Giving a helping hand to others is suggested to be the most important opportunity affluence gives. While I agree with this statement to a certain degree, I contend that there are other opportunities that weigh equally, which is why generalizing or praising the opportunity to help others is not an astute move.
Being rich offers indeed a breadth of opportunities that cannot be denied. When the question of the best one it gives is raised, some tend to put helping others at the top of the pedestal. One plausible reason for this is human nature: ever since people started to help one another, gratitude and appreciation towards the person helping are highly praised and emotionally favourable. Although helping others physically no longer holds as strong value as it did, it was one of the many instances in point.
At a time when people are marginalized, and when their values are measured according to their material possessions or status, being affluent to help others gives an upper hand to people. While rarely do rich people engage in charities and donations to curb the problems their counterparts face, they tend to have an unfair advantage in this scenario. Whether it be visiting hospitals for those in need or supporting talented students fiscally who otherwise lead a life on subsistent-level incomes paves the way for a change in society.
As valid as this advantage may seem, to ignore the other opportunities being rich gives is to blindfold oneself. People tend survive on by sub-par paychecks, given today’s unstable financial climate, which, by extension, confines them to repetitive shifts, days and opportunities. Affluence, however, ensures that they can make a change in their day-to-day to evade boredom dominating their lives. This leads to individual happiness, with which people can step on helping others and contributing to society further. In fact, when one struggles to earn a living so as to be able to afford basic needs – housing, education and healthcare – they feel doomed to themselves, let alone mentioning others.
In conclusion, praising the opportunity of being able to help others would be over-generalization, had individual happiness been ignored. While giving a helping hand to others is, for sure, one divine opportunity rich people get, getting out of vicious poverty cycle is the other, yet equally indomitable, opportunity. Therefore, I disagree with the given statement.