In Deed and In Truth

First the creative fiction, and then the cold, hard facts:

Creative Fiction (as displayed upon the bumpers of liberals): “Better a Bleeding Heart Than None at All,” “The Moral High Ground is Built Upon Compassion,” “Arms Are For Hugging,” “Jesus is a Liberal,” “God Wants Spiritual Fruits, Not Religious Nuts,” “The Road to Hell is Paved With Republicans,” “Republicans Are People Too – Mean, Selfish, Greedy People” and so on. You get the idea.

Now, for the cold, hard facts about conservatives (as noted in “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism”, by Arthur C. Brooks):

* Although liberal family incomes average 6% higher than those of conservative families, conservative headed households give, on average, 30% more to charity than the average liberal headed household.

* Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

* Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George Bush.

* Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.

* People who reject the idea that “government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality” give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.

* In 2000, Vice President Al Gore gave 0.2% of his family income (one seventh of the average of donating households) while remaining steadfastly committed to giving our money (via taxes) to collectively support those he declined to support personally.

As always, it’s much better to actually do good than to merely talk about it. As St. John put it, “My little children, let us not love in word (or bumper-stickers for that matter), neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”