In a prior post, I talked about the conservative view of compassion, and how it created a better means of living for everyone involved. In this post, I would like to talk about the liberal view of compassion, and its flaws, by using a very similar analogy.
Let's say that I am travelling in the woods, and I run across Bob (as I did in the other analogy). Let's also say that Bob and I are out there, and have run out of food (as in the other analogy). Let's also say that Bob and I each had our own separate "camp", or place to relax, etc. Let's also say that each camp includes part of a river. Let's also say that I know how to fish, and Bob doesn't (as in the other analogy).
Bob doesn't know how to fish, and on the first day, I agree to teach him how to fish. Unlike the last analogy, Bob asked me to teach him to fish. So, on the first day, I take Bob out to the river, show him how to dig up worms, how to make a fish hook, and how to make a fishing pole. I teach him how to bait a hook, and a short time later Bob has caught his first fish!
Bob and I continue to fish. Bob catches three fish that day, and I catch five. This is alright, since Bob is only just learning to fish. But I have been fishing for years, and this is a bad haul for me. I teach Bob how to scale and cook his fish. I share one of my fish with Bob. At the end of the day, Bob and I eat our fish and are full. We each go back to our individual camps and go to sleep.
The next day, Bob asks me to teach him how to improve his fishing. So, I take Bob out to the river and show him some of the tricks that I have picked up over the years. We spend most of the day out there, and we catch a few more fish today than we did yesterday. Bob catches three and I catch seven.
That night, as I am scaling and cooking my fish, I am approached by someone I have never seen before. Let's call him Tom. Tom is from the city, and came out here to see the river. Tom asks if he can sit down with me and talk. I say sure, and offer him some of my fish. Tom tells me that he is from the city and that he was interested in what is going on down here at the river. Tom and I talk about the fishing that Bob and I had been doing out here, and that we had caught a pretty good amount of fish in the last couple of days. Tom thanks me for my time and, as nightfall hits, goes back to the city.
The next day, I go outside to fish, and see Tom down by the river. Bob also comes down to the river to fish, because he is getting hungry. Bob sees Tom, and starts to talk to him. Tom asks Bob what he is doing down by the river, and Bob replies that he is about to go fishing because he is hungry. Tom asks how many fish he catches, and Bob replies that he does okay, but that I always end up catching more. After a few more minutes, Tom thanks Bob for his time, and goes back to the city.
That night, as Bob is cleaning his fish, Tom comes back and asks Bob, "How many fish did you catch today?" Bob, not wanting to be rude, tells Tom that he had "caught four, but almost had another two." Tom thanks Bob for his time, and turns toward my camp.
A few minutes later, Tom arrives at my camp, and asks me how many fish I caught. "I caught 7 fish today," I reply. Tom then informs me that, although the city never had claim to the land I was currently living on, it now staked a claim to it. He then informed me that, since I was living on the land, that I would be allowed to keep a couple of the fish that I had caught. However, I would not be allowed to keep all of them.
"This is ridiculous!" I thought, but I reluctantly gave up four of my fish when Tom asked me. Tom then returned to Bob, and gave one of those fish to Bob. He told Bob that, since the city had staked claim to the land that we were staying on, that the city would be redistributing the fish to help those who had less fish. "If you don't catch enough fish, then I will make sure that you still have some to eat," Tom told Bob. Tom decided to keep three of the fish I had caught for himself.
The next day, I go out to fish again. I do not see Bob all day. At the end of the day, I decide to go see what Bob is doing. I arrive at Bob's camp to see that he has just built himself a fire. "Are you alright?" I ask Bob. "Yes," replies Bob, "why wouldn't I be?" "I haven't seen you all day," I reply, "I didn't know if you might have been sick. If you were, I was going to bring you some fish to eat." "That's alright," replies Bob, "Tom told me that if I didn't catch enough fish, he would still make sure that I have some to eat."
"Did he give you any fish last night?" I ask. "Yes, Tom gave me a fish last night." "Tom took those fish from me," I replied. "You will still have enough anyway," replies Bob. "Not if Tom keeps taking fish from me like this," I reply.
