By Tara Sonenshine
Compassion comes easily to me.
As the granddaughter of immigrants from Lithuania and Poland who spoke little English, I understand what it’s like to be treated as a stranger in America.
As a journalist, I covered stories of war and trauma in the 1990s, including the crushing of Chinese protests in Tiananmen Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, followed by the Soviet Union’s collapse two years later. I covered the war between Iraq and Iran. I witnessed ethnic strife in South Africa and the toll poverty takes in Mexico.
As a professor of cultural engagement and public diplomacy, I have watched and studied how compassion can help build and strengthen civil society.
And having worked in senior levels of the U.S. government for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama on international conflict resolution, I have learned that compassion is a key ingredient of peacemaking.
Especially now, as President Donald Trump seeks to deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization and to stop funding the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has long spent billions of dollars a year helping the world’s poorest people, compassion seems lacking among U.S. leaders.
Perhaps that all explains my curiosity about a new study on the state of compassion in America – part of the glue that holds communities together.
Defining compassion
Sociologists define compassion as the human regard for the suffering of others, and the notion of using action to alleviate this pain.
The report that caught my eye was issued in January 2025 by the Muhammad Ali Center, which the late boxer co-founded 20 years ago in Louisville, Kentucky, to advance social justice.
As the Ali Center explains, compassion starts with the individual – self-care and personal wellness. It then radiates out to the wider community in the form of action and engagement.
You can see compassion at work in the actions of a Pasadena, California, girl, who started a donation hub for teens affected by fires that ripped through the Los Angeles region in early 2025. She began collecting sports bras, hair ties and fashionable sweaters – helping hundreds of her peers begin to recover from their losses in material and emotional ways.
It’s also visible in the estimated 6.8 million people in the U.S. who donate blood each year, according to the American Red Cross.
Resilience in America
While Ali is best known for his battles in the ring and his outspoken political views, he also helped those in need in the U.S. and other countries through large charitable donations and his participation in United Nations missions to countries like Afghanistan, where he helped deliver millions of meals to hungry people.
The researchers who worked on the Ali Center report interviewed more than 5,000 U.S. adults living in 12 cities in 2024 in order to learn more about the prevalence of compassionate behaviors such as charitable giving, volunteering and assisting others in their recovery from disasters.
They found that the desire to help others still animates many Americans despite the nation’s current polarization and divisive politics.
The center has created an index it calls the “net compassion score.” It approximates the degree to which Americans give their time and money to programs and activities that nurture and strengthen their communities.
Cities with high compassion scores have more community engagement and civic participation than those with low scores. A higher-scoring community performs better when it comes to things like public housing and mental health resources, for example. Its residents report more career opportunities, better communications between local government and citizens, more community programs and more optimism around economic development where they live.
The report provides some clues as to what drives compassionate behavior in a city: a sense of spirituality, good education, decent health care, resources for activities like sports, and opportunities to engage in local politics.
All told, Americans rate their country as a 9 on a scale that runs from minus 100 to 100.
The report also identified some troubling obstacles that stand in the way of what it calls “self-compassion” – meaning how volunteers and donors treat their own mental and physical health. Frequent struggles with self-care can lead to rising levels of isolation and loneliness.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Muhammad Ali Center
Doubting their own capacity
The 2025 Compassion Report’s findings show that many Americans still want to live in a compassionate country but also that Americans view the country as less compassionate today than four years ago.
The report delves into gaps in compassion. About one-third of those interviewed acknowledged that there are groups toward whom they feel less compassionate toward, such as people who have been convicted of crimes, immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization and the rich.
Only 29% said they feel compassion toward everyone.
The report also identifies gender gaps. Despite expressing greater awareness of systemic challenges, the women surveyed reported less self-compassion than men.
It’s not the first compassion study ever done. But I believe that this one is unique due to its focus on specific cities, and how it assessed limits on the compassion some people feel toward certain groups.
Helping health and humanity
The Compassion Institute, another nonprofit, seeks to weave compassion training into health care education to “create a more caring and humanitarian world.” It cites the benefits of compassion for human beings, with everything from reducing stress to alleviating the effects of disease on the mind and body.
Academic institutions, including Stanford University, have conducted many studies on how teaching compassion can guide health care professionals to both treat patients better and achieve better outcomes.
A team of Emory University researchers examined how training people to express more compassion can reduce stress hormones levels, triggering positive brain responses that improve immune responses.
Offering an advantage
Although there are plenty of adorable videos of dogs and cats behaving kindly with each other or their human companions, historically compassion has differentiated humans from animals.
