There was a point in our not-so-distant past that people lucky enough to live free of financial travail felt it was their birthright and duty to help those less fortunate. This was known as noblesse oblige, “the inferred obligation of people of high rank or social position to behave nobly or kindly toward others.”

          Admittedly, noblesse oblige was overtly patronizing. After all, it required one to first acknowledge social superiority as a springboard to action. This was kind of a shame, because why couldn’t a person, regardless of his or her background, who truly desires to embrace sacrifice and chooses a life of service to others, be motivated purely by altruism? Even now, suspicion lingers, and people who try to make a difference are targets for charges of egotism and elitism.

          Maybe detractors haven’t gotten the word that noblesse oblige is history, and there are idealistic souls out there whose motivation comes not from thinking they are better, but from hoping to do good.