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Why are people in America so eager to help out other countries? We have so many people in need here. Is it just more glamourous to be Leonardo di Caprio in Af

Why are people in America so eager to help out other countries? We have so many people in need here. Is it just more glamourous to be Leonardo di Caprio in Africa on an zany adventure than help some poor homeless family on the streets of Tagg Flatts Oklahome? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_poorest_places_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_poorest_places_in_t...

winter_blue 13y ago
Ah, you know what's interesting about that list? Most of those places have very high proportions of Native American populations. So we're looking at a different problem here: helping out the Native Americans. If the Europeans hadn't come over and colonized this continent, America would've been yet another "Africa" - so to speak.
- nickthemagicman 13y ago
  Damn, just noticed that now that you mention it. America just kinda wants that whole 'Native American holocaust' thing to kinda quietly slip under the rug.
deleted 13y ago
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ebiester 13y ago
Simple: The absolute poverty is much worse in Africa than it is here, and the marginal suffering per dollar invested is higher in Africa. The problems that are here should be discounted, mind you, but we're talking orders of magnitude here.
- nickthemagicman 13y ago
  Yeah but what's the return on those dollars. You help people here they have a future, in third wold countries not so much.
balloot 13y ago
Totally agree. Not to mention that most countries like Zambia have severe structural issues in their government, such as the ones this article outlines. The easiest thing to do (and the thing most charities do) is give money, but money put into a situation like this just ends up split between the extended family/friends of those in power and/or used for infrastructure that benefits foreign corporations. Beyond money, the answer to the problem becomes really tricky. And if we're going to spend time and resources fixing difficult government infrastructure issues, I would much rather they be those within the US government. It's not like there's a shortage to choose from.
- nickthemagicman 13y ago
  I think that giving money to a gigantic charity like red cross or 'the adorable children with cancer foundation' helps, but I feel as if I'm just giving my money to another gigantic beauracracy and I have no idea what they're doing with it. I never read in the news about the 'Red Cross' building a homeless shelter. For a THREE BILLION dollar charity I feel as if the Red Cross is amazingly quiet... To be genuine about helping people I think you have to do it yourself at a local level. It takes more time but it's actually geninune and sincere. That's what community is all about.
ctdonath 13y ago
The poverty line in the USA is at 87th percentile of world incomes. What is defined here as "poor" looks a lot like "rich" to Zambians.
nickthemagicman 13y ago
Replying. First of all I'm going to toss the idea of 'relative poverty' out there. http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-the-meaning-of-relative-poverty http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-the-meaning-of-relative-... Second of all. If the people in Africa are so much poorer, it means that helping people in America is a much better investment because their opportunities to improve their lives and have a future (and help our economy) are so much better. I seriously think at the end of the day it's a self centeredness that motivates people to go to other countries and help. They essentially want a cool story to tell their friends, not so much a genuine need to help others. Or maybe you can't even blame the individual. Maybe in America we are so far from even knowing what a 'meaningful' life is, so we see people doing cool things on T.V. and say I'll buy that adventure and it will make my life meaningful.

winter_blue 13y ago

Ah, you know what's interesting about that list? Most of those places have very high proportions of Native American populations. So we're looking at a different problem here: helping out the Native Americans. If the Europeans hadn't come over and colonized this continent, America would've been yet another "Africa" - so to speak.

nickthemagicman 13y ago
Damn, just noticed that now that you mention it. America just kinda wants that whole 'Native American holocaust' thing to kinda quietly slip under the rug.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

ebiester 13y ago

Simple: The absolute poverty is much worse in Africa than it is here, and the marginal suffering per dollar invested is higher in Africa. The problems that are here should be discounted, mind you, but we're talking orders of magnitude here.

nickthemagicman 13y ago
Yeah but what's the return on those dollars. You help people here they have a future, in third wold countries not so much.

balloot 13y ago

Totally agree. Not to mention that most countries like Zambia have severe structural issues in their government, such as the ones this article outlines. The easiest thing to do (and the thing most charities do) is give money, but money put into a situation like this just ends up split between the extended family/friends of those in power and/or used for infrastructure that benefits foreign corporations. Beyond money, the answer to the problem becomes really tricky. And if we're going to spend time and resources fixing difficult government infrastructure issues, I would much rather they be those within the US government. It's not like there's a shortage to choose from.

nickthemagicman 13y ago
I think that giving money to a gigantic charity like red cross or 'the adorable children with cancer foundation' helps, but I feel as if I'm just giving my money to another gigantic beauracracy and I have no idea what they're doing with it. I never read in the news about the 'Red Cross' building a homeless shelter. For a THREE BILLION dollar charity I feel as if the Red Cross is amazingly quiet... To be genuine about helping people I think you have to do it yourself at a local level. It takes more time but it's actually geninune and sincere. That's what community is all about.

ctdonath 13y ago

The poverty line in the USA is at 87th percentile of world incomes. What is defined here as "poor" looks a lot like "rich" to Zambians.

nickthemagicman 13y ago

Replying. First of all I'm going to toss the idea of 'relative poverty' out there. http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-the-meaning-of-relative-poverty http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-the-meaning-of-relative-... Second of all. If the people in Africa are so much poorer, it means that helping people in America is a much better investment because their opportunities to improve their lives and have a future (and help our economy) are so much better. I seriously think at the end of the day it's a self centeredness that motivates people to go to other countries and help. They essentially want a cool story to tell their friends, not so much a genuine need to help others. Or maybe you can't even blame the individual. Maybe in America we are so far from even knowing what a 'meaningful' life is, so we see people doing cool things on T.V. and say I'll buy that adventure and it will make my life meaningful.