It’s good to see Dubya getting former presidents in to help him with his utter lack of credibility or respect outside of the USA. President Bush (that’s the father) and Bill Clinton are appealing to the people of their country for charitable donations, preferably in cash. I’m glad he’s recruited Bill, but getting his daddy in just shows how shallow he thinks he is. Perhaps he is well aware of his weaknesses.
There are two things that worry me. The first is that the US isn’t as generous as other countries in proportion to its wealth. The second is that there is an awful lot of ballyhooing of sums promised, which are not delivered on.
America has, as in the past, taken longer than it should to get involved, but also, as in the past, once it does get involved, its input is crucially important. I could be cynical and say that they want to improve their PR image in the Muslim world, but that doesn’t appear to be the whole case. When the tsunami hit, I didn’t hear about crowds in the US cheering. Once people found out, they genuinely wanted to help, all over the world. A tsunami is indiscriminate. It could have been anyone.
At a time like this, America should be acting quickly, decisively and emphatically. It was embarrasingly slow out of the blocks and in the immediate aftermath, the official response from the US was pathetic. I would like to see America act unilaterally in helping in the tsunami zone in the same way that it unilaterally acted in raping Iraq. (I’m tired of listing the other troublezones in the world created by the US as well, so let’s just say Iraq presently embodies them all)
Let’s hope that not just America, and not just the EU and the rest of the world, but the global institutions act and deliver as quickly as the public have done. Sadly, I’m not re-assured by example. Money promised by governments and large bodies like the World Bank is usually not delivered. It’s bizarre. Comedians, pop-stars and actors appeal to the public, and the public responds magnificently. People queue up to contribute. There are huddles all over the country, ordinary and not-so-ordinary people trying to find a way to raise money and make a difference. So here are the not-so-well-off in the West doing their bit, while Bush, Blair and the Elite Broderbund that supports them spend more money in “saving” Iraq from itself in a week than the entire sum they have promised to relieve the tragedy-stricken populace of south-east Asia.
Let’s just stick to our country for now. I find it disgusting that Blair can deliver many impassioned speeches on the war on terror and the justification for destroying Iraq and murdering over 100,000 civilians, for emptying Fallujah and creating an entire city of homelessness there in the name of peace and salvation, but can be so bereft of compassion for the stricken and impoverished elsewhere. We wouldn’t need such a big defence budget if our leaders acted with half of the compassion of our people. And we might even make more friends too!
