Brother's Keeper

Money is one of those words. Any sentence containing it is bound to, in one way or another, being about opposing views. That idea is magnified exponentially when talk turns to spending on a national scale. How should the United States of America spend its money?

It seems that whenever this topic is brought up, discussion immediately turns to foreign spending and which countries we should and should not aid. Iraq, Darfur, or Uganda, which country should we or should we not assist? Let us add one more to that list of possible countries in need of aid: The United States.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics 2,397,615 death occurred in the United States in 2004. Among the top causes of death were heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Why is it that our money is not spent in an attempt to help people suffering these diseases here at home?

The plight of those in foreign countries is definitely tragic; however, consider the homeless on the streets of Washington, D.C, or those living in slums and squalor in large urban areas. America has many problems of its own on her soil. Why then do we rush to aid everyone else, while ignoring our own people?

Even setting the fact that we have problems to solve here, there is another issue that arises. Who are we to play God, swooping in and deciding who gets aid and who does not? America is not her brother’s keeper.

In an ideal world there would be a way to help everyone that needed help. We, however, do not live in a utopian existence. As long as living continues there will be suffering. Suffering overseas as well as suffering in America. As much as we may not want to believe it, suffering and hardship come with the territory of living.

There is no final answer on this issue; there is simply no way to definitively say that one country deserves aid and another does not, there are too many variables. But one issue there is an answer too is the fact that America needs to help America. If America begins to fully invest in herself then, looking forward to a time when it may become clear which countries need help more than others, this country will be in a much better position to give that aid.