DP #5: The Good Samaritan and US Donations to Africa

Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan is not so much a commentary on the nature of humanity, as it pertains to our ability to empathize within the human condition, but rather on the nature of our ability to dehumanize our fellow man in order to justify a behavior that is in our best interest. In Jesus' parable, the Levite and the Priest justify their behavior by seeing the man as less than a neighbor, as less than human, because it is not in their best interest (which is to say, they do not feel that it is beneficial to spend time) to help the man, while the Samaritan sees value in superceding his own need, and while his altruism may not be immediately beneficial, Jesus suggests that it is when it comes time for one to be accepted into everlasting life. By that same token, the US does not give aid to third world countries because it sees that donation as not terribly beneficial, and in order to justify the selfish behavior, we refuse to give a fair share of our income to the programs organized by the United Nations. The behavior, Jesus suggests, is selfish, but it is our own innate morality that requires us to justify our selfishness, while our altruism is the behavior that Jesus finds most beneficial.