I can only hope that the former is true, that true kindness isn’t driven by anything but the goodness of one’s heart. However, I also recognize that many don’t— and I’m here to give you a reason to want to help those hurting in the midst of vast economic and social inequality.

Our country is plagued with the belief that money solves problems. But the truth is, especially in a social and cultural context, that it’s not so important how much money a nation has, but how it’s distributed.

            America has the greatest wealth inequality in the world, a problem we don’t often recognize. Instead we’re told that the reason that this or that neighborhood has such high mortality rates, poor education systems, and stunted economic growth is because they don’t have enough money, never thinking that it’s because some people have too much.

            Interestingly enough, that inequality places the “health” of our society (broadly defined by crime rates, mortality rates, education, etc.) at huge risk that has major implications for all of us. Now the question that remains is how inequality directly affects the health of a society, and what can be done to bridge that gap.