Human beings possess powers of emotional reasoning that give us an edge.
Scholars are still working to discover how much of human compassion is rooted in emotional reasoning. Another factor they’ve identified is the aftermath of trauma. Studies have found evidence that it can increase empathy later on.
You might imagine that in a world of hurt, there’s a deficit of compassion for others. But the Ali Center’s report keeps alive the notion that Americans remain compassionate people who want to help others.
My experiences around the world and within the U.S. have taught me that human beings both have the power to be violent and destructive. But despite it all, there is, within all of us, the innate ability and desire to be compassionate. That is a net positive for our country.
Tara Sonenshine is Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice in Public Diplomacy at Tufts University.
JimboXYZ says
Too many Non-Profits & NGO’s operating under the guise of compassion. With all the charitable work being done by organizations, one has to wonder why the issues continue to persist & get worse both domestically & globally ? Charitable work is a measure of compassion right ? The line was crossed a long time ago for being compassionate vs just a duped fool. Just me, part of the inflation might very well be a forced participation for another’s compassion.That CEO/Corporation that donates/commits resources for a cause, how much of that is the inflation forced upon the consumer ? Money has to come from somewhere ? There are voluntary donations & then there forced thru inflation. One has to ask themselves, when was the last time anyone called you for a donation ? Yet we read about the announcements all the time. USAID ? DOGE uncovered quite a few compassionate causes that many of us were unaware of, that we are paying for every day ? Probably a contributing factor for why eggs cost what they do at the grocery store ?
Deborah Coffey says
A nice try toward moving people into maintaining positivity and hope. But, “All told, Americans rate their country as a 9 on a scale that runs from minus 100 to 100″ is a failing grade…just a tidbit over 50%. Further, you can’t vote for a selfish, vacuous soul like Donald Trump and be a compassionate person, can you? He promoted pure hate…”I am your retribution!”
Jake from state farm says
I respectfully disagree with your premise that the people of the United States are not compassionate. In fact, I believe that the reality of our situation has finally been laid bare. Resources are not infinite, and when it comes to addressing the needs of people, there are difficult choices to be made. At what point do we draw the line between compassion and the practical limitations of the resources we have?
It’s essential to consider that many of our own citizens, including those who have lived here for generations or come here legally, are struggling. They are homeless, sleeping on the streets, and affected by natural disasters with little to no support. Meanwhile, we are sending billions of dollars abroad, often to fund programs that may not directly benefit those in need or contribute to humanitarian relief efforts. This contrast is hard to ignore. While I understand the importance of helping others globally, we cannot ignore the pressing issues faced by our own population. Compassion must begin at home, ensuring that we take care of our own citizens who are suffering before extending aid elsewhere.
The balance between domestic priorities and international generosity is a difficult one, and I believe it’s crucial to rethink how we allocate resources, ensuring that the needs of our own people come first, without sacrificing our humanitarian values.
YankeeExPat says
As our ” Merican” compadres from Texas say
“Hooray for me, and fuck you!”
No wonder the French want Liberty statues back.
Sherry says
AGAIN. . . There are essentially TWO ways to “balance a budget”. Either “Increase Income” OR “Decrease Spending”. Maga never breathes ONE word about “Increasing Income”. . . you know, closing the tax loopholes and requiring “Billionaires” to actually PAY their fair share of taxes! NO, Maga wants more tax breaks, favoring “Billionaires”, so there is even “LESS” income!
Laurel says
I do not see compassion in a man, who was not elected, a billionaire, who dances across the stage joyfully flashing a chainsaw as a demonstration of cutting thousands of jobs of U.S. citizens while the President sits back and smiles approvingly. Where is the compassion cutting Medicaid, cutting child food programs, cutting back on Meals on Wheels, threatening Medicare and Social Security HERE IN THIS COUNTRY?
For Jake from state farm: The whole point of showing compassion around the world is to have the people around the world look at us favorably. It’s diplomacy, that, in the long run, supports us. This planet is not that big, and allies are important. We can afford it. Unfortunately, it’s the oligarchs, who have more money than they know what to do with, who have changed our laws to favor themselves. To move money in their direction. They have the lobbies. They have the power. Not immigrants. Not starving children elsewhere. These folks, like Musk and Trump have no intention of saving the middle class or poor here in our country. Nope, not a bit. Quite the contrary. We saw what makes them smile.
