We are all in that situation.
We aren't all in the same situation. Everyone has a different life and different situations. People also have different morals and things they believe in like working hard and being able to buy new things. Theres other people who will donate more it is just how you were raised, and there isn't one right way.
That's right: I'm saying that you shouldn't buy that new car, take that cruise, redecorate the house or get that pricey new suit. After all, a $1,000 suit could save five children's lives.
This writer is asking a lot from Americans. Yes, they could be saving kids lives, but how does he know American families aren't donating some of their other goods than just money to people overseas. This author is very opinionated. I see where he is coming from wanting to help other people but, these people have worked hard to be able to earn a new car so I don't think this writer should tell people to not buy a new car.
Bob is close to retirement. He has invested most of his savings in a very rare and valuable old car, a Bugatti, which he has not been able to insure. The Bugatti is his pride and joy. In addition to the pleasure he gets from driving and caring for his car, Bob knows that its rising market value means that he will always be able to sell it and live comfortably after retirement. One day when Bob is out for a drive, he parks the Bugatti near the end of a railway siding and goes for a walk up the track. As he does so, he sees that a runaway train, with no one aboard, is running down the railway track. Looking farther down the track, he sees the small figure of a child very likely to be killed by the runaway train. He can't stop the train and the child is too far away to warn of the danger, but he can throw a switch that will divert the train down the siding where his Bugatti is parked. Then nobody will be killed —but the train will destroy his Bugatti. Thinking of his joy in owning the car and the financial security it represents, Bob decides not to throw the switch. The child is killed. For many years to come, Bob enjoys owning his Bugatti and the financial security it represents.
This is so sad to think about but I feel like it is an exaggerated story. I hope no one would ever make the decision to save a car over kids lives. You can always keep working or retire later which would stink but you only get one life.
Of course, there are several differences between the two situations that could support different moral judgments about them. For one thing, to be able to consign a child to death when he is standing right in front of you takes a chilling kind of heartlessness; it is much easier to ignore an appeal for money to help children you will never meet
We will most likely never meet kids like this so it's hard to put in prospective what their life is like. On the other hand though some people have worked hard for the things they can afford. People that work hard buy new things to show off how hard they work. Once they buy something new to replace what they already had they should donate it or give it to someone who would be very thankful for it.
All of which raises a question: In the end, what is the ethical distinction between a Brazilian who sells a homeless child to organ peddlers and an American who already has a TV and upgrades to a better one —knowing that the money could be donated to an organization that would use it to save the lives of kids in need?
This brings up a great point. It makes me feel guilty for all the new things I get when kids somewhere else don't even have a roof over their head. There can be a compromise of getting new things and giving money or something to help someone somewhere else. If an American upgrades their tv they could have giving their old one away to a charity or something along those lines.