theblacksmith__

theblacksmith__ t1_ja20bgh wrote

It seems that way sometimes. It's hard to see, but it's actually slowly getting better.

Before social security it was pretty common for old folks to just starve or be homeless. SS was established in 1935. There are people alive today that could probably tell those kinds of horrible stories.

That doesn't make this man's situation any less awful.

It's possible to build a world where the benevolence of children isn't required for an old man to retire. But it's going to take time and effort to get there.

Look for the helpers. They actually need more help to bring about meaningful change.

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theblacksmith__ t1_ja1yxcl wrote

Deep breath bud. They actually agree with you.

The vast majority of us are in no position to instantly fix systemic problems.

However we do have the power to feed a hungry family for a day. (I'm using your example)

If you and I were walking down the street and you gave your share of food to some stranger because they needed it, id say that small act of kindness was uplifting too.

Does that small act fix the systemic issue that's leading to starving people? No. But at the very least you're acknowledging that you believe it's wrong. You're using the small amount of power you have to fix a fraction of a symptom, for a moment. And that's uplifting.

Its uplifting to know there are good people in the world. Right now they may not have a lot of power. But maybe one day they will. And that's uplifting.

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