Saying No

A couple of miscellaneous thoughts, events. When we were in the car yesterday, Brandon jokingly said, “No” to Cindy about something. It wasn’t a big deal but he refused to do something she had asked of him. Richard spoke, “In this country you don’t ever say no to your parents. Never. When you are asked to do something you do it without question. The only time you can say no is when you have a family of your own.” Another little scene. One of our group of Americans gave money to a poor person. We were driving off and she thought it would be okay since we wouldn’t be mobbed by others. Richard cautioned that it may have done more harm than good. “If you gave that person 5,000 francs and the others have nothing and they are hungry… Think of what you have done to that one now.” It’s so complex. It is right to help people individually but Richard is right. You could actually put someone in danger. On the other hand when you donate to an organization there is waste. Greed. Resources may be used for useless, unrealistic projects. Salaries of workers, advertisements, phone banks. It’s hard to know the right thing to do.