As I am finishing up the last sentence, Tom arrives at Bob's camp. Tom also has someone else with him. Let's call her Jane. Tom introduces Jane, and informs us that she will ensure that the fish are distributed equally among everyone here. "How many fish did you catch," Jane asks me. "I caught 12 today. I was going to offer Bob some, because I thought he was sick," I replied. "Give me nine of them," Jane replies. "Nine! That is too many!" is my reply to Jane. Jane continues to bug me, and Tom threatened to take me back to the city and place me in jail if I didn't cooperate, so I gave Jane nine of my fish.
Jane gave three to Bob, three to Tom, and kept three to herself. I was only left with three. As the days went on, Bob still refused to go and catch any more fish. The more I caught, the more people took. I was never again allowed to experience the feeling of having more than enough to eat, because I was always forced to give everything I had away.
I no longer had anything to give freely to those who needed it. As such, my desire to show compassion on my fellow friend was met with the desire to stay alive. Before, I could have given Bob some fish if he were unable to fish for any reason. Now, both of us barely have anything to eat at the end of the day. Furthermore, I appear to be the only one who is working to feed everyone.
Did Tom and Jane truly show compassion on Bob? No, because Bob was able to survive before. He was also able to eat and be full. Bob had a valuable skill that he could have taught to someone else who was in the same boat that he was once in. Furthermore, Bob's attitude changed, and he no longer had any ambition to do anything.
Did Tom and Jane truly show compassion on me? No, because I was forced to give up something that I had worked for, and someone who did not want to work any more received it. Furthermore, I only grew more frustrated and fearful with each passing day. My right to do what I wanted to do with the fish that I caught was infringed upon, and I barely had enough on some days.
What did Tom and Jane do? They proved that they are selfish. They stole from someone who was perfectly capable of doing good, and hindered his ability to do so. Furthermore, they proved that they are not above using threats of any kind in order to force their idea of compassion on everyone. They may not have realized what they were doing, but that does not make what they did any more right. Tom was not a person who thought about what he was doing. He only did what the city told him to do. Jane only did what Tom hired her to do.
Neither Tom nor Jane showed any kind of compassion on anyone who was present in this story. In fact, they showed that they are uncompassionate people who only care about "equalizing outcome". Those of us who have worked for years must now work harder because there are people who don't have as much as we do. Tom and Jane have failed to realize that, although there are exceptions, some people don't have as much as we do because they did not work as hard as we did.
Did this story help you to understand the flaw in the liberal idea of compassion?
Let's say that I am travelling in the woods, and I run across Bob (as I did in the other analogy). Let's also say that Bob and I are out there, and have run out of food (as in the other analogy). Let's also say that Bob and I each had our own separate "camp", or place to relax, etc. Let's also say that each camp includes part of a river. Let's also say that I know how to fish, and Bob doesn't (as in the other analogy).
Bob doesn't know how to fish, and on the first day, I agree to teach him how to fish. Unlike the last analogy, Bob asked me to teach him to fish. So, on the first day, I take Bob out to the river, show him how to dig up worms, how to make a fish hook, and how to make a fishing pole. I teach him how to bait a hook, and a short time later Bob has caught his first fish!
Bob and I continue to fish. Bob catches three fish that day, and I catch five. This is alright, since Bob is only just learning to fish. But I have been fishing for years, and this is a bad haul for me. I teach Bob how to scale and cook his fish. I share one of my fish with Bob. At the end of the day, Bob and I eat our fish and are full. We each go back to our individual camps and go to sleep.
The next day, Bob asks me to teach him how to improve his fishing. So, I take Bob out to the river and show him some of the tricks that I have picked up over the years. We spend most of the day out there, and we catch a few more fish today than we did yesterday. Bob catches three and I catch seven.
That night, as I am scaling and cooking my fish, I am approached by someone I have never seen before. Let's call him Tom. Tom is from the city, and came out here to see the river. Tom asks if he can sit down with me and talk. I say sure, and offer him some of my fish. Tom tells me that he is from the city and that he was interested in what is going on down here at the river. Tom and I talk about the fishing that Bob and I had been doing out here, and that we had caught a pretty good amount of fish in the last couple of days. Tom thanks me for my time and, as nightfall hits, goes back to the city.
The next day, I go outside to fish, and see Tom down by the river. Bob also comes down to the river to fish, because he is getting hungry. Bob sees Tom, and starts to talk to him. Tom asks Bob what he is doing down by the river, and Bob replies that he is about to go fishing because he is hungry. Tom asks how many fish he catches, and Bob replies that he does okay, but that I always end up catching more. After a few more minutes, Tom thanks Bob for his time, and goes back to the city.
