The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

My work as an officer for the BuildOn Club at Acalanes involves setting up fund-raising events that will provide BuildOn with money in order to build a school over the summer in a developing country such as Mali, or Nicaragua. Recently, this past Sunday, I took part in a fundraiser at Diablo Foods selling Chinook Books, which are large coupon books that contain coupons for stores and items that emphasize living healthy and protecting the environment. I knew Diablo Foods would be a good location to sell the books because, while they do save you an enormous amount of money on good, sustainable products, they aren't very cheap at the price of $20 and people who shop at Diablo Foods, one of the more expensive grocery stores in the area, will have more money to donate and will therefore be more willing to donate. In spite of this, the sale of the books did not go as well as I had expected on such a busy day with people who have money to give. It is unfair to demand that people donate money because we do live in America where citizens hold specific rights to decide what they want to do with their money, but I was sorely disappointed in the number of people who were willing to donate a tiny portion of their excess money to the noble and inspiring cause of education. I am not trying to say that some people don't care about the world, but it seems somewhat ridiculous that these people, who have money to give, are not willing to give it up for a world and for a future that will exist long after they pass away. Such resembles the arrogant attitude of upper-class Americans, who will be part of this country's demise if they refuse to selflessly give up an almost insignificant amount of the money they make in order to benefit America and the world as a whole.