r/askanything • u/SignificantCrow • 9h ago

Political Question Are Republicans inherently selfish?

Not referring to every individual obviously but as a whole, compared to democrats/independents they seem to really only care about themselves or their immediate family and pretty much have a “f**k em” attitude towards literally everyone else. Does anyone else feel this way?

This would explain why so many are against social policies but have no issue dumping much more money into the military instead, for example.

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u/2guns1holster 9h ago

So, why do tax returns show that Republicans overwhelmingly donate more to charities and churches than Democrats?

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u/ThrowAway3000Delux 9h ago

Because they confuse tithing with charity. Giving to churches isn't charity.

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u/HuntedByAll 8h ago

Even if that were the case, it isn't like you are actually refuting anything. The point is that they are donating their money, which is the furthest thing from being selfish. It doesn't make a different who they are donating that money to.

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u/dgc137 7h ago

Donation to your local church which you attend on a regular basis and which uses that money on community resources (facilities, events, celebrations, social services like daycare, etc.) that you directly benefit from is not the same as charity.

Yes, many churches use a portion of their donations for charitable work, but most churches use the bulk of donations for their own operational costs. Some churches are very focused on spending their money only in their own congregation. The most well intentioned churches often find their budgets dominated by operations and struggle to fund things like missions. My parents are their (small, Baptist) church's treasurers and estimate that about 10-15% of their revenue ends up in the charity bucket.

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u/Barnabas_77 6h ago

I wish I'd read this before I answered your question on my post, it would have helped me understand your question better. It wouldn't have changed the numbers, but I think I could have given a better answer

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u/hardplay2118 4h ago

It is the definition of charity, giving to an stablished church.

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u/dgc137 2h ago

While you are correct by the legal tax status definition of charity, the common definition of the word as "giving to those in need" is not well met by a lot of churches.