Do you owe society anything?

[earllogjam]

Outside of paying taxes most of us don't do a damn thing to make the place we live any better than it is yet we are all skilled complainers and expect others to make everything better. I for one am one of those people, hate to admit. I find myself taking more than giving most of the time which on a macro level seems disasterous.

What is your contribution to society? Are you more of a taker of giver?

 

[Love-it]

Neutral right now. If plans work out I want to be able to help in areas that are not fully recognized by society and government.

 

[B_big dirigible]

Outside of paying taxes most of us

That's about a third of your working life you're dismissing so casually there. Ten days a month, for your whole adult life, you work for free on government projects. That sounds like an extensive contribution to public life, or whatever the hell government is.

 

[ClaireTalon]

What is your contribution to society? Are you more of a taker of giver?

I have 20 years of military service on my back, is that enough contribution?

Other than that, I'm happy to take loads of shit from everyone for contributing to the US CO2 emission with two cars and a bike. Sling the mud in my direction, before it hits someone else.

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

I tried to do something to help society...I really did. I started a major charity campaign, that if I succeeded in my mission would have raised over £2,000,000 for The Bobby Moore Fund - Cancer Research UK. In order for me to complete my challenge I needed corporate help. Guess what? Not one of the companies I asked wanted to know. I know, I know "you should have tried harder", but Ive got a job to keep up with at the same time. But anyway, my point is society can indeed not give a fuck. Shame.

 

[viking1]

Actually, I think society owes me...

 

[Quite Irate]

That's about a third of your working life you're dismissing so casually there. Ten days a month, for your whole adult life, you work for free on government projects. That sounds like an extensive contribution to public life, or whatever the hell government is.

Might I also add that the U.S. Federal Income Tax System is quasi-governmental and quasi-private, and in fact there is no law that clearly states you need to pay it.

But that doesn't really matter for me, being in France and all. :biggrin1:

 

[SpeedoGuy]

In my life and career I benefitted (and continue to benefit) from taxpayer subsidized education opportunities and health care plus recreation on public lands, travel on highways and airways, law enforcement, military protection, and all the trappings of civilization. I'm happy to contribute my share so that others, now and in the future, can enjoy the same benefits.

Aside from those obligations I volunteer time as an lecturer at schools on topics in the the applied sciences as well as a physical education instructor (fencing). I've volunteered time outside of work to helping develop training projects and some research. I also volunteer on a community parks and recreation board and a neighborhood association. I do trail clearance and maintenance in the local National Forests and, yah, I pick up trash I find laying around beaches, forests, parks and other public lands. Basically, I try to leave things better than when I found them.

 

[B_ironsoul]

I work with the disabled, (I get payed shit), and I work until I collapse. I recycle, I run charity races, occasionally volunteer at the rape crisis center, do beach and park clean-ups, participate in rallys and have spoken for my cause in front of different governmental groups......I think I am "contributing to society" quite a bit. I don't do it for that reason though. I like to do that stuff....I hate to see people in need get shit on, and the Earth get trashed.

 

[B_josiah852]

"The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think is right."

Henry David Thoreau

I am sure some feel some type of obligation to society and some don't. I really believe no matter how much we do for others on this earth, we fall short giving as much as we receive. I personally try to treat each and everyone I meet as kind as I know how. I am a man that believes that when the day of judgement gets to me that I will be judged on how well I treated each and everyone I have met or that my actions affected in one way or another. That is what I think is right and I try to live as close to that code as possible. I believe we reap what we sow and that we as a world are seeing what we have sown over the years. The world as a whole is not a pretty site right now and it I believe it is because we have taken way too much for granted and that we as a world have taken more than given back. Just my take on things. I don't expect others to believe the way I do, but it would be nice. lol

 

[viking1]

"The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think is right."

Henry David Thoreau

I am sure some feel some type of obligation to society and some don't. I really believe no matter how much we do for others on this earth, we fall short giving as much as we receive. I personally try to treat each and everyone I meet as kind as I know how. I am a man that believes that when the day of judgement gets to me that I will be judged on how well I treated each and everyone I have met or that my actions affected in one way or another. That is what I think is right and I try to live as close to that code as possible. I believe we reap what we sow and that we as a world are seeing what we have sown over the years. The world as a whole is not a pretty site right now and it I believe it is because we have taken way too much for granted and that we as a world have taken more than given back. Just my take on things. I don't expect others to believe the way I do, but it would be nice. lol

Very wise words, indeed! Too bad most people don't feel this way.

 

[D_Aston Asstonne]

neither.i dont feel i owe anything to anyone,and vice versa.

 

[earllogjam]

Ten days a month, for your whole adult life, you work for free on government projects. That sounds like an extensive contribution to public life, or whatever the hell government is.

My tax money is like throwing money into a black hole. I don't get any satifaction of paying into something that I have absolutely no control over. I realize it is a necessary part of living here but it doesn't connect me to where I live in any meaningful way. There are just some mysterious nebuolus faces that my tax money supposedly is helping and most don't live in my community.

I have 20 years of military service on my back, is that enough contribution?

Well, I think you got a lot out of it too. You got a life from it. A good life. :smile: Even if you didn't get to steal MRE's from your enemies in foxholes.:tongue:

But anyway, my point is society can indeed not give a fuck. Shame.

