[meteorite-list] Re: [OT] No & charities

From: Notkin <geoking_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Sep 5 16:37:51 2005
Message-ID: <E45B1C84-1E4C-11DA-8795-000393593854_at_notkin.net>

Dave Harris posted:

> Charities can support smaller, local or parochial issues fine, but
> national
> disasters are your government's remit - you pay to protect your
> homeland,
> now Bush needs to cough up.

So, Dave, your suggestion is what -- that we sit at home and watch the
government response on TV?

Your viewpoint is interesting as a theoretical topic for discussion --
and I have to agree with some of what you're saying, theoretically --
but while we're theorizing, people are dying. Yes, it is our
government's responsibility to handle emergencies like New Orleans, and
they're clearly not able to handle the task alone, or the American Red
Cross wouldn't even need to exist. As is so often the case during
large-scale disasters, it is a little bit of help from a large number
of ordinary people that makes the biggest difference.

I witnessed this first hand during the destruction of the World Trade
Center, and we're seeing it again now, with independent civilian
organizations like MoveOn.org driving a huge grassroots movement to
find temporary housing for hurricane victims (141,000+ beds as of
today). [ see: http://www.hurricanehousing.org ]

Your viewpoint reminds me of the people who say, "Our government sucks,
so I'm not going to vote." It's a defeatist attitude.

We may not make a world of difference with our little charity project,
but it feels good to try, and it also brings our community closer
together. Why not pony up a few bucks for the raffle instead of telling
us why we shouldn't be trying to help?


Geoff N.
Received on Mon 05 Sep 2005 04:37:35 PM PDT