Aid for Haiti - An interesting connection with FMCA

[Chunkybeastracin@aol.com]

That is some good information. I know most of us are willing to tip our waiter or waitress for a good meal but usually don't take the trouble to make donations where needed (myself included).

[jetenburn@hotmail.com]

I will probably get flamed for this post but here goes. I really do not want replies to this, I just had to state my opinion. All I have heard for weeks is support Haiti. Why is it that when anything happens in a foreign country the good old USA is always the first to jump on the band wagon and commit millions of dollars in aid BUT we have folks right here that have no jobs, no income, no homes and the good old USA seems to turn a deaf ear? Makes no sense to me. I am more interested in helping folks right here in our country than I am in helping anyone in Haiti. As a veteran, I fought for this country and continue to support it. I did not sign up to fight for or support Haiti. I can only be loyal to my own country. Sorry if I offend anyone but this is my opinion.

[tbutler]

Jim,

You say you want no replies to your post but you pose a question and I will try to answer that question.

First, nobody gets flamed on this web site. Well, almost nobody. Like you, I am a veteran and like you I feel very strongly about those in need in our own country. I have spent a career in education, doing my best to help children learn to be better citizens, better learners and better workers to support their future families. During that time I have contributed to many organizations that support those in need in this country. I don't see the issue as an either/or situation. I see hundreds of thousands of dead in Haiti, about 100 dead for every person who died in the attacks on September 11, 2001. I see those dead in a country that is one of the poorest countries in the world and I know that there is no way they can support themselves or recover from such a tragedy. Without help, hundreds of thousands of others will certainly die. To fail to help them is to invite further tragedy and human misery on a scale that even the poorest people in this country can not imagine. Just as you feel an obligation to help those around you who are in difficulty because of lost jobs and homes, the richest nation on earth is obligated to help those throughout the rest of the world who are poor and destitute.

"From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded." (Luke 12:48)

Despite our current difficulties in this country, all of us here in the United States of America are still among those to whom much has been given. My service in Viet Nam and visits to other third world countries and travels in Europe have clearly shown me how much we have been given. I think it is important to help those in need wherever they live. We are in many cases the only country capable of giving the aid necessary.

What is important is that each of us helps those in need of help in accordance with our conscience and ability.