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Originally posted by Timber Loftis:
But, we do not see it as the purview of our government to feed every hungry mouth and care for every sick person. Here or abroad. It's a government, it's not Jesus Christ. And, to be fair, we like to think that people who are suffering *from certain things, such as hunger or poverty* are the ones to blame because lots of times it's true. We have too many self-made people here who have worked their ass off to want to dole stuff out for free. Free-riders are an injustice, and no less culpable than others who are unjust.
For a personal take on this: As a kid, my father had a dirt floor in his house in Appalaicha. He had no opportunity for college despite good grades, so he went to work at the lowest of the jobs in his company and worked himself up the ladder to an engineer position. From the trailer in a holler he lived in, he sent his son (me) to the best education he could afford, which wasn't much, and he bested his father's income by age 30. It took me until age 31 to best my father's income. We worked through 3 generations to overcome poverty. We don't like giving shit away to those who were too lazy to do what we did.
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No, nobody likes to give to those who will abuse the generosity, and in a perfect world you would be able to give only to those who need it. You can't though, so the issue is wether you are willing to give to all of them or let the "lazy" ones sour your view and deny your aid to the needy.
Government may not be Jesus, but the big man isn't feeding many thousands these days. Governments are the only ones with the resources to make a difference. Bush was voted in by the religious right, maybe he should follow the footsteps and try some miracles of his own.
Quote:
Originally posted by Timber Loftis:
But, with Africa, it's not like there are no rich people. Africa's starvation and other problems are more attributable to the continuing cycle of revolutions and dictatorships than to our failure to send over boats of grain, wouldn't you think?
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This shouldn't stop us sending those boats of grain. many dictatorships come to power in a blood bath or with the promise of stadiums, but many do not. You are justifying your opinion with stereotypes. Even if some take advantage of aid, we should still send it for the benefit of those who do not. I think we can all agree that long term aid and education is what is needed most.
Estimates suggest the total cost of the iraq war will end up somewhere between $150 and $250 billion, just for the US. The G8, by comparison, *managed* to agree to $50 billion dollars in aid. Your country does have its priorities wrong and so does mine. This is what the adverts highlited.
Sometimes I feel that africa would be in far better shape if the empires had never collapsed. They took with them all the skills and people required to run a country, just leaving the more impressive buildings that governments promises are based on. Thank you Roosevelt... Thats just my view though, its far from universal. Que sig.
[ 09-21-2005, 04:12 PM: Message edited by: Melcheor ]