Leviticus meditations: What about communal virtue?

Last night I was walking to the T and was accosted by very enthusiastic solicitors for a charity that supports poor children around the world. I've never heard of these folks and such high-pressure "you must do something right now" tactics are rarely a good sign, but let's assume they're on the up and up.

I tried to evade them but no dice. A conversation ensued. "If you decided to sponsor a desperately poor child, do you think that later on you would regret that choice?" "WHAT?!?!" "Or would you regret knowing that some child is dying for lack of basic necessities?"

All right, I do think that these things are important, which is why I already give regularly to this other charity focused on children in the developing world. Thank you very much, have a nice day ...

"Oh yes, that's great. They do wonderful things. But why not give to us too."

Well, because I'm one person and there are tons of good causes in the world and I can't do everything.

"But if you're already giving to some good causes, why does that mean you shouldn't support others as well?"

WHAT?!?!

"I do what I can. Good thing there are a lot of us in this world so that everything can get covered. But right now I'm doing as much as I can. Thank you for what you are doing. Goodbye."

Now, maybe I should be giving far more than I do. That's probably true. But nonetheless, the point remains that wherever my appropriate limit is, it does exist somewhere and does not allow me to take care of everything that needs fixing in the world. That doesn't mean I throw up my hands and don't do anything. But I do my part, and other people do their part, and as a whole community all those little parts can add up to something extraordinary. Tossing up my hands and giving up is a mistake -- as is thinking that I'm supposed to be doing everything myself.

I think I've tended to absorb some of this "you have to do it ALL" attitude that our strange soliciting friend was trying to encourage. A few weeks ago Kristi was talking about communal sin. Might there be communal virtue as well? I don't want to take this too far. "Well, my homicidal tendencies don't really matter, because after all Kristi doesn't go around killing people" -- no, that's going nowhere good.

But just maybe, just as my neighbor's sin drags me down, there's a sense in which my neighbor's virtue builds me up, and can at times carry me through my weak points.

This is all pretty hazy in my head, but there just might be something here.

And I desperately need to work on my solicitor-avoiding skills. That one I'm certain of.