America is the most generous nation on the globe. Sharing time and money on behalf of kindness has a long tradition in the United States, originating with the first settlers fleeing from oppression of freedom and a need to survive in an untamed wilderness.
For French diplomat Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831, the acts of voluntary support and concern for liberty were an inspiration. Journeying to the New World to study America’s prisons, his observations—on this nation’s yearning to be free of tyrannical government that eschewed a permanent class structure and encouraged people to pursue individual goals—inspired him to write Democracy in America, one of the best books written about us and still relevant today.
Of note was the active involvement of citizens to promote a functioning society and the importance of public cooperation to a free society. “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith,” de Tocqueville opined. “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” So, the behaviors of helpfulness carved out of the need for survival and a sense of community in a new land of trees and rivers and wildlife sans shopping centers became American DNA.
During the 19th century, the United States blossomed into a wealthy economy with very wealthy men...the richest in the world then and even today when their fortunes are translated into today’s dollars and cents.
Born in 1839, John D Rockefeller amassed a fortune in oil, became the richest man in the world, and spent the last 40 years of his life creating foundations to give it away. He targeted philanthropy for medical, education, and scientific research. A strong Baptist by age 16, he was giving 6 percent of his income to charity, which increased to 10 percent by age 20. The Rockefeller Foundation was founded in 1913 and continues today to support targeted causes.
Andrew Carnegie, born in 1835, was next to Rockefeller in wealth. He believed that a person’s income should be divided into thirds, devoted to education, making money, and giving it away. To him “...no class is so pitifully wretched as that which possesses money (for money’s sake) and does nothing with it.”
He believed with great wealth comes the social responsibility to help others. An avid reader, he funded the New York Public Library and the library system we have today. He, as did Rockefeller, funded new universities, such as the University of Chicago and Carnegie-Mellon. Writing in 1900 in the Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie stated the noblest use of wealth was “contributing to the enlightenment and the joy of the mind, to the things of spirit, to all...that brings into lives sweetness and light.”
Robert Grimm, Director of the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland, would agree. Aside from great wealth that the vast majority of us do not possess, generosity in volunteering time and contributing dollars to causes is the glue that keeps communities working. Generosity, the quality of being kind, triggers saying yes to needs, taking the risk to help someone or a cause in need. Personal engagement nourishes relationships and is transformative in positive ways for mental and physical health.
Volunteering in America, in a variety of ways to organizations or helping a neighbor or a friend, peaked in 2014 with 8.7 billion hours and a charitable worth of $410 billion. However, according to Grimm, Americans’ contribution rate is steadily declining from the surge in civic spirit after 9/11.
Lower levels of trust reduce engagement with one another and create social isolation that negatively impacts our behavior. China and Russia, for example, are the least generous (sharing of time or money) nations on the globe. They are also nations that shun cooperation, collaboration, and helpfulness. India, with its strict class division, is also among the least charitable.
There are many ways to measure generosity—IRS contributions, continuous Gallup polling, reports from organizations and foundations—but missed are the spontaneous things like the mini contributions to a tip jar for the SPCA, the extra dollar to St Jude’s, the contribution in the Salvation Army bucket at Christmas, or the time spent taking a neighbor to a doctor’s appointment. Overall, however, 58 percent of Americans, even during off-putting times, contributed over $25 to charity; seven in 10 of our citizens helped a neighbor or friend in need; and 40 percent of adults contributed hours of time to a worthy cause.
According to the Charities Aid Foundation, Americans gave 2.1 percent of our GDP, about $410 billion in 2017 to charity, more than the GDP of all but 40 countries in the world. Even with crime and terrorism, people of simple means worldwide still are working to make the world a better place.
In 2012, Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, was inaugurated to celebrate and encourage philanthropy. Last year’s Giving Tuesday raised $380 million through online gifts to the charity of your choice. This year, Giving Tuesday is on December 3rd.
Giving seems to be deeply connected to satisfaction in life. If generosity, unselfishness, kindness, and charitable contributions to the common good is where happiness lies than, as observed by de Tocqueville, protecting our nation’s goodness is key to our nation’s greatness. If everyone contributed an hour of time (worth $25) or donated a dollar, that could accumulate to $327 million (USA population) annually or more. Wow, how would that impact the common good?
On December 3rd, Giving Tuesday, pick and choose how you will celebrate our nation’s goodness. In the world of hard power politics, the example of generosity may be the most powerful and inspiring message America can share with the world community.
“America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”