That night, as Bob is cleaning his fish, Tom comes back and asks Bob, "How many fish did you catch today?" Bob, not wanting to be rude, tells Tom that he had "caught four, but almost had another two." Tom thanks Bob for his time, and turns toward my camp.
A few minutes later, Tom arrives at my camp, and asks me how many fish I caught. "I caught 7 fish today," I reply. Tom then informs me that, although the city never had claim to the land I was currently living on, it now staked a claim to it. He then informed me that, since I was living on the land, that I would be allowed to keep a couple of the fish that I had caught. However, I would not be allowed to keep all of them.
"This is ridiculous!" I thought, but I reluctantly gave up four of my fish when Tom asked me. Tom then returned to Bob, and gave one of those fish to Bob. He told Bob that, since the city had staked claim to the land that we were staying on, that the city would be redistributing the fish to help those who had less fish. "If you don't catch enough fish, then I will make sure that you still have some to eat," Tom told Bob. Tom decided to keep three of the fish I had caught for himself.
The next day, I go out to fish again. I do not see Bob all day. At the end of the day, I decide to go see what Bob is doing. I arrive at Bob's camp to see that he has just built himself a fire. "Are you alright?" I ask Bob. "Yes," replies Bob, "why wouldn't I be?" "I haven't seen you all day," I reply, "I didn't know if you might have been sick. If you were, I was going to bring you some fish to eat." "That's alright," replies Bob, "Tom told me that if I didn't catch enough fish, he would still make sure that I have some to eat."
"Did he give you any fish last night?" I ask. "Yes, Tom gave me a fish last night." "Tom took those fish from me," I replied. "You will still have enough anyway," replies Bob. "Not if Tom keeps taking fish from me like this," I reply.
As I am finishing up the last sentence, Tom arrives at Bob's camp. Tom also has someone else with him. Let's call her Jane. Tom introduces Jane, and informs us that she will ensure that the fish are distributed equally among everyone here. "How many fish did you catch," Jane asks me. "I caught 12 today. I was going to offer Bob some, because I thought he was sick," I replied. "Give me nine of them," Jane replies. "Nine! That is too many!" is my reply to Jane. Jane continues to bug me, and Tom threatened to take me back to the city and place me in jail if I didn't cooperate, so I gave Jane nine of my fish.
Jane gave three to Bob, three to Tom, and kept three to herself. I was only left with three. As the days went on, Bob still refused to go and catch any more fish. The more I caught, the more people took. I was never again allowed to experience the feeling of having more than enough to eat, because I was always forced to give everything I had away.
I no longer had anything to give freely to those who needed it. As such, my desire to show compassion on my fellow friend was met with the desire to stay alive. Before, I could have given Bob some fish if he were unable to fish for any reason. Now, both of us barely have anything to eat at the end of the day. Furthermore, I appear to be the only one who is working to feed everyone.
Did Tom and Jane truly show compassion on Bob? No, because Bob was able to survive before. He was also able to eat and be full. Bob had a valuable skill that he could have taught to someone else who was in the same boat that he was once in. Furthermore, Bob's attitude changed, and he no longer had any ambition to do anything.
Did Tom and Jane truly show compassion on me? No, because I was forced to give up something that I had worked for, and someone who did not want to work any more received it. Furthermore, I only grew more frustrated and fearful with each passing day. My right to do what I wanted to do with the fish that I caught was infringed upon, and I barely had enough on some days.
What did Tom and Jane do? They proved that they are selfish. They stole from someone who was perfectly capable of doing good, and hindered his ability to do so. Furthermore, they proved that they are not above using threats of any kind in order to force their idea of compassion on everyone. They may not have realized what they were doing, but that does not make what they did any more right. Tom was not a person who thought about what he was doing. He only did what the city told him to do. Jane only did what Tom hired her to do.
Neither Tom nor Jane showed any kind of compassion on anyone who was present in this story. In fact, they showed that they are uncompassionate people who only care about "equalizing outcome". Those of us who have worked for years must now work harder because there are people who don't have as much as we do. Tom and Jane have failed to realize that, although there are exceptions, some people don't have as much as we do because they did not work as hard as we did.
Did this story help you to understand the flaw in the liberal idea of compassion?