Sharing Doesn’t Always Come Naturally

If you’re a regular reader (or if you know me), you might have noticed that I am at least somewhat liberal.  As a result, sometimes I get into conversations that go something like this:

Me: Taxing the rich is good!  Don’t you think those who have money should share with those who don’t?

Person 1: Nope.  I work hard, and I deserve what I get.

Person 2: Yes, but I shouldn’t be forced to share.  I should be able to choose how and when I share.

Or here’s another one.  This came up while discussing immigration on another website:

Me: I think we should make it easier for people to immigrate legally.  We have so much, and people in many other countries have so little — we could stand to share our bounty.

Person 1: Heck no, I work hard for what I have, why should I share?

Person 2: I’m willing to give to others, but don’t force me to share by bringing more people here!

So here’s what was going through my head this morning on the bus:

This is such as short bus ride (2 miles).  I wish I didn’t have to pay $2.00 each way.  Even when gas is expensive, it would cost less to drive.  Oh, I suppose my $2.00 helps cover the cost of providing bus service for everyone, but I wish I could just pay for what I use; it just doesn’t seem fair…

And then I recalled those conversations about sharing:

Oh.  Hm.

I still think the sharing principle is good, even if it does hurt sometimes.  If you’ve lived with a 3-year-old, you know it’s not always easy to share; we probably shouldn’t expect it to always be easy, even as adults.

But I do feel a little more empathy toward Person 1 and Person 2 now.