I feel that if each nation was a guy, all the countries in the world standing around in a locker room comparing the size of their members. For some reason, I feel like some people are donating because they feel a national obligation to "outdo" other countries. And that makes me sick to my stomach

To those of you who are promoting individual charity, karma thanks you. I've always valued and believed in individual charity over any other forms of charity such as governmental and corporate (although those are definitely a plus). What I cannot stand are MORONS using this tragedy to push their left/right agendas. I wrote that post below as a clarification regarding people's attack on US foreign policy aid; I want to broaden this argument on behalf of those Europeans who love to boast about "dollars per citizen in developmental aid."

Shut. the. f'ck. up. I don't give a damn if Denmark is donating $10/person and says the US needs to "catch up." I don't want to hear people attacking the Bush Administration bemoaning the lack of foreign aid when they were previously bitching about the large fiscal deficit (HEY HERE'S AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM FOR YOU: MORE AID FOR OTHER COUNTRIES MEANS..... LARGER FISCAL DEFICIT!) only a few weeks ago. The US is NOT a socialist country. The government relies on individuals to do with their money what the Europeans allow their governments to do. This is a simple fact of life. Get it straight.

What's ridiculous is only a few days after the attacks, the NY Times pushes an editorial essentially attacking US developmental aid by comparing it to the Europeans. My previous post aside, it's been pointed out that developmental aid and relief aid are two completely different issues. So don't confuse the two and manage to think the US government is cold-hearted. It's done everything within its power to alleviate the situation (including sending troops and a carrier group to help).

I've also been wondering how long these sympathies will last. That's not to say that people who are donating now aren't doing the right thing - but this reminds me a LOT about the sympathies heard around the world when 9/11 struck. Money helps to alleviate problems in the short run, and this is fantastic after a natural disaster such as this. But the bigger issue at hand is not only nature, but preventive measures. The relatively poor areas were hardest hit because the lack of communication. The lack of transportation and the proper sewage infrastructure is going to spread diseases which will only exacerbate the death toll in the long run.

The big issue ties into global poverty. How can we help these nations become more modernized? I offer no solutions, just thoughts.

I find it very amusing that the news has been very quiet regarding the Aceh region; the Aceh region is in northern Sumatra and is home to the Islamic separatists fighting for an Islamic state. Well, actually, I guess that's good. It would be bad to see a headline on Faux News along the lines of: "Free Aceh Separatists Fighting for Islamic State Wiped Out by Hand of God."

The real question is how long the generosity of all these citizens will last. Six to nine months from now, will you still be donating to the Red Cross? Will you still _care_ about others? There are other programs in the world which are suffering just as badly as those in disaster. So I urge you not to just donate once here, but to take a look at some of the other problems in the world and do your best to help them. As Tatsu points out, donating money isn't necessarily the best thing. So go out and do what you can to make the world a better place ... this generosity (I would hope) can extend beyond this tragedy.