If you’re feeling downhearted about the fate of humanity, the increasing rancor of partisan political discourse, the rise in bigotry, hatred and the general malaise caused by cynicism and despair, take a second and reflect on this number: 3.1 billion.
This past week, following the gluttony of Thanksgiving, and the shopping frenzy of Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday and Cyber Monday, Americans dug deep and gave a record $3.1 billion to charitable causes throughout the U.S. during Giving Tuesday.
Giving Tuesday started out a decade ago as little more than internet hashtag, and tapped into something that has been under the surface for a lot longer than that—the basic goodness and generosity of people.
Giving on that day increased about 15 percent from 2021’s figure of $2.7 billion, outpacing inflation. Inflationary concerns, one would think, would have resulted in a drop in charitable donations, as families have had to cut back on everything else as groceries, gas and housing costs conti...