Russians` good deeds
It is difficult to imagine a society where people are not willing, even rarely, to commit good deeds, including for those they don?t know personally.
The semantics of the notion "good deed" are obviously subject to change over different epochs and countries. Yet one thing probably remains intact: a good deed is something which nobody is compelled to do, but which is considered right according to the social morals.
What kind of action is thought to be a good deed in today?s Russia? When answering an open-ended question on the matter, many respondents defined it not only as an action dictated by concern for others ("if someone else feels better because of these actions" - 33% of responses), but also out of mutual respect and mercy ("when people respect each other, they behave worthily"; "a good heart - the main thing is to love people" - 8% of responses). Some people said that good deeds are done "according to one?s conscience" (1%).
Among specific instances of good deeds given by poll participants, we find helping those in need (the poor, sick and hungry - 8%), the elderly (6%), care for children (6%), and people who are in trouble (3%). Respondents mentioned everyday actions such as bringing someone water, helping them cross a street, giving money to beggars, and major acts such as adopting a child, helping an orphanage, and collecting money to treat sick people. Some people also mentioned charities and patronage of art and literature (3%).
Let us examine several nuances clearly visible in the respondents? answers.
First, most people talk of good deeds as doing something for a stranger. Very few people mentioned actions with regards to a relative.
Second, respondents usually spoke of a good deed as being an action committed by common members of society. When answering a closed-ended question: "Some people think that good deeds are done by special people. Others think that good deeds can be done by anybody. Which of these two opinions do you agree with?", the vast majority (84%) expressed the second opinion, while only 12% agreed with the first one.
Thirdly, the poll participants implied that disinterestedness and unselfishness were necessarily part of a "good deed" (some stressed it directly: "a disinterested, wholehearted action for someone else?s sake"; "when something is done without asking anything in return" - 6% of answers). By the way, there is a predominant opinion among respondents that it is unworthy to tell others about one?s own good deeds. 60% of respondents hold this view, while half as many (28%) think it is appropriate to tell others about one?s good deeds.
Only 6% of respondents say that no one has ever done anything good for them, while most of those who have experienced good deeds from other people say it has happened often (54%, opposed to 36% who say it has happened rarely). People say these good deeds were done by their relatives (17%), strangers (16%), or both relatives and strangers (59%).
However, respondents generally perceive the surrounding world as an angry one: most (77%) think that people rarely do good deeds these days (only 16% think they are often done). The opinion that there are more bad people in our country strongly prevails: 54%, vs. 30% who say there are more good people.
FOM
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