Clearing a few things up.

I've been reading the comments that I got for my 'People are people' post, and I feel I have a little more to say:

My overall point is that people in America, the UK and all over the developed world seem to answer every call for aid with 'We should help our own people first'…and This is perfectly right and I agree with this view completely, except for one thing…we're not helping our own.

What it boils down to is that there is enough wealth, knowledge and manpower in America (and most countries of the developed world) to make sure everyone has a place to live, enough to eat and the medical attention they need…but that's never going to happen…and here's why:

We're human beings, we love to divide the world into 'Us' and 'Them'. When there's a disaster in some far off country, people ask why we should help them when so many of us need help.

But the problem is that 'domestic homeless' people are only 'us' in that particular context. When someone turns up on TV asking for help for our homeless, they suddenly stop being 'us' and start being 'them' again. The poor homeless that are going without while we throw money at those damn foreigners are suddenly back to being the people we ignore or tell to get a job when they ask for spare change.

Then we hear about the kids who are starving through no fault of their own, and we're sad and all, but we can't really help them when we have our own kids to take care of.

Then, especially in America, when someone or something comes along that will help people, suddenly it's socialism and we're not interested.

RayRay's original posting of the Facebook meme commented on how so many people in America are going without the medical attention they need. Then, when the President starts talking about health care reform which will get everyone the basic level of healthcare they need, everyone starts fighting against it tooth and nail… basically because socialized healthcare means 'we' will have to pay for 'them'.

Anyway, my whole point isn't that we should help everyone who asks for it, or that solving another country's problems should take precendence over solving our own… it's that the majority of people who scream and shout that we should 'help our own first' really mean is 'I don't want to help anyone but myself because, at my core, I'm a selfish asshole.'

I'm going to quote fellow blogger Evan here, someone that recently donated a lot of his own time and energy helping remodel flood-damaged homes with his church:

"if you're not giving to anyone -- and taxes don't count -- you don't really belong in this discussion."