Jan Egeland Tells It Like It Is
"It bothers me that we -- the rich nations -- are not becoming more generous the more rich we become."
-- Jan Egeland, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief for the United Nations
This came after the United States announced its lavishly-appointed aid package for all of South Asia which amounted to around $15 million, which, I think but I'm not sure, is a little like saying we looked under our collective car seats and found a couple nickels to give to the homeless guy at the gas station.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
[UPDATE: "Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday the United States 'will do more' to help the victims of a massive earthquake and tsunamis in Asia and said he regretted a statement by a United Nations official suggesting that it hadn’t helped enough...In an interview on NBC's 'Today' show Tuesday, Powell said that 'clearly, the United States will be a major contributor to this international effort.'" -- from msnbc.com article]
9 Comments:
Some might consider the amount the U.S. is spending in Iraq an extremely generous gift to the Middle East with the potential of making democracy and freedom possible, though it may be many years before the fruit is seen.
Why disregard this enormous gift and criticize the $15 mil.?
I'm just asking. ;-)
If I got a grenade lobbed through my bedroom window for Christmas, I'd have a hard time classifying that as a "generous gift". I might bring up the fact that I would have much preferred a nice CD of pretty music, or a Border's gift certificate, or at least something a little less messy.
If we were really out to give the Middle East a great big, 149 billion, sloppy kiss of a present, I would have suggested something more along the lines of feeding the hungry or education for the kids.
According to that website, with the same amount of money, we could have made a HUGE dent in hunger worldwide for years to come. Now that would be a nice gift.
And with that gift we could have avoided bombing the crap out of a whole country, a whole pile of innocent deaths, and we would have made a lot more friends around the world to boot. What's not to love about that?
As for the $15 million, I'm criticizing it because it was a lame excuse for an aid package. But, according to Powell, something more appropriate is in the works, so I'll hold my peace for now.
You're obviously not thinking of future generations. ;-)
It seems to me that we (believers) and we (americans) and we (people who live way above the poverty line) have much to learn about our individual responsibility for the greater good of mankind, and specifically how it pertains to relief and humanitarian efforts. Sure, we want our government to use it's wealth in major ways, we however cannot control that (we can influence but not control), but what we can control rather easily is our own wallets and what we contribute. At this point, I don't feel compelled to go over to help load body bags in Indonesia (maybe I'm just chicken) but I do feel compelled to sponsor others who are working towards helping those who cannot help themselves. If it is true that "personnal renewal preceeds corporate renewal" then I know I have much to learn, grow, and change in my character, for the "good of the whole".
peace-Charlie
Charlie,
What you're saying is right on, I think, and maybe I should just shut up, but when I look at the 50 bucks or the 500 bucks or whatever that I can afford to give, it's seems like such small potatoes in the face of the monstrous need. Makes me want to do more. Makes me think about all that tax money I've been sending in.
There's also the reality that US aircraft will be delivering nonstop supplies, that US support teams are already on the ground, that a multi-billion dollar carrier battle group with all of it's vital support craft such as a hospital ship, engineering, tactical and other essential help.
The fact is the US right now is the most equipped to supply real physical help, and is not limited by dollar amounts. I suspect that if all the US help which will be paid for by taxpayers through other budgets were added up our contribution will likely amount to more than a billion dollars. Our ability to reach out around the world almost instantly means that we are doing significantly more than making good media sound bites.
The world may dislike us and find reasons for it, but I suspect there will be thousands and thousands and thousands of lives saved in the aftermath because the US is willing to do its part.
I'm just saying.
What bothers me is how quickly this matter has gone from "we -- the West -- could do more" to "we -- America -- are being attacked by the UN." (See, e.g., http://gadflyer.com/flytrap/index.php?Week=200453#1326 )
I'm always baffled how quickly and easily especially American Christians can claim justification for themselves without as much as considering the possible validity of a criticism that wasn't even singling out a particular nation. Humility is NOT the value we are majoring on, it appears.
And I'm curious why you would be bothered by American Christians. Colin Powell was bothered. Others who aren't necessarily known for being Christian were bothered.
Sure I can understand wondering why Americans in general shouldn't take it so personally, but surely this isn't a Christians alone taking umbrage. This is American taxpayers feeling slighted by the UN... which by the way if they emptied the billions of dollars of oil-for-food money from their private bank accounts it would do wonders.
It seems the world doesn't want us involved but gets mad when we aren't involved... the silliness of global politics. It's not however Christians feeling like they aren't getting their due.
American Christianity has enough problems as it is we don't need to be blamed for even more.
I'm bothered by American Christians all the time.
For example, I was bothered by that goofy Lutheran Hour float in the Rose Parade on Saturday with the real live, white-robed Jesus standing on the front with the wind softly blowing through his silky tresses.
I was also bothered by the guys who stood outside on New Year's Eve at the corner of Colorado and Raymond with gigantic signs that said things like "God Kills. Repent." and "Jesus Caused 9-11".
This is what happens when we spend too much time indoors, constructing our own little irrelevant realities. A little bit of humility and self-examination could go a long way, it seems to me.
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