Once again, I find myself embarrassed by the willful ignorance of some of my fellow countrymen:
In reference to the upcoming Live 8 concerts, from the BBC:
As a 35-year-old American with two small children I am very upset that this America bashing is going to come back to my city. It is very easy for the super rich rock stars to tell me what should be done with my tax dollars. I work 10 hours a day to feed my family, not Africa. Dave Mathews was just on the radio about the Philly sh show asking what we have done for Africa. How about the hospitals, vaccinations, schools, roads, computers and internet, food etc that the USA sends and builds? How come we never get any credit for that?
Chris Salinas, Philadelphia, PA, USA
America bashing? How is a multi-national appeal for an end to WORLD poverty 'America bashing'? Sure, the emphasis is on Africa, because the direst of needs happens to be there, currently. But, poverty affects many world nations, our own included. One can't drive down Wendover in Greensboro most days without seeing a homeless person (or three) in the median hoping for some relief. The fact is, we are one of the richest nations in the world, and a tiny percentage of what this administration has spent on waging war in Iraq could feed an African country for a year or more, house refugees in Darfur, help rebuild Tsunami-torn Asia, or provide programmes to help the homeless in our own country. Please don't take this as a slight against the members of our armed forces who are currently serving (or have previously served) in Iraq and Afghanistan, because it isn't. It's about politicians, and where they place their priorities. It's about not being so bloody selfish. We all (all over the world) have our "me, me, me" aspects of personality. But, America seems to be the most selfish, arrogant, and uncaring of populations. Not because we ALL are, but because our administration projects that attitude to the rest of the world (and since the majority of us elected them, we must all be that way too).
Here's a simple excercise for you Mr (or Ms) Salinas: Imagine you were a 35-year old African with two small children, and you've just had to bury one of them because they starved to death. Because, no matter how many hours a day you worked, you still couldn't provide enough food to feed your family. Because, your government couldn't provide assistance, or even decent wages because of a huge burden of debt to the richest countries in the world.
It won't take one cent of your tax dollars to tell this administration that they should cancel the unpayable debts of poor countries. Just think outside the US...there ARE other countries, you know, and not all of them are as well-off as we are. What if you were one of them? And, you could be - right here in America.
Go to the One Campaign website, or the Make Poverty History website. It's important. We can make the world a better place. We SHOULD make the world a better place.
