I'm not a big fan of the multi-national corporation, in general. The bigger, the badder, it seems to me. I know that there are gradations of bad, and that some corporations really do prize their employees, and work hard to make sure that they take care of their employees. In reality, those corporations are probably (if I was guessing) smaller rather than bigger. I think that the pursuit of profit can be honorable, and it can be done ethically. But I do believe that sometimes, it can get out of hand: CEO salaries that are completely out of hand, profits that are so large as to be silly, and the abuse that employees can take in the form of illegal doings by the executives of the corporation. And of course, I still buy things from corporations, and use services offered by major corporations. I like to buy independent when I can afford it, and I try to avoid completely the worst offenders. I also know that corporations try to buy off our support by donating money, and doing outreach.
That said, after I watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, I feel the need to go shop at Sears. And tonight, I felt like I should ONLY fly on Southwest Airlines (did you see the show? Tears, people, tears.). I personally don't know if Sears and Southwest donate so much because they need the good publicity, or because they care. I wonder a lot about that show specifically, because the people on the show do such good things for people that really do deserve it. I think my all-time high tear total was for the deaf couple with the autistic son (and the normal one), but I just felt so happy for the family. It's the kind of show that somehow muddies the line between good and bad. I don't want to give any corporation a pass--if you treat your employees poorly, it doesn't matter how much you do for one family at a time--but I feel tempted to think better of these corporations simply because of HOW MUCH they seem to do. If that's what Sears and Southwest are looking for, well, they're doing a fantastic job of making sure it gets done.
And what about the charity foundations that often help out? On this past episode, Jim Kelly (the former Buffalo Bills quarterback) provided some help to the family, through his foundation (one of his children has the same condition as the girl in the show). I certainly believe that Kelly can't possibly be doing this for good publicity. And frankly, it's not bad if this publicity allows him to collect more money/stuff so that he can in turn, help more people. Obviously, I don't feel much conflict about that. Though, if the person helping is just, you know, one person helping, that can be bad. Ben Affleck has a bad year? Donate something to Extreme Home Makeover. Voila! Extreme Affleck Makeover. You see what I mean?
Basically, the ultimate question of the last paragraph is: Does altruism really exist? I'm pretty cynical, because I believe that most of the time, true altruism is non-existent. I think that when people do good things for other people, they do them because they get a little thrill, or a better feeling about themselves, or a release from guilt out of doing the good thing. Ultimately, the giver gets something (whatever it may be) from the giving. And yes, I believe that about the builders and crew on Extreme Home Makeover. It doesn't mean that we should all just stop doing good things; we really should do more than less. Regardless of our motives.
I haven't resolved anything, have I? Ah well, off to watch Iron Chef.
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