American Aid and Complaints Thereof

Watching the news in the past days, we must all have noticed the critical attitude that both foreign countries and the sometimes seemingly anti-American media have had toward the amount that the United States government is giving to victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Southern Asia and Eastern Africa.

Now supporters of these criticisms often base their argument on this: We, as the most powerful and most wealthy nation in the world, have pledged $350 million to the disaster relief fund as of now. Japan, on the other hand, has already pledged $500 million, out-trumping us by $150 million. Why should Japan, a much lesser nation, be giving more to help people than the United States, who, as the most powerful on earth, has an obligation to be the front-runner?

Several things are wrong with this argument. First of all, though, I don't want to take anything away from Japan; a $500 million donation isn't something to be scoffed at, and they are to be commended for their contributions.

The first thing wrong with this argument is the obvious one: the American people - private citizens - will donate more by themselves, completely independent of the government, than most nations will duplicate or even produce by one-fourth.

The Europeans want us to copy their brilliant system; that is, to tax the hell out of people and send it all in one big package. Such a system is not only unfair, it also shows a glaring hypocrisy in Europe's complaints about Americans' lack of generosity. Take away the ridiculous tax payments that their citizens dish out and these goverments won't make any meaningful contribution whatsoever.

It's yet another illustration of the superiority of American culture. Although we don't have to give the government huge cuts of our paychecks, we give more than that to private relief organizations (The Red Cross, assorted Christian Relief Services, etc.), and far eclipse the contributions of most governments around the world by ourselves. We may be an arrogant society, but if somebody's hurting we're not only the first to help, but we dish out more than most nations combined. That says something about American people.

Moving on to the next point; namely, the military aspect. In case you didn't realize it, there are now thousands of Marines in South Asia helping to restore order and clean up the mess in hundreds of communities. Do you know how much money it takes to deploy and support that many American soldiers abroad for an extended period of time? It's an aspect often overlooked; we're doing it constantly. Since World War II, American soldiers have been stationed all over the world, both to help people and to protect American interests.

Also worth pointing out is that the $350 million that we have initially pledged is not going to be all that we will be giving; that amount will be increased as time goes by.

In short, the amount of money that is spent by Americans to help people, both by the government and by the nation's private citizens, far eclipses that of the rest of the world, no matter how loudly they complain. Americans are the most generous people in the world. Thank God for that, for the fate of the world lies in the hands of American citizens.