Cohen is wrong that yellow bracelets are a sign of conspicuous compassion. They're about belonging to a community.
Joining a community of like-minded individuals and acting together to achieve a common goal is one of mankind's deepest drives, and I would argue, one of our best.
Now, if I was going to look down my nose at a gesture, it would be something like buying a magnetic ribbon for my car from a company that doesn't give the profits to the good cause. For example, at my hardware store I can buy magnetic yellow ribbons ("support the troops") and pink ribbons ("end breast cancer") and red-white-and-blue ribbons (I think this is general patriotism) but if you look at the package, there is no indication that the money goes anywhere besides to the retailer and the manufacturer.
Shortly after 9/11 they were selling Christmas ornaments with the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, same problem -- the money did not go to the victims of 9/11. I am aware of this because I collect Christmas ornaments that are actually sold by support organizations that exist to support various institutions, like Congress, the White House, Monticello, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the National Zoo, and so forth. The organization uses the money for the institution. It says so on the package, and I have no reason to disbelieve.
When I give money to WETA or the Appalachian Trail Foundation, they send me a little sticker for my car window. I put them on, not because it shows what a swell person I am -- I don't send all that much. I put them on because I want to show my support for something I believe in.
Similarly, I talk about charities I support, not because I want you to think I am a wonderful person, but because I believe in them, and hope that will cause you to think that they are worthy of a closer look.
Research has shown that people who engage in altruism experience a beneficial flow of endorphins, the feel-good hormones that the body produces. You can't do good without feeling good, so even if you do your best to be altruistic without getting anything in return, it's not possible.
I suspect that those who do good secretly may get a nicer high than those who do good publicly. If so, where's the self-sacrifice? |
