Greg Fulton: America the Generous

In watching cable news, reading articles on the internet or listening to certain pundits, you might get the impression that Americans are greedy and selfish people. In fact it’s become good sport for the media periodically to highlight a particular “ugly American” who has shown exceptional greed and been uncaring toward others. While that person may deserve that treatment, it provides a perception to some, especially in other nations, that Americans are like this and that these actions are more pervasive in our country than they really are.

According to a survey by Pew Research several years ago, a majority of the public in Europe view Americans as being selfish and greedy. Many of these countries are the same ones who received aid and assistance from the U.S. in rebuilding their countries after World War II and have also received other aid since.

The idea that Europeans may view us as being greedy and selfish, though, shouldn’t be surprising when that same survey found that 57% of our own citizens agreed with that view.

While many may view us as being selfish, the facts don’t bear this out. In fact, that idea couldn’t be further from the truth.

According to the World Giving Index by the Charities Aid Foundation, America was by far the world’s most generous country over the last decade.

In 2021, Americans gave $485 billion to charity. That’s about 2% of the nation’s GDP, which is a far greater rate than other developed countries. That amount actually exceeds the entire GDP of more than half the countries in Europe.

What may be more impressive about that amount is that over 80% of those contributions came from individual donors. Six out of 10 households contribute to a charity annually, with the average annual donation being over $700.

The fact that many of the donations to charity come from households with moderate incomes further distinguishes Americans from Europeans. On a per capita basis Americans donate around seven times more than Europeans.

Americans are not only generous with their money, but with their time. Compared to most other countries, more Americans volunteer time to aid charitable causes than those in other developed countries. A recent study found 42% of Americans volunteer their time. Further, Americans contribute much more in other ways, such as donating blood and even organs for transplants.

One might wonder how many lives have been saved or improved by the research and other efforts funded by charitable contributions by Americans to the American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, American Heart Association, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the AIDS Foundation and hundreds of other medical charities. The beneficiaries of this research are not only those in our country but others throughout the world.

The concept of Americans perceiving ourselves as being worse people than we are has unfortunately become commonplace. We tend to be more critical of our nation and people while at the same time believing that those in other developed countries are much better, more selfless people. The reality is far different and borne out every day in our country. We instantly rally around our neighbors and others in their time of need. We provide assistance to people we don’t know in our country as well as those in other parts of the world for whom we may have little in common.

We tend to forget that when disaster strikes almost anywhere in the world, the first nation to offer support and help is the U.S. Almost overnight our government as well as charity groups within our country mobilize and begin delivering aid. The U.S. begins to provide food, clothing and medical, logistical and financial support usually by the next day. When we turn on the evening news, we see the U.S. military unloading supplies and rendering assistance while other U.S. aid groups are not far behind. We don’t see the same level of support, if any, from other wealthy nations like China, Kuwait, Qatar or Singapore. Not only does our government send supplies and aid, but we send our people into these areas to help distribute supplies as well as assist in the recovery and the provision of medical and other services.

Can we as a people do better to help those in need? Yes. At the same time, though, let us be thankful and give credit to our fellow citizens who step forward to to support so many worthy causes year in and year out.

Greg Fulton is a New Castle native living in Denver.