This is the very last day of my toy drive for this year; though I made my big dropoff on Thursday, our local Tractor Supply has a collection box, so anything I receive today I can simply drop off in that box instead of taking it all the way to Olympia. This wasn’t one of the most successful years my annual drive has had; I blame the enshittification of Twitter, where my tweets on the subject used to get a great deal of attention, and now only barely register against the background noise. But those of you who did donate were as generous as ever, and I was able to buy hundreds of dollars worth of toys for children in need. In comparison to the staggering number of people who still live close to the poverty line in the wealthiest nation which has ever existed, any effort at charity must seem pitifully meager. But we don’t work to help others because we foolishly imagine we can end poverty and want; we do so because it is the right thing to do, even if the effect is minuscule in the big picture. And who knows? One day, if enough people believe and practice that, perhaps the accumulation of individual tiny acts of kindness will add up to something very significant indeed.
Archive for December 12th, 2023
Diary #702
Posted in Diary, Philosophy, tagged ethics, holidays, Toys for Tots, Twitter, Washington (state) on December 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »
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