As the Truth sees it…

President Barack Obama announced that the United States has pledged $100 million in the recovery effort for Haiti and its citizens of Haiti as they suffer through one of the worst disasters in recent history.
“I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives,” Obama said in a statement. “The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble, and to deliver the humanitarian relief — the food, water and medicine — that Haitians will need in the coming days.”
In the past, this would not be an issue. When there is a tragedy, the United States is usually the first one there with offering money and support. However, with the U.S. going through one of its worst recessions, high unemployment, massive foreclosures and bankruptcies, there are those who say we can’t afford to give. That we should give, but let the rest of the world shoulder most of the burden as we take a backseat.
“… we’ve already donated to Haiti,” radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh said. “It’s called the U.S. income tax.”
As of Thursday afternoon, the Haitian Red Cross estimates the number of deaths at between 45,000 and 50,000. But most media outlets believe that number will rise to more than 100,000. Those numbers should trump any hesitation or pettiness we may have in giving to Haiti.
As bad as we may have it, the worst day in the United States is still 10 times better than the best day in Haiti.
“America stands with you,” Obama said to Haitians in a short statement. “You will not be forsaken, you will not be forgotten.”
Michael Kinney

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.