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  • Essay / Review of Peter Singer's article, “Comforting causes are beautiful, but let us give to charity with our heads”

    Short Essay Response #1 “Comforting causes are beautiful, but let us give to charity with our head” is an article by Peter Singer. asking people to donate to charities that help the world's most disadvantaged people. Singer also believes that the most cost-effective way to spend charity money is to save, or at least help, the lives of many people. The author begins with a popular news story about the Make-A-Wish Foundation granting the fantasy of being BatKid to a young boy diagnosed with leukemia. While Singer admits to being touched by this act of kindness, he says that the money granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation is used irresponsibly. Singer suggests that charitable acts should be directed toward developing countries, where the money donated will be more valuable to people in need of financial assistance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The singer clearly did his research, as the numerous numbers throughout the article show. It offers readers $7,500 for each Make-A-Wish achievement. It is safe to say that spending such an amount to fulfill a child's fantasy is not the most beneficial act, at least in terms of saving lives. Singer amplifies the irresponsibility of this amount by proposing alternatives that require much less money, but save many more lives. The numbers start small enough for his readers to understand, but they gradually increase. For example, Singer claims that instead of using the same amount of money that made a child his favorite fictional character for a day, the Malaria Foundation could have saved the lives of two or three children while that the Seva Foundation could have prevented the death of 100 children. to lose their ability to see. When Singer presents these other branches of charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation appears to be an ineffective organization. Singer's understanding and reasonable attitude toward his subject of criticism gives him a strong sense of character and makes it easier to present his point of view to reluctant readers. . Singer's argument should be as clear as day to all Americans, and support should be easy to obtain. However, Singer understands why people willingly donate to foundations like Make-A-Wish. People are simply more likely to be kind when they can clearly see progress and at least know the face of the person(s) they are helping. Anyone who has ever visited a grocery store has seen the little containers that bear the faces of children who clearly need money or surgical correction. These faces are not without consequence stamped on these containers; they are meant to grab the attention of viewers who already have their wallets ready. This tactic is employed by many charities because they know that sympathy can move people to action. Humans are visual creatures and our emotions respond more viscerally to images than to numbers. In other words, when people see the image of a malnourished child who clearly needs to be fed, they react with their hearts, not their heads. Singer furthers his argument by asserting that many Americans believe they already give a generous amount of money to developing countries through their taxes, but most Americans do not know the actual contributions made by the United States..