Sherry says
trump’s hostility towards Canada is already having real consequences for the tourism industry. Hummm, doesn’t Florida heavily rely on tourism for like “everything”???
This from NBC March 17, 2025:
Michael Mortensen was looking forward to spending two weeks in Hawaii with his family last month, but his patriotism wouldn’t let him.
The Vancouver-based development consultant and urban planner said he’s refusing to spend money south of the border while President Donald Trump “levies idiotic tariffs and rains chaos” on Americans and Canadians alike.
Mortensen, 58, had budgeted about $10,000 for accommodations, food and entertainment, but he’s now exploring alternative destinations that bypass the U.S. “without even a connection or layover.” He added that he wrote letters to Hawaii’s governor and the state’s tourism board explaining his decision.
Trump’s escalating trade war against America’s closest allies and trade partners isn’t just rattling stock markets and drawing retaliation from Beijing, Brussels and Ottawa. It’s also fueling a backlash among ordinary consumers across the northern border.
Two-thirds of Canadians said they’d significantly reduced their purchases of American products in stores (68%) and online (65%), and 59% said they’re less likely to visit the U.S. this year than in 2024, according to a survey last week by the Canadian market researcher Leger. Some 36% of Canadians with U.S. travel plans said they’d already canceled them.
Jim says
Hey, Jake from state farm says, if I understand you correctly, you’re saying we need to pull back from sending money overseas to help those in need here in the USA. If I got that right, then help all of us out a little bit with what’s going on….
We stop spending money helping those in need in other countries because they are not Americans. So, because we’re really interesting in the USA and making America great again, we’re going to take all that money (.3% of the annual budget) and spend it on needy Americans.
But, wait!! Congress is right now preparing a bill to cut the taxes of the very rich. According to NBC News: “Perhaps the biggest hurdle looming over the package is its trillions of dollars in red ink. Extending Trump’s expiring 2017 tax cuts would cost $4.6 trillion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And that’s before tackling Trump’s other pursuits, like ending taxes on tips and overtime pay.
To get around the problem, Republicans are considering a far-reaching accounting change to hide the deficit impact, known as “current policy baseline,” instead of “current law baseline,” which would treat the cost of making Trump’s tax cuts permanent as $0. Democrats are preparing to fight that with the parliamentarian, the in-house referee overseeing the reconciliation process.”
And, further “In other words, it’s mathematically impossible for Republicans to meet their own budget targets without cutting Medicare or Medicaid. GOP leaders and rank-and-file members have said some Medicaid cuts are on the table, and Johnson frames it as an effort to cut waste and fraud in the program.”
In the meantime, as a little side issue, DOGE continues to rampage through the government, cutting personnel (and, therefore, services) without regard to the impact on citizens.
So, Jake from state farm says, my question to you is how far down do you have to bury your head in the sand in order to not see what is happening right before your very eyes? Trump is NOT pulling USAID money to help anyone in the USA. Trump and Congress are NOT looking at what needs to be done to improve the lives of US citizens. Trump and Musk are deliberately destroying the infrastructure of our government without regard on the impact on citizens. Those are all indisputable facts. All this to free up money to pay themselves off with tax cuts! So please don’t try to blow smoke up our collective posteriors by pretending the demolition of USAID was in any way an opportunity to put more resources into making America great again. We’re just freeing up funds to offset the looming tax cut for the rich at the expense of the rest of us (maybe not you, you might be a 1%er for all I know).
And, ol’ buddy, I find it particularly hypocritical of the “small government/balanced budget” party is busy working to install maybe the most slimy, despicable, underhanded “accounting change” to hide from all of us (at least you and MAGA) the large deficient these fine tax cuts are going to add to our national debt.
I just wish you and all those like you would just look at all the facts and draw your own conclusions. It might shock you guys to compare what Trump and his team say vs. what they actually do and how it impacts most Americans. But, for reasons I just can’t comprehend, it seems preferable to just ignore the hurricane and pretend everything is fine. It’s going to be quite a shock when it blows through and we all see what is left (if anything).
Have a great day. I doubt there are many left…
Sherry says
When I read the title of this article, I almost burst out laughing. After reading it. . . I see it as a pep talk from a professional in diplomacy. I don’t see a lot of statistics provided. While the writer says that many US citizens prefer to live in a compassionate society, I’m left doubtful that most are willing to “provide” that compassion. Sure, who wouldn’t want to “receive” a little compassion, understanding and support during our life’s challenges.
