Moral Responsibilty: A Flaw In Singer's Argument

          While I do agree with most of Singer’s Argument I believe that he does not adequately explain how his argument that we have no justification for discriminating on geographical grounds is sound. He states that “it makes no moral difference whether the person I can help is a neighbor’s child ten yards from or a Bengali whose name I shall never know, ten thousand miles away”-Singer. After a brief consultation with Richard Schulz I began disagreeing to this statement because your proximity and distance, while existing on a geographical level, can also exist on a moral level. This moral level would be the moral responsibility that one has to a loved one over a stranger. I argue that his example of the little girl that needs saving was well argued, but only under the terms he specified in his example.  I believe that if two girls were to be in distress and the savior had a strong relationship with only one of the girls, then the girl who the savior feels closer to and as a result more morally responsible for would receive the help first.  This disrupts Singer’s argument for the Bengal relief fund because people can be both physically and mentally removed from this situation. If one were to be mentally removed and care more for another charity that is more morally important to them then they can choose to not give to any other charity but the charity they choose. This charity, I add, can be geographically close or far, but regardless there is a choice of one over another. One may argue that you are still giving thus his argument still holds true, but I would disagree because one could use this excuse to give to charity that may not necessarily be on the same level of charity as another and that means that your amount of giving is also different in magnitude and meaning. I believe that when people are geographically removed from a situation they are sometimes emotionally and morally removed as well. Thus a closer situation that directly connects to them is the situation that they would give their support and charity to.