Helping

In this age of identity theft and the pervasive scam there seems to be a belief that trying to help a stranger is not only foolish, but perhaps dangerous. It seems the more down to earth the help we offer, the bigger the fool we are. Write a check to a fake charity, give to an administratively greedy organization or a beggar, stop the car to help a stranded motorist or worse a hitchhiker, for that matter have any face-to-face interaction. Why is this? Are we overwhelmed by the vastness of the world's problems? Or is it that we are numbed by the never answered needs all around us every day?...Think poverty and violence in America.
Certainly, enduring personal struggle fosters empathy and compassion for others of similar or worse condition. Or are we convinced that no one will help us? No doubt there is some truth in all of these fears, but we should not be too comfortable with our inaction. And certainly the greater wrong is to embrace a philosophy which promotes inaction or worse blames the downtrodden.