I simply do not believe that those who voted for a man who mocked a disabled person are filled with empathy and compassion for others. An administration hell bent on slashing social programs that feed and provides some amount of health care for the poor is NOT compassionate! Those responsible for firing veterans who gave so much of themselves and their lives to keep us all safe are NOT compassionate! Those of you who still support President Musk, DOGE and sycophants trump and killer putin are NOT compassionate!
OOPS! Broke those “rose colored” glasses!
JimboXYZ says
Reading other’s comments, some valid points, then again, the transparency of what DOGE is uncovering for fraud & abuse. One needs to look no further than Stacey Abrams and the spending Biden-Harris dumped into NGO’s that really weren’t capable of even the guises of compassion they were created for for that level of budget that was bestowed upon them. That woman in Jacksonville, FL, Corrine Brown, the cost of those types of felonies impact other programs. Jut do a Google search on the subject of BLM Fraud & Abuse. Blaming Trump & Musk for uncovering similar is pathetic. They’re merely exposing what 4 years of Biden-Harris have been doing, a lifetime of what the DC Swamp has ever done. Pick your POTUS, regardless of party. The Clinton Foundation amazing they still claim to be helping Haiti economically. Imagine being that ineffective that Haitians are leaving their country for the USA. Pro Clinton types would call that compassion, the actual results suggest it’s an off-shore Ponzi Scheme of compassion ? The Biden-Harris types need to own what their heroes did. When was the last time any POTUS ever issued blanket pardons to preclude themselves, family, cronies across the board. We can go back Reagan & Bush. Both of them responsible for US military base closures domestically & globally.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrine_Brown#Felony_fraud_conviction
Jake from state farm says
@Laurel – I know this might come as a surprise, but the reality is that it’s not so much that other countries look at us with admiration. Instead, they’re laughing at us behind our backs. They’re taking advantage of our goodwill, our generosity, and our compassion. We’re essentially subsidizing them by shouldering a disproportionate amount of the global burden. Liberals often point to the “free healthcare” that European countries provide, but here’s the truth—nothing is free. The taxes they pay are far higher than ours, and even with that, the healthcare system is far from perfect. Long wait times, underfunded services, and less-than-optimal care are common complaints.
But when it comes to our alliances, the situation is even worse. Our so-called “allies” have been freeloading off us for years, not paying their fair share for their own defense. And then you say, “We can afford it”? Are we really supposed to keep footing the bill while we have our own people struggling? Why aren’t we prioritizing our homeless, or those devastated by natural disasters? Our focus should be on addressing these urgent issues right here at home before we continue to pour resources into others who aren’t doing their part.
Where is your compassion for your own countrymen and women?
JimboXYZ says
Sherry made some very good points.
“AGAIN. . . There are essentially TWO ways to “balance a budget”. Either “Increase Income” OR “Decrease Spending”. Maga never breathes ONE word about “Increasing Income”. . . you know, closing the tax loopholes and requiring “Billionaires” to actually PAY their fair share of taxes! NO, Maga wants more tax breaks, favoring “Billionaires”, so there is even “LESS” income!”
Let’s see, minimum wage doubled or was on some plan to get to $ 15/hour after the Nov 2020 election. What happened Bidenomics of hyper inflation. Seems it was easier for the wealthy corporations to raise prices on groceries, cars & housing than it was the wages & salaries of anyone that works in a value added capacity. As $ 7.35/hour wasn’t buying new homes & cars, $ 15/hour wasn’t either. The Bidenomics of the hyper inflation, create recipient culture for food, housing, healthcare (premiums). Had prices remained thwe same, a wealth gap for the poorest would’ve narrowed somewhat. End of the day, another 4 years of relative stagnant wage growth that increased the wealth gap. All raising (inflating) incomes did was inflate the CPI. We have 4 years of that data that confirm that. The wealthiest couldn’t let the poorest & middle class keep their economic stimulus of a minimum wage increase. Palm Coast, FL, Eggs $ 1.20/dozen under Trump-Pence, $ 5.50+/dozen under Biden-Harris.
