The privileged have a moral responsibility to their community.

I wrote some days ago about acknowledging privilege as pointless. I hyperbolized, but the idea is that simply acknowledging the blessings of one's life is only a single step in a larger arc of giving back to the world for such undeserved gifts.

No one outright deserves the financial privilege of having college paid for, or having their house bought outright, or other similar (and yes, perhaps extreme) examples of privileged gifts. One may work hard in their lives in such a way that makes them feel entitled to college (straight A's, valedictorian, etc.), but ultimately the gift of having school paid for is undeserved unless it’s through merit-based scholarships.

I will play reductionist here because it's obvious that there are so many forms of privilege, even outside of financial (though this is the most obvious). Knowledge privilege and network privilege are others — even knowing that going through college is a good idea for establishing one's future, or knowing the right people in a given industry to get your foot in the door. These are more invisible privileges but are exponential in one's life trajectory.

Acknowledgment of our privilege is not enough. At best, it is a step on the path. At worst, it is a placation, one that keeps the self satisfied and prevents recognizing the need to give back to the world.

I had coffee with a friend yesterday, and this subject came up. As an international human rights lawyer, she's seen a fair bit and has thoughts on the subject. I asked her: what's the point of privilege if it ends at acknowledgment? She claimed that the privileged have a moral responsibility to give back — that giving back in a meaningful way, most concretely by establishing organizations, scholarships, or other means to empower the disempowered and unprivileged, is the way to fulfill this moral responsibility.

I resonate with this answer. I do not consider myself a particularly privileged person — I paid for college on my own, through financial aid and merit scholarships, and had minimal financial assistance from my family. And yet I, too, have my own privileges — I ended up in a place where I have a skillset that earns me some money. I am not rich, but I have enough to start giving back. I had the unique privilege of studying non-Western music abroad while I was in college, so my dream — one that resonates with me and that I believe will meaningfully influence the lives of others — is to empower young musicians with financial need to do the same. It is my way of giving back.