True Compassion Versus Liberal Grandstanding
By Charles Cole (01/03/05)
As we enter 2005 on the heels of the devastating natural disaster in Asia, it might be a good time to reflect on the matter of compassion. Our liberal friends are forever claiming that they “care” about people to a much greater extent than do conservatives, who are often portrayed in the “mainstream” media as being greedy, selfish misers, wholly insensitive to the plight of their fellow humans.
This is another issue on which the facts simply do not corroborate the media’s distortion. Each year the Catalog for Philanthropy publishes a “Generosity Index” which portrays in graphic form the relative generosity of Americans. Average adjusted income of each state’s taxpayers is compared with the average itemized charitable contributions reported by those who itemize their deductions. This comparison produces a ranking of the states into a “generosity index”.
Year after year, these data show the same pattern. The states with very low average incomes rank among the top ten in charitable giving. For example, Mississippi ranks fifth among the states in giving, but last (50th) in average income, resulting in that state’s being ranked number one in generosity. Interestingly, the top six states in average income (Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York and California) all ranked quite low in the generosity index.
A closer look at these rankings reveals some interesting facts, especially in light of the media’s portrayal of the people living in the various states. Residents of the “red states” – those Bush-voting, insensitive boobs and hicks – are often characterized as mean-spirited, callous morons in comparison to the “enlightened”, caring, and compassionate citizens of the “blue states”. As it turns out, the top 25 states on the Generosity Index are all red states! Quite interesting since only 5 red states made the top 20 in income, but all 10 of the poorest states are red! Conversely, the red states claimed 20 of the top 25 spots as to proportional giving, with the compassionate blue states capturing 7 of the bottom 10 spots in that category, including the bottom five.
It turns out that the insensitive, Bible-thumping hicks from states like Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee were rated as the top six states on this year’s Generosity Index, whereas the “enlightened”, caring, benevolent folks in the liberal states of Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire claimed the bottom seven positions on the index.
If this seems counterintuitive, consider for a moment the difference between George W. Bush and that bastion of enlightened empathy, William Jefferson Clinton. One is content to do good for others in a quiet, unassuming manner. The other sprints toward every open microphone to remind us of the monumental achievements of his administration and how he always “felt our pain”.
A comparison of these two men explains much of the disparity in genuine caring and true compassion between the quiet, empathetic members of our society and those who constantly bray about how deeply concerned they are about the plight of others. You see, liberals honestly believe that government is best suited to alleviate pain and suffering, whereas conservatives long ago understood that caring and compassion emanate from the heart of individuals who really do care about their neighbor’s lot in life.
Viewed in this light, it is hardly surprising that the Generosity Index verifies these facts year after year. As President John Adams noted, "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." And the fact is that the enlightened, sophisticated liberals in many of the “blue states” are most generous with other people’s money, but seem a bit less willing to help others by using their own financial resources.
So, next time you see some TV commentator or read some left-leaning opinion editorial column extolling the virtues of the enlightened liberals or excoriating the greed and insensitivity of the evil Republicans of the “religious right”, recall the Generosity Index. Who knows? One day we might even see liberal journalists, leftwing Democrat politicians, and university professors actually cite empirical data rather than hold forth with pompous assertions of their moral superiority as regards helping the poor.
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