How Well are Americans 'Loving Thy Neighbor'?

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, June 21, 2007

A new survey recently measured how well Americans follow the biblical mandate to "love thy neighbor."

And nearly two thirds of survey respondents said they received at least one selfless act of kindness in the past year, according to the June survey conducted by Gimundo, a "good news" supplement. One third said they couldn't recall receiving any selfless good deeds.

Survey results showed that in the past year, 41 percent of respondents report they were given a shoulder to cry or were comforted in a time of need; 21 percent were helped with car trouble; 21 percent said someone bought something they needed but couldn't afford; 1 percent report someone saved their life; and more than 38 percent said they were surprised with a good deed not mentioned in the survey.

Women were most likely to receive good deeds than men. Fifty-two percent said they received comfort and 46 percent said they were surprised with a selfless act not mentioned in the survey compared to 30 percent of men in both categories. Forty-four percent of men said they couldn't recall receiving any specific good deeds.

Although the majority of people were on the receiving end of a selfless act, Keith Cohn, CEO of Gimundo, noted there's still a need to encourage more acts of goodness.

"It's great to be reminded that people are indeed committing selfless acts of kindness and generosity," he said in the report. "But there's still that fairly large group of people who either don't remember – or truly did not receive – a specific act of thoughtfulness. To me, that points out the need for us to share our stories of goodness with each other – either to inspire others to action, or simply to celebrate the good."

Among other key survey findings: those in the oldest age group were most likely to say they can't recall any good deed over the past year (52 percent) while only 17 percent of those who are 18-24 years of age said the same. Married respondents were also more likely than single adults to say they can't recall receiving selfless good deeds (42 percent vs. 25 percent).

The nationwide survey of 1,000 adults was conducted to mark National Good News Day on Thursday. Gimundo made the declaration for June 21, the first day of summer, to draw attention to the good news stories that exist amid constant media reports that focus on "the most salacious, violent, and awful aspects of human behavior," according to Gimundo founders Keith Cohn and Chris Chase.

Gimundo was founded less than two months ago not to replace the news but to celebrate positive events and human achievement and provide the public with a break from the negativity conveyed in news reports.