Thread: Do you open doors?

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

BUT I would argue that charity is done for selfish reasons

....

" I'm a nice guy because ......."

opening doors no more makes you a nice guy than going to church ensures a place in heaven

GWH, I agree that charity is done for selfish reasons, but I would not agree that it's the case 100% of the time or even a majority of the time. If opening doors for people makes you feel good, then I say go for it. But much like how people talk about how much money he/she donated to UNICEF or the Red Cross, if one goes around puffing his chest out talking about how chivalrous he/she is, it defeats the purpose.

I'd much rather have that person let the door close on me then hear them talk about how great they are because they held it open. And no, I don't think this thread makes us all hypocrites because we are talking about our own habits; we were questioned, so we answered.

What I've found (in my limited time here) is that this place is populated with top-notch individuals and I'm impressed with the good will, helpfulness, and generosity that everybody exhibits. So I'm not surprised at the poll results .

Originally Posted by Oglethorpe

GWH, I agree that charity is done for selfish reasons, but I would not agree that it's the case 100% of the time or even a majority of the time. If opening doors for people makes you feel good, then I say go for it. But much like how people talk about how much money he/she donated to UNICEF or the Red Cross, if one goes around puffing his chest out talking about how chivalrous he/she is, it defeats the purpose.

I'd much rather have that person let the door close on me then hear them talk about how great they are because they held it open. And no, I don't think this thread makes us all hypocrites because we are talking about our own habits; we were questioned, so we answered.

What I've found (in my limited time here) is that this place is populated with top-notch individuals and I'm impressed with the good will, helpfulness, and generosity that everybody exhibits. So I'm not surprised at the poll results .

I agree 95%
the exception being the occurrence of selfishness as the motivating factor in good deeds

one does not have to realize that they are doing it just to feel good in order for that to be the case
subconscious motivations drive our lives, like it, know it, or not

Excellent post rook