Charity, USA, religion

[miyi]

Despite America's shortcomings and arrogance, despised, envied and repeatedly denounced under the ire of world public opinion, we Americans try genuinely to do good in the world.

USA is the world's most charitable country in the world. We give twice as much as the next charitable country in the top lists of big time donors (the second being Britain).

Perhaps this can be attributed to religion. Religious people have always, at least intuitively, been inclined to generosity.

This is not to say, of course, that the non-religious are not generous. But just in case there is any contention to be made about the negativity of religion in society, then the evidence will prove the contrary. Studies show that the religious and conservative demographics, aka the "red states", are ranked highest in terms of philanthropy.

The point?

Americans in general are not bad people. Conservatives in general are not bad people. It would be nice if we weren't painted as such.

[walkie]

The point?

Americans in general are not bad people. Conservatives in general are not bad people. It would be nice if we weren't painted as such.

miyi have u been to out of ur country lately?? generally people doesnt react too different than before against usa people. persons are good or not, it doesnt depend to their governement everybody knows that

but it is true usa's image has fallen low, usa governmet's image...look at the era while clinton was in charge. even most arab countries sympathized with that man, so with usa. why?? clinton knew how to handdle diplomacy. when i look at bush i see a street macho-man,a bully, but clinton was a leader (in turkey that man was respected unlike bush). may be obama will do smthng to re-gain some respect in other countries

[ElUniversal]

I didn't know they worked that hard for charity...keep it up, U.S.A.

I don't think most people in other countries hate the U.S. citizens, in my country (even though most won't admit it) there's a sense of admiration towards the U.S.A. and most North American products (from movies to music) are held in high regards....
The people I know only hate 3 things about the U.S.
1- George Bush
2- The Teletubbies
3- The fact that you call yourselves Americans and treat the rest of the continent like we are a different continent, I remember arguing with an U.S. friend about it...he said he was "American" and I was not unless I married someone in the States....I was like "dude, get a world map!"

[miyi]

miyi have u been to out of ur country lately?? generally people doesnt react too different than before against usa people. persons are good or not, it doesnt depend to their governement everybody knows that

but it is true usa's image has fallen low, usa governmet's image...look at the era while clinton was in charge. even most arab countries sympathized with that man, so with usa. why?? clinton knew how to handdle diplomacy. when i look at bush i see a street macho-man,a bully, but clinton was a leader (in turkey that man was respected unlike bush). may be obama will do smthng to re-gain some respect in other countries

No, I haven't been outside USA in more than a decade now. But I do read non-American newspapers daily, so I'm quite well aware of the current world opinion towards America. In sum, they still respect America, but that image has fallen under Bush.

What I think about the world media, is that each country will try to pursue their own interests, and is in no obligation to portray the USA in good terms. In general, I think there's an unfair criticism of Bush, and his relative incompetence in handling foreign policy has made many people around the globe lose confidence about US policy, and no amount of improvement in Iraq will reverse the damaged reputation of the US government. So as to be expected, there was a survey done recently that suggests that the world favors Obama over McCain, because people generally feel he'll be less hard-line, and more diplomatic. I will disagree with that, because I am sure that whoever wins in this year's election, whether Obama or McCain, they will make little departure to Bush's current foreign policy..Obama is beginning to show [or shall I say, flip-flop?] some sign of pragmatism in recent weeks, as far as Iraq. Thank God.

Anyway, the world will continue to portray America in unfavorable terms as if we are out to impoverish the world...which is clearly not supported by facts. Whether or not the general world public believes in this BS, is another issue entirely. People are easily deceived by what the media says, which doesn't surprise me anymore.

All that being said, I think that behind closed doors, many still respect America...with the exception of Bush...their hatred of this man is apparently set in stone. It cannot be helped.

I didn't know they worked that hard for charity...keep it up, U.S.A.

I don't think most people in other countries hate the U.S. citizens, in my country (even though most won't admit it) there's a sense of admiration towards the U.S.A. and most North American products (from movies to music) are held in high regards....
The people I know only hate 3 things about the U.S.
1- George Bush
2- The Teletubbies
3- The fact that you call yourselves Americans and treat the rest of the continent like we are a different continent, I remember arguing with an U.S. friend about it...he said he was "American" and I was not unless I married someone in the States....I was like "dude, get a world map!"

