Thomas Lu
Negoslawski
English II H - 1
14 Feb 2012

(1st para is some longwinded bs intro and I haven't written a conclusion yet...)

						Motivation
 A manager at a local supermarket decides to host a party for the other employees. It is the week after Christmas, and they have all toiled tirelessly to meet the unreasonable demands of increasingly frantic and disrespectful patrons. The party will be a reward for the employees’ efforts, the endurance of the intense pressure of babysitting last-minute holiday shoppers. The amenities will be paid for from the manager’s own pocket, and he is happy to provide them, to bring mirth to his coworkers in a gesture of thanks.
	The motivations for people’s actions are often difficult to characterize and attempts to describe them are often confounded, but those that have been deciphered generally fall into two categories – selfish and selfless. Sadly, not all actions are performed with altruistic intent, and are rather performed for some form of personal gain or betterment. Though the work of most businessmen and indeed any person who is gainfully employed can arguably be construed as selfish, these are often due to the necessity of money for use in daily life; though some men seem to have a somewhat prodigious taste for cash, they may be honest men and we will ignore these tendencies. Elements of truly selfish motivation appear in actions that are performed for gain on the part of the perpetrator beyond mere necessity and without any intent of sharing the gains with others. In this way, we are all motivated by selfish things, as when we engage in a personal hobby or watch a movie for enjoyment. However, an outstanding example of selfish motivation is shown by Cassius in his plot against Caesar.
Cassius views Caesar as an ordinary man, one who he views as rather weak as indicated by his past experiences with the man, and he is thus jealous of Caesar’s ascent to power. He recalls that he and Caesar were once friends, that he had saved Caesar from drowning, that he had cried, and cannot comprehend how such a man could possibly have become so important in the hearts of his fellow men. His wrathful opposition to Caesar’s eventual coronation is envious in nature, and not for some noble cause as dethroning a tyrant. Indeed, he does the populace a disservice, deals a heavy blow by removing such a well-loved figure from society and thereby produces a negative effect. Cassius and his fellow conspirators bring about social strife merely for his peace of mind and rashness. His actions are driven by distinctly selfish motivations.
	On the other side, there are actions inspired by much more altruistic drives. The example that stands out in my mind is Bill Gates’ donation of more than twenty-eight million dollars over the course of five years to charities around the world. In addition, Gates established the Giving Pledge, a promise that they and many other wealthy people have made to donate half of their net worth to charity in their lifetimes, and has pushed for increased availability of life-saving vaccines and helped to establish the GAVI, an organization devoted to providing vaccination in developing nations. Gates’ efforts have saved the lives of more than five million people, a number that continues to rise each time his organizations and charities deliver another immunization shot, and established a legacy of giving to charities to fund philanthropic causes. As online blog TechFleece aptly concludes, “He’s better than Batman”.