I think for me it is more rewarding if I do things on a personal level. I find a lot of philanthropy is more of a "see me" show off opportunity for the rich. It becomes a front for networking and a status contest in certain social circles that nauseates me. I have volunteered touring modern art shows at our museum and found a lot of satisfaction in sharing that part of me.

. Basically, I try to leave things better than when I found them.

Boy, if more people thought to leave things better than they found them the world would get better every day.

I remember our scout master drilling this into our heads as kids. Our campsites always were always Mother Nature's envy, always better after we left. :smile: Funny I still think this way myself after all those years.

I work with the disabled, (I get payed shit), and I work until I collapse. I recycle, I run charity races, occasionally volunteer at the rape crisis center, do beach and park clean-ups, participate in rallys and have spoken for my cause in front of different governmental groups......I think I am "contributing to society" quite a bit. I don't do it for that reason though. I like to do that stuff.....

A labor of love is not like work. Consider yourself lucky, most men live lives of quiet desperation.

I am sure some feel some type of obligation to society and some don't. I really believe no matter how much we do for others on this earth, we fall short giving as much as we receive. I personally try to treat each and everyone I meet as kind as I know how.

I'm more of a taker than a giver. It doesn't keep me up nights though. Maybe the small things you do everyday can make a big difference. Picking up orphan poop, keeping the front yard up, letting someone in on the freeway, not honking out of spite, being friendly at the store, and treating people kindly like you do, all make a big difference in our quality of life.

Actually, I think society owes me...

Some say you only get what you give. :smile:

 

[crescendo69]

I pick up the paper towels left on the men's room floor at work and other places. Sometimes I wipe off excess water on the bathroom sink countertops, and flush all the unflushed commodes.

I attempt to help some needy people with rides to the laundrymat, store, and work. I have bought meals for those that beg for money.

I am not much into organized fund drives, campaigns, etc. Just too group- spooked.

 

[B_big dirigible]

My tax money is like throwing money into a black hole. I don't get any satifaction of paying into something that I have absolutely no control over. I realize it is a necessary part of living here but it doesn't connect me to where I live in any meaningful way. There are just some mysterious nebuolus faces that my tax money supposedly is helping and most don't live in my community.

Now you're talking about getting some sort of satisfaction. I thought the OP was about doing something for society, not society doing something for you. Giving you satisfaction is society doing something for you.

I think for me it is more rewarding if I do things on a personal level. I find a lot of philanthropy is more of a "see me" show off opportunity for the rich. It becomes a front for networking and a status contest in certain social circles that nauseates me.

I give money to schools and public libraries, but not enough to make a splash or to make the hoi polloi think that I'm rich.

Boy, if more people thought to leave things better than they found them the world would get better every day.

Unfortunately, this is the rationale of the control freaks who have inflicted the modern nanny state on all of us. But that's OK since it's for "our own good." Or so they say. Before the modern nanny-staters, we had prohibitionists of one sort or another. I'm sure they were convinced that they were "doing good" as well. But all they did was ensure that the road to hell had plenty of paving stones.

 

[Hryblkone]

Despite my hatred for stupid people in large groups I haven't killed anyone ...yet. Is that good enough?

 

[Full_Phil]

I "owe" what I borrow with a promise to repay, and I may or may not choose to improve the lot of others around me in whatever fashion presents itself.

 

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

I don't owe shit. I don't walk around with the same sense of entitlement so many Americans do... I don't particularly feel like anyone out there owes me anything... but at the same time... between taxes, always repaying my debts and yet frequently not being repaid what's owed me, superfluous asinine traffic tickets, time served in queues and money spent at the DMV, selective service, the years of my life wasted watching television commercials, hours put in waiting tables/straightening merchandise/registering patients/volunteering at old folks homes/delivering newspapers/teaching children/etc.etc.etc., and the countless times I've been screwed over by auto mechanics/credit card companies/CSRs/and every other fucking corporation out there that all just want a piece of you and me and everyone else.... I don't think there's any way I could be anything less than breaking even at this point.

I was only a paying member at this site for a short time, but I think I'm at least breaking even here, too, since I try to contribute something to the boards and have pics posted in the gallery. That's my contribution to Rob and the longevity of the website. To the members here I hope that I am contributing toward their ability to think critically, maintain a healthy level of skepticism, and at the same time keep an open mind about everything while never losing the capacity to laugh at life's many absurdities.

 

[Shelby]

I pleasure it with my presence.
​

 

[ClaireTalon]

<.> Well, I think you got a lot out of it too. You got a life from it. A good life. :smile: Even if you didn't get to steal MRE's from your enemies in foxholes.:tongue: <.>

Stealing MREs from a foxhole, would have been quite a stunt for me. Probably pick them up like Udet did it with hankys, back in the 20s?

I know what society, or the State in particular, has given me, and I am very grateful for that. Serving for 20 years was not only a thing that I accepted as having to do it, I saw it as a committment and way to pay back my dues not only financially, but also as a way to thank for the help I received.

Right now, I think I don't give so much. I'm not volunteering, I don't do charity things. Every now and then, I donate money for the one or other organization, but that's pretty much it.