To the editor:

North Americans are usually considered among the most generous people on earth. We support our schools, hospitals, churches and other benevolent and philanthropic institutions out of dedication and belief in their value. This assures their survival and effectiveness and preserves the system. We pride ourselves on being a very charitable and generous people.

Still, most of us expect recompense for our generosity. We even expect a tax discount for our contribution to any valid charity.

Yet we are pretty certain that our government, of which we are justifiably proud, would not survive long if it depended solely on the generous free will of its citizens.

On a more individual level, how often does one offer to pick up the tab when eating at a restaurant? Do we usually expect the same person to pay? Is that person appreciated or considered a little naive? Can plain selfishness (or, as the less generous would say, common sense) sometimes be equated with frugality?

Is it just human nature that we are born with a sense of selfishness like a child clutching to his own toys and insisting they are his? Is it true that since we are born with it, we must maintain that stance as long as we live? Or are caring and sharing a part of character which may change with training and maturity?

I have known people who suddenly become generous as they approached death, possibly realizing that material possessions were no longer that important or possibly concerned about their future, a kind of last-minute repentance.

How much do we really care and share? Is the recipient reliable as well as needy? Some seem to be generous on occasions simply to gain attention or acceptance. It isn't always the wealthy who are generous. Sometimes it is just the opposite.

I feel that generosity is a trait which must be developed and cultivated. For some, that would seem unnatural or even impossible. That ancient story of the widow's mite doesn't refer to an insect. There is a difference in perspective between the miser who carefully counts and caresses his cash every night and the person who receives satisfaction from the knowledge that he cares and has shared without undue concern for material gain.

Generosity needs to be taught and learned at an early age.

IVAN NOTHDURFT

Cape Girardeau