Sunday evening

Another day of relaxing. I am half way through Louise Erdich's The Master Butcherís Singing Club about a German family who emigrated to Argus, North Dakota. I love the passage when Franz brings his wife over from Europe and she first encounters the prairie:

Even with the houses and shops, the land seemed barren as a moonscape. On the way to Argus, as the train took them cross-country, she had watched the signs of human presence diminish and felt a combination of horror and grief.

Tonight I got a call about creating a flyer for a series called "Women of the World in War" being organized by Women Against Military Madness. Every month they plan to have a woman from a country that is at war or has recently been through war to talk about her experiences and the role women have played in recovering from the devastation of war. So far, they have women from Iraq, Iran and Guatemala lined up to speak. It would be nice to create a series logo that expresses the theme and can be used over the months. I've got my thinking cap on.

Tsunami continued

We get more information on the tsunami's effects every day. The death toll is already up to 125,000 and there are still areas that have not been reached. Foreign aid is growing both in individual donations, corporate donations and country donations. The Bush Administration raised it's promised donation to $350 million after criticism about the original $15 million promise.

Twice today I heard reports about the value of U.S. aircraft carriers and their helicopter fleets in this situation. They can get to places no one else can since the roads and railroads are wiped out. One carrier arrived and made great strides in areas that had been untouched in the week since the tsunami hit. Given that, it seems unconscionable that anyone would conceive of using the power of the military and its resources for anything outside of mass humanitarian relief efforts around the world. Our country could do more for its own reputation by turning its greatest minds, bodies and energies toward helping others rather than attacking others.

That said, it is sad that the issue of how much the U.S. donates got so much play in the media this past week. It has always been true that the poorest countries around the world give a larger percentage of their earnings to charity that those of us in the U.S. have. Even in the U.S., it is the poorest -- the people of Alabama -- that give the greatest percentage of their income to charity, while the richest -- the people of New Hampshire -- give the least. Yet the fact that the U.S. economy is so much larger than almost all other economies combined, the total given by the U.S. will always be more than what is given from most countries. Although Japan is donating more in actual funds than the U.S. at this point.

No matter what the facts are or how you read the numbers, the argument that western countries are "stingy" as one U.N. official said last week, is ill-timed and unfortunate. It will only support those in America who believe the world hates Americans and is ungrateful for all the good that Americans do. It will not lead to a positive discussion about what can be done. It will not help people to honestly consider their personal contributions to charity.

What I do hope will become common knowledge in this country is the incredible efforts that are being made by Asians to deal quickly with an Asian disaster. Already the reports of spontaneous actions by individuals and corporations in the country to immediately rush to aid their countrymen reminds me of the way so many of us reacted after 9/11. It is something we can share and learn from each other.

-----

Today I gave the web address to this blog out for the first time. Welcome friends and I hope you find at least some of this interesting. Feel free to comment by clicking on the icon at the end of the thread or by e-mailing me directly.