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1. 

   Ji2m said, about 1 month ago

   There’s a bunch of comics with volunteering themes as of late… Adam@Home, Over The Hedge, Pooch Cafe, Big Nate… What am I missing?

2. 

   TravelerMarjorie said, about 1 month ago

   Maybe it has something to do with President Obama calling on all Americans to “participate in our nation’s recovery and renewal by serving in our communities”??

3. 

   Bargrove said, about 1 month ago

   You are missing Animal Crackers which has a

   volunteer theme also. It’s because it is volunteer

   week. Also see LuAnn

4. 

   Susan001 said, about 1 month ago

   I volunteer at my synagogue’s weekly lunch program for the poor and lonely.
   Only job I ever liked, and I don’t even gat paid! LOL

5. 

   cdward said, about 1 month ago

   I volunteer with a reading program for grade school children. Great fun and really helps young kids fall in love with reading. Happy Volunteer Week!

6. 

   pschearer said, about 1 month ago

   Beware of the demand for “giving back”!

   It is based on the idea that everything you have is a gift from capital-S Society for which you must then be guiltily grateful. It is based on the Old-World idea that people are just serfs under the king, or animals in a racial herd, or cells in a societal super-organism, or cogs in an economic machine. Above all it is based on the idea that you are morally inferior to everyone else to whom you owe your existence.

   Humans are individuals and society is just a collection of individuals, and as such society has no rights above what each priceless individual has.

   To clarify Thomas Jefferson’s New-World philosophy, it is YOUR life, YOUR liberty, and the pursuit of YOUR happiness, not everyone else’s. Don’t let anyone try to make you feel guilty for it!

7. 

   husky51 said, about 1 month ago

   Volunteering reminds me of JFK’s quote:

   “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country…”

8. 

   pschearer said, about 1 month ago

   Husky51: You are right to think of that JFK quote. But that quote expresses exactly the attitude that Americans should reject, regardless of who says it.

   Your life belongs to YOU, not to society, the nation, your race, your family, your tribe, or any other collective that has attempted to dominate the individual throughout history.

   The Declaration of Independence was not just to free us from Great Britain; it freed us from millenia of subservience to others. That is what made us the freest, richest, and happiest nation in history. That is what American presidents should hold up as an ideal, not service to others.

9. 

   Ji2m said, about 1 month ago

   Well said pschearer…

10. 

    earodrig said, about 1 month ago

    Dear pschearer: You poor thing. You’re missing out on so much that makes life worth living. I like feeling as though I am one with the universe, that the stars and the mitochondria and I are all part of the same marvelous creation, and that we all feed and care for one another. I am most alive and most myself when I’m giving of my talents, my energies, and my time to better the lot of another.

11. 

    Doctor Toon said, about 1 month ago

    As long as my own needs and most basic wants are met, I am more than happy to do what I can for others.
    My life does belong to me, and it is happier when I am doing what I can do for those I love.

12. 

    Macushlalondra said, about 1 month ago

    There’s a lot I could say about politics but I won’t. I’ll just say that if you want to volunteer, then do so and enjoy the rewards of feeling good about yourself for doing it. But don’t let anyone guilt trip you into it.

13. 

    MachalaMan said, about 1 month ago

    There is an ancient American text that quotes a prophet/king named Mosiah as saying, “…when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

14. 

    Homeward said, about 1 month ago

    Altruism and politics aside, I volunteer in great part to keep myself busy and sane while out of work. My library wasn’t hiring, but by helping out I’m learning new things and keeping skills sharp, and it IS great to know I’m really helping an extremely overtaxed staff, and thus the library’s patrons.

15. 

    Joe Allen Doty said, about 1 month ago

    I was a volunteer with the Spiritual Advisory Committee of AIDS Project Los Angeles for a year in 1991. And after I moved back to Tulsa in 1992, I did volunteer ministry work with Shanti which was a service organization for those who had HIV or had been diagnosed with a HIV/AIDS opportunistic disease and I also just did volunteer work as an individual.

    I haven’t been physically able to do volunteer work for a while.

16. 

    cynof3 said, about 1 month ago

    Obama has asked for the EIF to do shows, comics, artwork, and such to promote his service agenda over the next 2 years. This is being paid for by Obama, which means it is being paid for by the tax payers. (rolls eyes) I am all for volunteering during certain things but this is just crazy.

17. 

    yyyguy said, about 1 month ago

    right! like the government has the wit to pay comic strip artists to do their art the government’s way, and so many comic strip artist fall meekly in line with those wishes. get real!

18. 

    Magasek said, about 1 month ago

    Yes pschearer, Jefferson was centainly interested in life, liberty, and the persuit of happiness for the individual, including himself…with the exclusion of, and at the expense of, his slaves. Almost anything said by any person can be held up as an ideal to follow if spun appropriately and presented out of context, just look at the media today and how they spin everything so it’s presented the way they want you to see it, not the way it really is.

