How Do You Spell Relief?

I want to start this post first by extending my extreme condolences to the people in Southeast Asia, India, and Africa concerning the devastating tsunami that hit the area. This has been the worst disaster that has befallen the world in recent times, and my heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to all those that have been affected in its wake. The outpouring of support for those people from around the world has been anything less than remarkable.

That being said, I have recently been disgusted at some of the recent articles that I have read in the days and weeks after the event. I read one article that actually stated that the U.N., in all of its benevolence, demanded that the United States send its money now. I understand that those islands hit by the tsunami are in desperate need of financial means, but where does the U.N. get off demanding anything? And I hope that if the U.N. were sending demands, they went to other member nations as well. The problem is, gathering as much money as the U.S. plans to send, it takes time to get it together. Couple that with the fact that we have sent much more than just money, and the demand from the U.N. proves again how much power the U.N. has lost in recent years. It is a desperate act from a desperate organization.

Then, just days later, MSN runs a article questioning whether America is as generous as it claims to be. The article Foreign aid: Is the U.S. stingy? claims that even though America sends more money then any other nation, that per capita we send less. The article does point out that during 2003, a year in which the U.S. was fighting two wars of two fronts, it was able to still find enough generosity to donate $16.25 billion in foreign aid. The nation even closest to what the U.S. sent was Japan with $8.8 billion, with France sending $7.2 and Germany giving $6.8.

I hope I don’t come across as being to cynical in the ability of other nations to give, but can someone be that critical of a nation that sends that kind of money out into the world? Maybe America doesn’t send as much foreign aid as other nations in terms of per capita values, but the U.S. does have a huge problem with homelessness and other programs just as deserving, it not more so, than foreign aid.

Foreign aid, as we know it today, really sprouted from the Marshall Plan of 1947. Although that idea was fundementally used to try and stem the spread of communism, it is grown into a huge industry. One that both parties could be pround of in its service to millions of people every year.

On the Monday return of Colin Powell, President Bush said that the $350 million promised already is not necessarily the end of aid regarding the tsunami and problems following. But he said he would give aid as the need dictates. He wants to make sure that the money he sends goes to the right organizations, as well as making sure that it is used both effectively and efficiently. That is the right move. Other nations may have pledged more, but how many will dip into their pockets when more aid is needed, and who else gives more aid than America?

Not only is this event incredibly sad, but the questions that have followed regarding the generosity of this great nation are incredulous. Maybe America didn’t send the most money, but can one really measure the help needed in dollar figures alone? The answer is an resounding no. Private aid, being headed by past presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, will surely surpass any of its type from any other nation. Combine that with the troops that are on the ground, and what you have is a nation, that keeps its promises to the world.