Good Samaratinism

The adventurer Doc Savage and his men, after keeping the pirate Tom Too from taking over the Luzon Union, leave behind a legacy for the country, The Savage Memorial Hospital. "The institution was to operate always under one inflexible rule -- payment from no one but those who could afford it."

Thus ended another rousing adventure in Doc Savage magazine, "Pirate of the Pacific" by Lester Dent, cover-dated July 1933, only a few months after what many consider the absolute nadir of the Great Depression. Roosevelt had been President for only a few months, as well. I've been trying to find if their philanthropy carries some special classification in economic terms. It's not charity because it's not giving services away to everyone, just helping those who need it. “Good Samaratinism”, perhaps?

This year and its economic problems brought out similar good Samaratinism in people from different fields...

In restaurants, we've got: The S.A.M.E. Cafe in Denver, a restaurant with a priceless menu -- priceless in that there are no prices on the menu's items. They ask that patrons pay what they can afford for the meal, stating that everyone deserves the same service, the same quality of food, no matter their economic circumstances. "S.A.M.E." stands for "So All May Eat" and those with no money at all get the chance to work for the meal -- serving, cleaning, etc. The food itself comes from the high-end of the culinary world (spinach souffle instead of cold beans). It's not a soup kitchen, with dignity for the food as well as the customers. NBC ran a spot on it, which you can view here.

In the field of Medicine, we have news of doctors offering their regular patients one free preventive visit per year.

And this doctor who gives free treatment through 2009 for his patients who have lost their jobs.

If the economy continues to be depressing it's great comfort to realize the examples above are just the ones we've heard of, and that the reporting of their examples has undoubtedly led to the raising of other helping hands. It may not solve all the problems we've got, but it adds a little weight to the side that says that the problems are worth solving, that the human race is worth saving.

NOTE: The image above comes from the cover of a Doc Savage magazine reprint which you can purchase here.