noblesse oblige

1. noblesse oblige

   phrase of noblesse

   1. 1.

      the inferred responsibility of privileged people to act with generosity and nobility toward those less privileged.

      "there was to being a celebrity a certain element of noblesse oblige"

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   Translations, word origin, and more definitions

Noblesse oblige - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noblesse_oblige

Wikipedia

Noblesse oblige is a French phrase literally meaning "obligation of Nobility". It is the concept that nobility extends beyond mere entitlements and requires the ...

Noblesse oblige - Merriam-Webster Online

www.merriam-webster.com/.../noblesse%20oblige

Merriam‑Webster

the idea that people who have high social rank or wealth should be helpful and generous to people of lower rank or to people who are poor. Did you know these ...

Noblesse oblige | Define Noblesse oblige at Dictionary.com

dictionary.reference.com/browse/noblesse+oblige

Dictionary.com

Noblesse oblige definition, the moral obligation of those of high birth, powerful social position, etc., to act with honor, kindliness, generosity, etc. See more.

noblesse oblige - The Free Dictionary

www.thefreedictionary.com/noblesse+oblige

Benevolent, honorable behavior considered to be the responsibility of persons of high birth or rank. [French, nobility is an obligation : noblesse, nobility + oblige, .

Noblesse Oblige something I believe in. Some say affluent people help others out of guilt.

I don't agree with this statement personally. I wasn't raised rich. I was raised lower middle class and then Middle Class. So, I have a white collar mind and blue collar emotions a lot.

However, as time goes on my point of view keeps evolving with what I learn in my life.

My point of view on this is this. I was really grateful when people helped me in my life.

One of the reasons I like the idea of Noblesse Oblige is it is one of the reason why my life went as well as it has. I would have died on many different occasions if people hadn't stepped up to the plate to help me in one way or another. 

You don't have to help people with money. You can just help people by saying what you know they need to hear at difficult times in their lives. You can talk people out of killing themselves(or others). You can do all sorts of helpful things to help people's lives work.

Is this infallible? No. Many ways you try to help will fail. But, if you learn from your mistakes when you help people you will learn to get better at it like I have. And as you learn you will help others in the ways you were helped and pay if forward like I do.

I like to tell the story of a cold winter morning when I lived very very remote with my family. The fan belt had broken on my 1976 VW Rabbit before I bought my 1974 International Harvester SCout II (the best off road vehicle I have ever owned for getting literally anywhere).

This fan belt breaking basically broke my car in a way that driving it would have completely destroyed the engine. And I couldn't have afforded that at the time.

I was really scared because I thought my kids might freeze to death because we were miles from any help and there were no cell phones then at all in the early 1980s. So, I was scared not about my own safety but how was I going to save my kids who were then 5, 6 and 8 years old in that much cold and wind and snow?

My wife and I might walk miles back to our house in that much cold but could our kids do that too.

Finally, a lone pickup truck came down the road and stopped. It had Alaska Plates and a man got out and said, "What's wrong?" I told him my sad story and he saw my predicament immediately and said, "I think I have a fan belt that size behind my drivers seat in my pickup. So, he proceeded to put on that fan belt with his own tools. 5 minutes later he had the new one installed and I was amazed. I asked him how much I owed him and he said, "I live in Alaska. If we didn't help each other none of us would survive up there. Just help the next person you see that needs help." So, I did.




To me, this is what Noblesse oblige is all about. It is less about being rich and more about just helping the people you see need help when you can. 

It's not about not helping your own family. You have to help your own family and friends first. But, if you can, help those who need help too. Just be practical and kind. That to me is what Noblesse Oblige is all about.