I think the American Red Cross should consider itself lucky. Certainly, millions of dollars have been raised to assist in the relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
However, I wonder if our heartstrings have been somewhat manipulated.
I think that in light of the tsunami disaster last year, my dollars to the Red Cross to help tsunami victims would have been appropriate. The tsunami victims were not in the United States; our government was not obligated to help them.
I pay taxes to my U.S. Government. I would like to know that at a very minimum, my government will value my life as much as it does my tax dollars, and will toss me a bottle of water and some food if I need it and am in a disaster zone on U.S. soil. Is it fair that Americans should rely on the American Red Cross, which is a private agency, and not on their government to which they pay tax dollars, in times of national crisis? Should the burden of relief efforts fall on so many faith-based organizations and the American Red Cross?
9 comments:
what the f%$#? comment spam.
I completely agree -- where our government was after Katrina hit is a question that can be answered, but most definitely will not be answered (at least in a truthful manner -- which is what I am accustomed to expecting in my answers). I am no lover of our current president (ok, I am very (very) far from it), so I will stop there on that one.
Another question to ponder...if a city is below sea level and in the path of potential hurricanes that could rise to level 4 or 5, why would one build levees built to protect against only level 3 hurricanes? Um...if I had been making the decisions, it would have been to a level of, oh, let's say...10? But I am sure politics and financial concerns had nothing to do with it...
As one who lives on an island that can easily be hit by hurricanes, this past week has been both eye-opening and horrifying.
-Deborah
I agree with you, but how many thousands more would be starving or dead if it weren't for these groups? When the first responders, those legally responsible, don't show up, what should we do?? I live near Houston, and we've been hearing FEMA is giving out debit cards "to get these people back on their feet" for $2000. Turns out that a family of four actually gets only $300. How far will that take you from the Astrodome shelter. Such absolute incompetence.
Dot
I agree with you, Dot. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. As with our children, if we see a mess being made, we must hold the mess-makers accountable.
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