Emotional charity

At a time like now it is hard to give advice on anything, but I would like to thank Canada for their offer of help. I wrote whole big thing about how the rest of the world doesn’t help us when we need it. However after thinking about it, I deleted it, since we don’t really want/need their help, and they know that, but it is still polite to offer.
As gas prices creep above $3 and in some places there are shortages, charity will start to take a back seat and bickering and back biting will become more common. First I remind you that for once charity will actually benefit Americans, so think of others. I personally don’t believe in just giving money since after the charity takes its cut there is often little left. Call me a jerk or cheap but I believe charity is in the small things you do, to help those around you. I have noticed over the past few years that there is a pall over people resulting from the fear of uncertain time that is just under the surface which is making people kind of miserable (like a cold you just can’t shake, so you don't remember what well feels like.)
Misery is self reinforcing and contagious, and if people lose hope it can really take hold and deepen. However, if you can show a person that humanity remains in the world at large, they are more likely to hold on to that hope. How do you do that? Do small things, for the people who need it the most. So, if you can give a dollar either to the picture of the person starving on the jar or to the minimum wage single mother in front of you in the grocery store line who is trying to buy milk for her baby but is a dollar short then there is no contest. It need not even involve money, simply showing unasked for kindness can work. Run ahead and hold the door for someone with their hands full, or when you walk around in market (or any where else) have a smile on your face, make eye contact and smile at people (a real smile, not a silly or scary smile). I believe this concept was once called… manners?
We affect others more than we realize, so our emotions can transfer to other people. (While I believe women are more in tune with transmitted emotion in general they internalize it more, men are more prone to picking up the negative (like anger) since we have a more aggressive nature in general and transmitting it to others.) So, we deepen the pall without realizing it for example if you don’t even acknowledge or make eye contact with the checkout person at the market that has only a minor effect but it is negative and additive and it has a negative effect on you and the other after you too. However, look them in the eye and talk to them, joke with them, thank them for their efforts, say have a nice day, the effect is positive and spreads because they aren’t as cold to future customers. Some people have infectious personalities, however these people can be positive or negative since they can suck the joy from those around them, or light up the room. I am not the most up beat person, but even I can make people happy and smile since I will talk to damn near anyone, and that is positive human contact. If I don’t have anything nice to say I try to be an amusing downer, since I can at least minimize the damage.
What is the point? The point is uncertainty is here to stay, so we will have bear it, but we will fair much better if we grin and bear it. Help when you can, you can affect people more than you know, and perhaps we can remember what "well" feels like!