not one damn dime day
OK, if you checked the link, you'll see Not One Damn Dime Day most likely is an ineffective form of protest. I don't care: it still makes a point. Couple it with Rob Rogers' editorial cartoon in today's paper (which beautifully sums all up as he so often does): Two men are standing on a corner. One holds a sign saying "Tsunami Relief, Please Give." The other man is George Bush, holding a sign saying "Need $40 million for a party, please give."
It is OBSCENE that a standing president is spending 40 million dollars on his inaugural festivities when soldiers are doing without body armor and other protection in Iraq (let alone being in Iraq at all, but I digress...), people whose lives were swept away by tsunami waters are doing without clean water, necessary drugs, clothing and food, or a chance to begin rebuilding their lives, thousands of people in this country have no or inadequate health insurance, children in this country go to bed hungry every night, people in Third World countries are still dying of malaria and measles and cholera - perfectly preventable diseases that have been all but obliterated in this country. The list could - and does - go on and on and on. Aren't there a gazillion better things to spend that money on than a giant party? (as an pertinent aside, see Dennis Roddy's column from Sunday's Pst Gazette about our responsibilities during "normal times" to the needy of this world.
Do I ever really wonder why the Islamic extremists and other more moderate people in the rest of the world hate America? Not for one blessed minute. Sometimes I hate us.
posted by BabelBabe @ 9:23 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Was it in the PG that I read the article about how people are being so generous in giving to the tsunami relief because a.) it's so visual (as opposed to China, whose resistance to news coverage caused an earthquake that was twice as deadly as the tsunami to pretty much slip under western radar) and b.) it's a natural disaster: No one is at fault. No one's religious beliefs are in evidence. No one's sexuality is in evidence.
It's a no-brainer for EVERYONE to be able to help these people.
What does that say about us? Anything?
I'm proud to announce that my mother has contacted the Brother's Brother Foundation to see if she can get involved with the disaster relief (she's a nurse and wants to GO). I'm hopeful that she's not too old for consideration. I'd love to see her get to do something she feels so compelled to do. My dad isn't thrilled, but I think it's GREAT!
I hope she can go. I am really impressed. If there's anything we can do to help (if she needs funding or whatever, let us know.) At least she's something useful like a nurse; how useful could a librarian be? : )
I heard a woman on NPR yesterday maintain that the tsunami was punishment from God, and the babies and children and seemingly-innocent people who have died in it were being punished for something they did previously or will do in a forthcoming incarnation. I was truly surprised to hear someone who said she was Buddhist to subscribe to such an unforgiving theory. I think we all tend to think of Buddhists as calm and peaceful and all that good-vibes stuff. Huh. The rabbi on the program maintained that God does not micromanage the universe. So human-caused tragedies like terrorist attacks occur because God has given us free will, but natural disasters happen because God doesn't micromanage. Huh. Not sure I buy that one either.
Can't it just be an awful thing that happened to very unfortunate people? I personally don't really find the need to go deeper than that; I'd rather focus on how to help the surviving. Maybe I am philosophically or spiritually destitute.
Let us not forget, against the backdrop of our tsunami donations as a percentage of GDP and W's big party weekend, that this is an administration that sent our troops to war and then gave us a tax cut at home. Priorities, sacrifice, and economic reality do not seem to be our leadership's strong suits of late. I'm so glad they are moving on to more trivial things lately - like the tax system and social security.
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