    Like it or not, we live in a society and, unless we choose the life of a recluse writng manifestos on a broken manual typewriter, we must interact with others. The world is a much nicer place if we take the time to work together and help each other, rather than ignore each other and just live for ourselves.

19. 

    Bargrove said, about 1 month ago

    Dear pschearer
    Since you really don’t care for, or actually like, anybody

    but yourself. Why don’t you just go away and adore

    yourself. You are working so hard to get us to dislike

    you. But, on that, you are winning.

20. 

    Magasek said, about 1 month ago

    On the point of volunteering:

    I’ve been a coach of my local school’s chess club for 3+ years now. The club is run basically as a class on chess, with lessons to prepare, homework to grade, tournaments to arrange and attend, and hands-on individual guidance. I spend 10 or more hours a week preparing for a once a week practice with the students and this year put together a web site the help them out. My wife has also helped out by providing art work for club posters and t-shirts (which we make ourselves). All of the time we put into this is 100% volunteer. So why do we do it?

    1) For the kids. Being a part of a team or club is a great growing experience for these students. Not only does the subject matter improve their thinking and reasoning skills, but the interaction with other club members builds their confidence. I’ve seen kids walk in on the first day withdrawn, shy, quiet, and walk out on the last day confident, accomplished, and successful. These are skills they will take with them through life and become better people for it.

    2) For ourselves. I love play chess and love to teach it. My wife loves art and loves to create. We also enjoy the feeling we get from knowing that it’s our efforts that helped to lead to each student’s success.

    Volunteering doesn’t have to be a sacrifice if you enjoy what you are doing and derive your own satifaction from it. Just volunteer to do something you love.

21. 

    Lewreader said, about 1 month ago

    Upon early retirement I looked around and said,”now what?” Volunteering means I still have a reason to get up at 6. Volunteering means I still use the gifts the Lord gave me. Volunteering gives me a purpose. I know I’m helping others, but I also know I’m helping myself.

22. 

    Ushindi said, about 1 month ago

    Interesting that those who appear to be identified with the right are opposed to the spirit of sharing and helping, while those more identified with the left (and Obama) seem to be in agreement with that spirit. I really don’t see anything wrong with helping people less fortunate than I am regardless of why they ended up that way.
    (I am shocked, however, to find out that all these cartoonists are being paid to promote Obama’s agenda - I’m rolling my eyes even as we speak…LOL)

23. 

    Karen345 said, about 1 month ago

    I believe we are here to help others with their journey … we stand on the shoulders of our forefathers and families.

    Lift me up and I will do the same for those who need it.

24. 

    Regisandkelly said, about 1 month ago

    OMG

25. 

    Furienna said, about 1 month ago

    Pschearer: But some aren’t as lucky as others, and they need some help. That’s why charity is good. You still have your freedoms, so don’t worry about it.

    Ushindi: I’m what you would call right-wing, especially according to my country’s (Sweden’s) standards, and I have nothing against charity. But then again, we pay so much taxes in Sweden anyway, so we have little need for charity over here. But I’m sure many people from the American right wing contribute to charity. I mean, whatever left-wingers might think, right-wingers aren’t cold-hearted selfish monsters.

26. 

    Ushindi said, about 1 month ago

    Furienna: Sorry, I didn’t make it clear - I was referring to the commenters here in the comics, not conservatives in general. As the saying goes, “Some of my best friends…”.

27. 

    Edward Lipsett said, about 1 month ago

    Someone (the Sierra Club, I think, but could well be wrong) said volunteers don’t FIND the time to help, they MAKE the time to help.
    When I help someone or volunteer, I often don’t even register or bother telling them where to find me… I don’t do it to be thanked, or to get a little drop-shaped “1 gallon” pin for my lapel. I do it for ME, because helping other people makes ME feel good. And I assume it makes others feel good, too, which is even better.
    You (non-specific “you”) have no obligation to volunteer for anything, or help anyone, and even if you don’t you should be able to receive the same anonymous assistance as anyone else when you are in need. I don’t say you are a worse person for not wanting to assist others, but I have a different attitude.
    Long live diversity.

28. 

    Sandor_at_the_Zoo said, about 1 month ago

    How is providing for your family taking?

29. 

    somebodyshort said, about 1 month ago

    What an interesting group of comments today, the full spectrum.

30. 

    yyyguy said, about 1 month ago

    as for volunteering, i spent 32 years as a referee for children’s hockey in my hometown, and also helping to teach people how to become better referees (passing on my experience, so to speak). although it started as unpaid, the organization eventually began paying us. though many parents thought we were getting far more than we really were getting, the majority still would say things like, “i wouldn’t want your job for any money.”
    like Magasek, it was something i enjoyed. i’d be doing it still if my knees had held up better.
    and, in case it matters, i consider myself a conservative.

31. 

    cynof3 said, about 1 month ago

    yyyguy maybe you havent been paying attention to what our great president has been saying. The great president “mr. Community Organizer,” is all about service to our community. Open your eyes, servicing our community is not bad, we should take care of one another in the community not the government taking care of us.