Opinion/Bellini: The greater good vs. a $3,000 bonus

Dante Bellini, Jr. is filmmaker and producer.

Life is a continual struggle to keep the emotions under control.

The recent news that union employees in Rhode Island may receive up to $3,000 bonuses for having been vaccinated made a lot of people angry. Including me.

America, for all the good and bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the right and the wrong, we hope that one thing still endures — though it may be hard to see or believe all the time. That we are always a nation that believes in the greater good. That we must not act selfishly but rather selflessly. This is something we all want to accept as true, especially in a moment of crisis and need.

But is this true, in fact?

Does greed undermine moral behavior?

Here in Rhode Island, it appears that there was a negotiation to financially reward thousands of public sector employees for simply doing what is right. To benefit from a lifesaving vaccine that will keep them and their families and friends safe. That will go a long way to keeping the community safe. That goes an even a longer way to keeping the country safe. In other words, the greater good.

And this miracle of science was free to them, as it was for me. It was and is an opportunity to be a patriot in a war against a common enemy.

It’s striking that in the military, people who are willing to sacrifice themselves to save others get a medal. But in politics and public sector work, it seems we have to offer cash bonuses to incentivize employees to do what most people would have actually paid for while waiting for hours in a cold rain.

A simple shot in the arm. A potential lifesaver. Not only your life. My life.

The greater good.

If this “negotiated” boondoggle actually happens, Rhode Island has lost. Humanity has lost. As I sit here writing this, I will hold out hope that upon reflection, the leaders of this outrageously tone-deaf scheme will swallow their pride and cancel this idea. But even if they don’t, I hope every individual who is slated to receive the money will refuse it. That will send a powerful message.

Maybe it’s just my pipe dream. I hope not.

Perhaps we should all be inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who urged our country to remember that “life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"

The greater good is ultimately all we have. Don’t sell out.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Opinion/Bellini: The greater good vs. a $3,000 bonus