A recent report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education revealed that the overwhelming majority (80 percent) of 10,000 high school and middle school youths ranked achieving at a high level and personal happiness above caring for others in importance.
Likewise, the Index of Culture and Opportunity, recently released by The Heritage Foundation, documents a sharp decrease in volunteerism between 2003 and 2013.
The Harvard researchers, noting a concurrent troubling incidence of bullying and the fact that half of the high school students surveyed admitted to cheating on a test, declared that “when youth do not prioritize caring and fairness…they are at greater risk of many forms of harmful behavior, including being cruel, disrespectful, and dishonest.”
The steady decrease in the expression of care does not bode well for the well-being of individuals or society. Volunteering, it turns out, is good not just for those helped but for the helpers as well.
A study from Vanderbilt University found that volunteer work improves happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, and physical health and decreases the likelihood of depression. Research has found that altruistic feelings and behavior are associated with greater well-being, health, and longevity. Likewise, a report issued by the United Health Group found that volunteering was linked to better health, less stress, and a greater sense of purpose.
The decline of volunteerism, charity, and altruism in our nation weakens the “ties that bind.” Nearly two decades ago, noted community-revitalization scholar John McKnight sent up a red flag about the dangers of an emerging “careless society.” In his book by that name, McKnight wrote:
Our problem is weak communities, made even more impotent by our strong service systems. Those relationships formed by consent and manifested as care are at the center of community. And it is the ability of citizens to care that creates strong communities and able democracies.
In his book Falling in Love with America Again, Heritage president Jim DeMint shows how a culture of compassion, altruism, and mutual care—the defining essence of our nation—is still alive in the work of concerned and committed men and women, community organizations, and grassroots groups throughout the country. His message of hope is that the flame of that compassion can be fanned and spread across the nation. It is the effort of these small platoons that will serve as a source of America’s revitalization and, among its citizens, a renewed sense of belonging, connectedness, and love for this country.
