Collegiate Times

It was with sadness, though not much surprise, that I learned the homeless-and-barefoot fellow who caught the sympathetic eye of a Manhattan cop is actually a bit of a fraud.

He apparently has dibs on some governmental benefits (which will be expanded if President Obama has his way,) an apartment somewhere in New York, family members who want to take him in and an admirable appreciation for the free market. No sooner had that heartwarming photo of Officer DePrimo's selfless act of charity become public than Mr. Size 11 { tried to sell his footwear for some quick cash.

And so, another uplifting parable about Good Samaritans and grateful sinners becomes a cheap joke for the Internet age. That's not to say the act itself wasn't noble. Regardless of the unworthiness of his beneficiary, NYPD's finest did an amazing imitation of the Christ that I studied in catechism class.

The unfortunate part of the story is that instead of focusing on the kindness of good people, we are forced once again to ruminate on the futility of expecting grace in a world overrun with manipulators. Let us pause for a moment in this joyful Christmas season to give the Pollyanna readers a chance to cluck their tongues and say, "Oh Christine, why so jaded?"

And I do hear you, earnest friends. I, too, want to channel my inner Tiny Tim and say "God Bless us everyone!" and hold hands with the other Whos in Whoville to sing that unintelligible yet classic song "Pha-room, Phoray." But it becomes harder and harder to see the good in a world where there are so many others who are willing to exploit that native compassion for their own benefit.

Yes, the homeless exist and Sister Mary Scullion (who is probably disgusted with the way this Mercy girl turned out) is a saint.

Indeed, there are people who through no fault of their own have lost jobs to downsizing and are finding it harder and harder to make it to the end of the month. And yes, the 47 percent probably do manage to pay taxes, after all. But knowing that there are so many people out there able to impose upon our better angels and then make a mockery of our good will like the big-footed clod in Times Square makes it that much harder to feel empathy, an evanescent thing that can disappear as quickly as it forms in the soul.

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A version of this article appeared in the Dec 11 issue of the Collegiate Times.