17．
A．What accounts for this culture of generosity？
B．This belief is central to the national character．
C．How can a sense of generosity be cultivated？
D．Americans'generosity is rooted in selfless behavior．
E．America's philanthropic nature is not restricted to the rich．
F．The formal practice of philanthropy traces its origin to a Founding Father． |
Charity-Humanity's most kind and generous desire-is a timeless and borderless virtue，dating at least to the dawn of religious teaching．Philanthropy（慈善行为）as we understand it today，however，is a distinctly American phenomenon，inseparable from the nation that shaped it．From colonial leaders to modern billionaires like Buffett，Gates and Zuckerberg，the tradition of giving is woven into the national DNA．（67）F Benjamin Franklin，an icon of individual industry and frugality（节俭）even in his own day，understood that with the privilege of doing well came the price of doing good．When he died in 1790，Franklin thought to future generations，leaving in trust two gifts of 1，000 Ib．of sterling silver-one to the city of Boston，the other to Philadelphia．According to his instruction，a portion of the money could not be used for 200 years．
While Franklin's gifts lay in wait，the tradition he established evolved alongside the young nation．（68）E Often far less famed men and women have played a critical role in philanthropy's evolution．One of my personal heroes is Julius Rosenwald，who helped construct more than 5，300 schools across the segregated（种族隔离）South and opened classroom doors to a generation of African-American students．（69）A The answer is not just to benefit others．Tax reduction，for one，encourages the rich people to give．And philanthropy has long helped improve the public image of everyone from immoral capitalists to the new tech elite．More troubling，however，are the foundational problems that make philanthropy so necessary．Just before his death，Dr．Martin Luther King Jr．wrote，"Philanthropy is praise-worthy，but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary．"
Franklin's gifts represent a broader principle．We are guardians of a public trust，even if our capital came from private enterprise，and our most important obligation is ensuring that the system works more equally and more justly for more people．（70）B America's greatest strength is not the fact of perfection，but rather the act of perfecting．
