Compassionate Conservatism Exposed

Batten down the hatches, Conservatives. Professor Arthur C. Brooks has heavily researched and documented a book that exposes the actual walk that has been produced by the 'Compassionate Conservatism' talk. I'm just glad that it is not due for release until after the mid-term elections. Being occasionally an honest sort, I feel that I still must get it onto Grandpa John's presses and work from there.

(Frank Brieaddy's article from The Post Standard of Syracuse could not be found on the given link. It is reprinted here on Commonsense & Wonder.)

Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks' book, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism", is due to be released by Basic Books on November 24. Brooks was named director of nonprofit studies in 2003 for Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Snippets:

"“These are not the sort of conclusions I ever thought I would reach when I started looking at charitable giving in graduate school, 10 years ago,” he writes in the introduction. “I have to admit I probably would have hated what I have to say in this book.”"

"The child of academics, raised in a liberal household and educated in the liberal arts, Brooks has written a book that concludes religious conservatives donate far more money than secular liberals to all sorts of charitable activities, irrespective of income."

"In the book, to be released next month, he cites extensive data analysis to demonstrate that values advocated by conservatives — from church attendance to two-parent families to the Protestant work ethic and a distaste for government-funded social services — make conservatives more generous than liberals."

"When it comes to helping the needy, he writes: “For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous members of American society. Although they usually give less to charity, they have nevertheless lambasted conservatives for their callousness in the face of social injustice.”"

"The book’s basic findings are that conservatives who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution are the most generous Americans, by any measure."

"Conversely, secular liberals who believe fervently in government entitlement programs give far less to charity. They want everyone’s tax dollars to support charitable causes and are reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when governments don’t provide them with enough money."

"Harvey Mansfield, professor of government at Harvard University and 2004 recipient of the National Humanities Medal, does not know Brooks personally but has read the book."

"“His main finding is quite startling, that the people who talk the most about caring actually fork over the least,” he said. says. “But beyond this finding I thought his analysis was extremely good, especially for an economist. He thinks very well about the reason for this and reflects about politics and morals in a way most economists do their best to avoid.”"

We religious and Compassionate Conservatives have to do more than just giving from our own pockets. How selfish! We must demand that the Local, State, and Federal Governments extract more from everyone's wallets in order to see true compassion come to fruition.