Giving

Equating giving with money is an unfortunate trend in American culture. The corporate non-profit has made a business out of generosity. Generosity is not a business. Generosity at its best is a quality of human intellect placed in action on a moment-by-moment basis by the individual. 

Rudeness and aggression are becoming the currency of routine urban interactions. Passengers push past each other at subway doors. Customers routinely cut into lines at check-outs. Eye contact and verbal acknowledgment between strangers is becoming rare. These are symptoms of a sick society. 

Evangelical religion has become a powerful force in American culture, but its influence has not been felt in positive ways on the street. It seems the nihilism of Communist China has a greater influence through its control of money and commerce. The fabric of American society is torn. There is no positive civic identity. 

Giving in this environment can require some courage. It often entails setting an example at the door of a subway car by creating a physical dam against the flood of rushing people to allow a handicapped or elderly person the exit the car. It means opening the door for someone who seems encumbered in some way. It means paying attention on an urban sidewalk and offering help to someone who appears confused or lost. 

In ongoing personal relationships, giving often entails silence. Listening without comment can be a form of giving. Swallowing initial defensiveness or anger to allow someone to explain their behavior or speech can be a form of giving. Accepting criticism is a form of giving. Offering honesty, however unpleasant, is also a form of giving at times. 

Compassion is an acquired skill as well as a humanist value. It develops with routine generosity and attention to the lives of others. Humanist practice, as I perceive it, is the acquiring of the skills of thoughtfulness and compassion. Being a gift to my environment is the best I can do to improve it.