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<h1>What have I done in 2020? Part 3 -- Donating to charities</h1>
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<span> Posted on Sat 16 January 2021 in <a href="https://newptcai.github.io/category/mumble.html" style="font-style: italic">mumble</a>
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<p>In 2020, I have donated 4252 SEK (about 418 EUR) to charities. It is a small amount, but not
insignificant comparing to my income. This is also the first time in my whole life that I started to
donate regularly to charities. What changed me?</p>
<p><img alt="My dnotaion in 2020" src="https://newptcai.github.io/images/what-have-i-done-2020/2020-donation.png"></p>
<p>As I mentioned in my earlier <a href="https://newptcai.github.io/what-have-i-done-in-2020-part-1-becoming-a-vegan.html">post</a>, one reason that I
became a vegan is because of the book <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Liberation_%28book%29">Animal
Liberation</a> by the philosopher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Singer">Peter
Singer</a>. However, the first and for me the most
important book by Singer which I read, also in 2020, is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Are_We_to_Live%3F">How Are We to
Live</a>.</p>
<p><img alt="How Are We to Live" src="https://newptcai.github.io/images/what-have-i-done-2020/live.jpg"></p>
<p>In this book, Singer recounts what he saw when he visited the Department of Philosophy of New York
University in 1973 --</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Until my arrival in New York, I had never known anyone who was seeing a psychotherapist as much as
once a week; but as I became acquainted with a circle of New York professors and their spouses, I
soon found that many of them were in daily psychoanalysis. Five days a week, eleven months of the
year, they had an appointment for one hour, not to be broken under any circumstances short of a
life or death emergency. ... I asked my friends why they were doing this. They said that they
felt repressed, or had unresolved psychological tensions, or found life meaningless. I wanted to
pick them up and shake them. These people were intelligent, talented, wealthy, and living in one
of the world's most exciting cities. They were at the centre of the greatest communications hub in
history. ... If these able, affluent New Yorkers had only got off their analysts' couches,
stopped thinking about their own problems, and gone out to do something about the real problems
faced by less fortunate people in Bangladesh or Ethiopia - or even in Manhattan, a few subway
stops north - they would have forgotten their own problems and maybe made the world a better place
as well.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another book by Singer which has also changed me is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_You_Can_Save">The Life You Can
Save</a>.</p>
<p><img alt="The Life You Can Save" src="https://newptcai.github.io/images/what-have-i-done-2020/life.png"></p>
<p>The book starts with a now <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGczdp0SE0c">famous</a> thought experiment</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On your way to work, you pass a small pond. On hot days, children sometimes play in the pond,
which is only about knee-deep. The weather's cool today, though, and the hour is early, so you are
surprised to see a child splashing about in the pond. As you get closer, you see that it is a very
young child, just a toddler, who is flailing about, unable to stay upright or walk out of the
pond. You look for the parents or babysitter, but there is no one else around. The child is unable
to keep his head above the water for more than a few seconds at a time. If you don't wade in and
pull him out, he seems likely to drown. Wading in is easy and safe, but you will ruin the new
shoes you bought only a few days ago, and get your suit wet and muddy. By the time you hand the
child over to someone responsible for him, and change your clothes, you'll be late for work. What
should you do?</p>
</blockquote>
<p><center></p>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gGczdp0SE0c" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p></center></p>
<p>Most people will say that we should save the child. The value of a pair of new shoe cannot be
compared with the life of a child. But Singer then asks why is the case that each year 5.4 million
child die of mostly preventable diseases, while the world largely looks away? If each of us who live
in wealthy countries is willing to give the amount of money comparable to a pair of new shoes, we
could have prevented a large portion of these meaningless death. But how come we pretend that we do
not see these millions of dying children? (By companions, the COVID-19 pandemic which shuts down the
economy of all western countries has killed 2 millions at the time of writing.)</p>
<p>These are the two central messages Singer have been trying to spread for decades now</p>
<ol>
<li>You will not feel happy and satisfied with your life if you mainly purse material processions, social
status or even intellectual curiosity. The only life project that worth fighting for, is the
well-being of humanity.</li>
<li>There are so much suffering on this world that can be alleviated with a little bit sacrifice of
each of us. There is no reason we should not do so.</li>
</ol>
<p>These are two rather simple argument, because I found them clear, sound and profound. That is why I
have decided to begin to donate with small amount. And if I get to a position with a bit of
financial security, I will donate more. Since I never wanted a life of luxury, I will probably be
able to save a bit to give away by the end of my life.</p>
<p>This is the last piece about what I have done in <a href="https://newptcai.github.io/tag/2020.html">2020</a>. My new year's resolution for
2021 is simple -- care more about animals, care more about climate change, and more importantly care
more about other humans.</p>
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