Giving 'Til it Hurts

I hate the double-standard to which America is held. Most nations deplore American's "meddling ways." They publicly denounce anything that the country does that may be construed as tampering with their country. They hate American businesses for coming in and driving out the local businesses. They curse our politics and our "warmongering" ways.

That is, they hate it all until a disaster strikes, whether man-made or natural. No nation gives more money, food, or personnel to a disaster than America. If America decided not to give to the next big disaster, the world would suddenly shoulder so much responsibility, both financial and otherwise, that the other nations would come crying back to us for our assistance.

Most of those Arab nations that hate us and from which it seems the vast majority of anti-Western terrorism seems to spring would cease to exist without American business, American imports/exports, American tourism, and American financial and military assistance. North Korea, spouting hate speech and threatening war with its southern neighbor, found out when America stopped shipping it food a few years ago in response to some of their aggression that about 90% of their food comes from America. It was incredible how fast the leadership in North Korea backed down and changed their tune when they were starving and their people were threatening revolt due to the shortages.

When the tsunami hit at Christmas a few years ago, America sent so much money and manpower to the region that the next closest supporting nation was about half the amount of American time, money, and resources. People have complained about America's lack of response in Haiti, yet the country is still the #1 contributor in money and food to the stricken nation. The Army Corps of Engineers, Red Cross, American military, and other groups are frequently the only thing standing between a disaster area and the people being wiped out entirely. There are drought-, war-, and genocide-plagued regions of Africa where the people would have been wiped out long ago if not for constant food and medicine shipments, and even military efforts, from America.

Has America been a bit too "uppity" lately? Maybe. Has the country tampered in places where tampering wasn't necessary? Likely. Is the country a bit full of itself, at a time when its people are hurting, its educational system is in dire need, and the leadership is in turmoil? Yes. However, if you take America's time, money, and resources out of any disaster's recovery effort, you have problems of Biblical proportions that the rest of the world just isn't ready to tackle. I just wish the rest of the world would realize this and stop its complaining about America and its people.