Charity.Some consider it a dirty word. A personal attack to your manhood and something that diminishes your self worth. Your pride tells you not to take a hand out. That's not how you were raised. You were taught to work for what you want, earn everything you need. We grow up in a society where men are told that to be a "man" you have to provide. Not just for yourself, but for your family, whether that's a girlfriend, fiance, wife and or kids is semantics. We'd all love to just wake up with enough money to never have to work a day in our lives, for our kids to never grow up wanting for anything, to see the smile on our mom's face when you pull into the driveway of the dreamhouse you just bought her and the pride on your dad's face when you show him the land you just bought and explain all the smart investments that you made that are paying off in a big way......
This is not going to happen for 99.5% of the people out there though. Life is a struggle for most people. Elementary school is scary, High school starts the same and then so monotonous you just can't wait to leave, to start your LIFE. Then you see how hard it is to find a job, then how much harder it is to find one that you enjoy. You wish you could go back to do things different, study harder, be nicer to kids, practice more at the sports you loved playing so much you didn't even know it, tell your parents you loved them more before it's too late, and avoid the pitfalls that can ruin any promising life. Drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, addiction, depression and any combination of the above can be healthy in moderation and even positive under the right circumstances. It's how your introduced to them that can really shape how they effect your life.
Getting your introduction to any too early and your going to be headed down a path of destruction 9/10 times and it's going to take hitting rock bottom more then once to break the cycle. Getting your introduction too late having been sheltered from all the evils of the world and shielded from the reality that just around the corner could be some terrible things. Behind the door of that loving family next door can be abuse, alcoholism, anorexia, severe depression, self esteem issues, infidelity, divorce, or drug abuse.
We've all heard the quaint saying "Money can't buy happiness". Well that's true, but what money can buy, is the help people need when the happiness isn't there. Sometimes money can mask problems, and life can be a lot less stressful when money isn't one of the things we have to worry about but there is more to life.
All of this centers around what I am trying to get at. There are thousands and thousands and millions and millions of different charities. Some good, some not so good, some honest and 100% upfront about distribution of funds some deceitful and filled with hidden agenda's and greed. Charity can come in many different forms and many different types. There are charitable organizations for everything imaginable. That's a good thing. The problem is for every good thing in this world there is a bad thing. Where there is money there is greed. Bad people are always going to find ways to try and exploit by any means necessary. Whether that's someone standing on the side of the road with a sign saying they fought in Iraq and are homeless so they need money when in reality they have never left downtown Holyoke and they want money for their next fix to get high. Or some kid writing posts online on craigslist selling a bike he does not have asking people to send checks.
Charity is a very important thing, but we need to be careful. I'm all for giving to those in need when you have enough to be able to, but make sure it's going to somewhere that it is needed. Know what your funds are being used for. Explore what companies pay the president a million dollars per year to run that tax exempt "charity" find out what percent of money donated goes towards the actual cause and what percent goes towards operating expenses and paying employees.
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