As for the tax loopholes ? Name a millionaire that didn’t pay his taxes and got pardoned by his father for it. Who is paying a talentless drug addict like Hunter Biden millions to dodge his taxes and get zero punishment ? As Biden once said, “He wants you to be successful & pay your fair share of taxes.” Obviously that doesn’t apply to anyone named Biden ? Hunter was a rock star, drugs, a life of debuachery, only there wasn’t any productivity that one gets from rock stars for iconic music. Hunter was essentially a crack head making millions of dollars for no vale added to society. Oh, he was employing prostitutes & keeping the illegal drug dealers well paid for their trades. The source of his hobbies are everything the Cartels have brought across the border. What a guy, what a family of Delaware Capitalists ? I think it’s safe to say there aren’t many that aren’t appalled by Epstein Island. From that perspective, how is Hunter Biden that much different than Epstein ? Maybe Hunter wasn’t the one trafficking human sex workers, but he certainly was doing his best to support the same lifestyle anyway that he could as an end consumer ? Hunter Biden could easily be one of the sex offenders/predators in a FCSO weekend sting operation ? That’s if he wasn’t above the law, like any USA citizen. Joe had a POTUS pardon in his hip pocket for that, made it all go away. The wiki paints a bleak picture, he isn’t homeless, Joe will take care of him, just like he did with the pardon. And talk about a fella waiting for his father to pass away & leave an inheritance ? More details on him in the wiki. Imagine having that much “white privilege” & ending up like Hunter Biden. He generally embodies the excesses of the Democrat party from the Clintons => present Bidens ? So when a Diane Roberts article asks if the Democratic party can get it’s act together ? That’s the DNC act, it was together. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen in the Republican party either, but nothing like we’re seeing exposed by DOGE. Musk in that regard, he’s not playing favorites, the exposures are what they are, the principals involved in the incompetence, the fraud & abuse are who they are, registered party voters as they are for that choice. And they run in the same circles with each other.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Biden#Later_life
Laurel says
Jake from state farm: Do you really believe that cutting social programs, here in the U.S., will benefit people who need social programs, or people who paid into social programs all their working lives? Do you believe that Musk, a billionaire citizen of three countries, is dancing across the stage with a chainsaw boasting that he is cutting tens of thousands of jobs of U.S. citizens, while our President smiles approvingly, who may lose their homes and healthcare, including veterans, as compassionate? You believe that tax cuts for the wealthy is to help homeless people?
Seriously? Tell me how that budget works, because Trump ain’t telling us, and Nobel Laureate economists disagree. Please explain. Draw it out on a dry erase board for us all to see.
Sherry says
AGAIN. . . Billionaires (both Republicans and Democrats) DO NOT pay their fair share of taxes:
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Secret IRS Files is an ongoing reporting project.
2007, Jeff Bezos, then a multi-billionaire and now the world’s richest man, did not pay a penny in federal income taxes. He achieved the feat again in 2011. In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes.
Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row.
Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can — perfectly legally — pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year.
Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, amassing little wealth and paying the federal government a percentage of their income that rises if they earn more. The confidential tax records obtained by ProPublica show that the ultrarich effectively sidestep this system.
NO COMPASSION FROM MAGA: Yet, there is no denying that trump’s DOGE . . . headed up my elon musk (one of those “Billionaire Tax Dodgers”) is taking a “chainsaw” to programs that assist the poorest US citizens! Meanwhile, trump wants to continue “tax breaks” for himself and his Billionaire friends!
Sherry says
Meanwhile. . . Let’s see some of that acclaimed Maga Compassion in action. Get those lazy teenagers out of bed on school nights and put them to work at the “really crappy jobs at really crappy pay”! You know, the jobs that only migrants would do. . . slaughter houses are fun, right? It doesn’t matter. . . those jobs are only for the poor (likely black) kids anyway! Right Maga? Right?
Take a good read:
Florida has been working for years to crack down on employers that hire undocumented immigrants. But that presented a problem for businesses in the state that are desperate for workers to fill low-wage and often undesirable jobs.
Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state legislature have a potential solution: children.
The state’s legislature on Tuesday is set to debate a bill that would loosen child labor laws, allowing children as young as 14 years old to work overnight shifts. If the new law is passed, teenagers would be able to work overnight jobs on school days. They are currently prevented from working earlier than 6:30 am or later than 11:00 pm per state law.
Nancy N says
A bunch of commenters are parroting the GOP talking point about immigrants and overseas aid taking away from services for people here. But I’d like to remind those commenters that at the same time that Republicans are using Americans (especially veterans) as their excuse of where the money they are cutting could be better used…they are also cutting the programs at the VA, Medicaid, Social Security services and other things that help our nation’s most vulnerable. Because this really isn’t about helping “Americans”. It’s about being able to meet their balanced budget promises they ran on, while continuing the tax cuts for their wealthy friends. They are literally taking medical care away from poor people and veterans to fund tax cuts for the rich. THAT is what this is about. It has nothing to do with “helping Americans” – unless you are part of the 1%.