There’s a small story that goes with this meme. The story is in response to an intelligent, articulate and talented homeless (Mr D) critic of my radical thinking:
“If beggary is one of the oldest professions, alms-giving is the inventor of that profession. Blaming charity for disgracing human dignity on the streets may sound like a radical thinking.”
To Beg or Not To Beg
(Hey D, didn’t I confess my take on alms giving was radical? Radical it may be in challenging the status quo, but let me tell you a real life story and then decide if my radicalism has any rationality. So here's the story)
As I stepped out of my car in front of a shop to pick up some snacks, I was greeted by a kid in his late pre-teen years. With all his God-given senses and corporeal being in full glory, he extended his right begging hand towards me while his left hand moving from his stomach to his mouth. “If you are a compassionate man show some kindness to this unfortunate hungry street child”, was clearly the meaning his gestures communicated.
“Am I a compassionate man?” I asked myself. What would I do to prove to myself that I do empathize with the unfortunate street children like him? Give him what he is asking for? Sure, that’s what any good heart would do and move on.
But, I stopped.
Stopped, to open a conversation with this homeless street kid, “hey kid, do you go to school?”
“No, I am homeless and hungry,” was his answer repeating his hungry gestures.
“Please wait here, I’ll pick some snacks from the shop, take you to my home, give you a nice shower, give you clean clothes, give you a place to live, and send you to school. How does that sound?” Walking towards the shop I told him.
Thinking what more a street child would need to make his life meaningfully productive, and what better satisfaction I can get than transforming the life of a street child, I stepped out of the shop with my shopping bag in my hand. I looked around for him. He wasn’t there. He disappeared. He deprived me of that opportunity to do some good to humanity
Well, that wasn’t the first time my compassion offered to help an unfortunate soul, who performed the disappearing act. After umpteen repetitions of my compassionate offerings to these street actors, I learned that they would flee as soon as I offered them more life-changing tangible things instead of throwing a few bucks on their platter.
To beg or not to beg is no more a question for those experienced in the profession, for they’ve already killed their conscience to let their dignity be conquered by street beggary.
Does conscience really makes cowards of us all? Or does it keep the brave hearts in us alive? I question Shakespearean Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy. I had braved my heart by not letting reason be overruled by my escapist compassion getting away by throwing a few bucks in the beggar’s hand.
The beggar’s conscious was muted, mine was thriving. Thriving to evolve my radical thinking on poverty, charity, beggary, and of course prosperity or rather as I would put it: PROSPERISM.
“To give or not to give” will always remain a dilemma for deep thinkers who keep their conscience alive. I leave my share of that dilemma for another time, for another blog.
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