Technically Canadians and South Americans are Americans. But we all know that's a slippery slope. Pretty soon, all would claim they are Americans....we're having enough trouble with immigration policy as it is, if you know what I mean.

Sarcasm aside, it's all just a name/title. I don't mind at all who calls themselves Americans.

[ElUniversal]

Yeah, it would be hard to be calling yourselves "unitedstateansfromamerica" or something like that
And about immigration, we (argentinians) are having enough trouble dealing with SO many illegals from Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, etc....so I can sympathize with the U.S. in that, if we receive so many people, I can't begin to imagine how many illegals try to sneak into a country far richer

[Leen]

I'm not opposing your ideas but is it possible the large amount of donations is a direct result from the wealth of the Americans? What I'm saying is that it is normal for richer people to have more money to give. There's no way you can see Congo up there probably NOT because they are stingy with money, but simply because they don't even have enough for themselves.

Also, I guess it is hard to tell from everyday living situation. I once did a donation drive for World Vision in a famous street full of people and I was only asking for $1 from everyone. Even that, people just walked past without doing anything.

It's good to know that Americans in general do give. =D

[miyi]

I'm not opposing your ideas but is it possible the large amount of donations is a direct result from the wealth of the Americans? What I'm saying is that it is normal for richer people to have more money to give. There's no way you can see Congo up there probably NOT because they are stingy with money, but simply because they don't even have enough for themselves.

Also, I guess it is hard to tell from everyday living situation. I once did a donation drive for World Vision in a famous street full of people and I was only asking for $1 from everyone. Even that, people just walked past without doing anything.

It's good to know that Americans in general do give. =D

I agree...generally, people that I normally encounter on the streets, are usually self-absorbed. But in religious communities, i.e. the church, the attitude is so much different. You'll find that church goers are generally more generous. So it really depends on who you ask for money, and the location.

As for America donating more because we are wealthy, that goes without saying. But this is not always supported with facts. If you read the above article from the Christian Science Monitor, they found that it's those people with less money to give, that generally gives more, compared to those with much more money to give, but ends up giving relatively less. Which I find ironic.

Speaking of Africa, technically, Africa is perhaps the most resource-rich continent in the world (they have fertile land, rich in gold, diamonds, oil, etc.), yet their population is suffering from poverty because their governments have failed to tap into their natural resources to benefit their communities. That is, to me, the most serious obstacle to Africa's economic growth, and something ought to be done to change that.

Typically, the ruling elite have a monopoly on wealth, while the general population, in many parts of Africa, live on less than a dollar a day, and it shouldn't be this way. Africa has the potential to become economically prosperous within a decade, but as long as we tolerate the existing corrupt governments in Africa, then all we are doing is perpetuating the status quo.

Africa has a bright future ahead, the only problem is how we can mobilize the international community, to rid Africa of their corrupt leaders, and replace them with those who are devoted to reforming Africa's policies, by empowering them with the right tools for self-sustainment and self-reliance. Africa is still overly reliant on foreign aid, and dictators in turn, hog these money for themselves....this system is counterproductive, and needs to change.

We need to integrate Africa fully into the global economy, by liberalizing their economies (in contrast with protectionist economics) in order for Africa to compete fairly, and experience economic growth, as they should be. The United States alone, are already importing 15 percent of its oil in Africa, and is expected to double within the decade. What we need to do, in return, is relax our protectionist trading tendencies, and export the necessary goods that Africa needs, like agricultural goods, medicine, etc.

As far as economic partnership with the world and with Africa, things are indeed headed in the right direction, but it can do much better.

Putting all in perspective, charity and humanitarian aid alone, are not sufficient. They're emergency solutions that indeed help, but only on the short-term.

But we really ought to be in it for the long haul, and look for much smarter sustainable solutions, for the long term. And more importantly, Africa must share most of the burden for improving their economies, without relying too much on foreign aid, as they've been doing in the past 50+ years.

For more on this topic, here's some in-depth discussion of Africa relative to the world:

cfr.org (this one I highly recommend, although it's a long read).



more here:

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804011162.html

http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfr...art_10808.html