~Let's Have A Dialogue~

It seems I've rattled a couple cages with my ~How Is It Possible~ post.

I received two anonymous comments that implied my views are self righteous and unchristian. Wow, interesting comments. I expected reaction to that post but to be honest, I didn't expect the comments I received. I expected reactions that were similar to the shock I felt when I learned about how little help goes the poor children in the United States. I'm curious about what prompted those reactions. What was it about my post that caused people to view me as self righteous and unchristian?

In the first comment, anonymous said "I don't really see the logic in your idea that it is more noble/valid to help someone just because they happen to share citizenship with you." Well, I didn't say it was "more" noble/valid to help those in the United States than in other countries. My post highlighted the fact that billions of dollars are being donated to help people in other parts of the world while the poor in the United States are virtually ignored. It makes me wonder if the people who donate to world health even know about the problems here - If they don't know, then we need to tell them - If they do know, why aren't they doing something about it? I truly believe it is noble/righteous/valid (or whatever you want to call it) to help anyone in need - no matter who or where they are.

The second commenter said, "I too believe it to be narrow minded and unchristian like to only help people who are in America." Did I say that we should only help our own? No, I did not. I said "All I know is that we need to take care of our own first. From now on, every donation I give will be to help the poor in MY country - not someone else's." I clearly said we need to take care of our own (then take care of others). My point is that our impoverished children need help as much as those in other parts of the world - I did not say we only need to help those in the United States.

The second commenter went on to say about Oprah's school for girls in Africa, "You don't see the same passion in American children as you do when you watch the girls from South Africa." I can't argue that point. But where do you think educational apathy comes from? Rank reflects leadership, so are we right to blame our kids for being apathetic, when we (in general) place so little value on education? How can we expect our children to be enthusiastic about their education when some of our schools (especially those in poor areas) don't have the tools and support they require? Is it the students' fault if they're apathetic because of substandard teachers and learning environments? A child will rise to the expectation placed upon him or her, so if we don't expect our children to succeed (and give them the tools to do so), will they do so on their own? If we want to abolish apathy and motivate our children to do well in school, then our children's education needs to be a priority in this country. If we don't care, why should they?