American Exceptionalism at its best
 

This link below is something I find a prime example of why we should never feel the need to apologize to anyone for being who we are. This in no way is to imply or start a debate as it is shown in pride for being an American. These numbers may indeed change and certainly will when individual donations are factored in but it is easy to see many if not all who have pledged can be doing much much more and we as Americans shine by example.
Time after time we step up as a collective nation with our Tax dollars and private donations from the individual, the church and from the business sector so the next time anyone tells you we are not a great nation place your finger square in their face and teach them some truth.
God Bless all who are suffering, God Bless you Michelle and I hope your daughter is found safe.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/worl...y/1425366.html

I would say we are taking care of business in our neighborhood witch we should.
I don't see this as justification for American Exceptionalism.
Apples and Oranges.

Apples and oranges indeed. In the first place if anyone posting here has suggested that Americans are not generous people I must have missed it. In the second place you make no allowances for population differences, although you were very quick to note that, for example, Canada has one tenth the population of the U.S. I am quite certain that many of the other counteries identified are at similar percentages. Now China with all our money and all its population could have done better.

Exits left humming "Jingo bells, jingo bells . . .":rolleyes:

Not to bust anyone's bubble, but the US is always fairly far down the list in foreign aid as a percentage of national income. I believe the large amount of aid to Haiti has to do with its proximity to us.

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/z...hunter_001.jpg

Aren't those countries with the high bars the lefty commie pinko countries that have that godless socialized medicine and loose women and all of that?

Regards,

D-Ray

What I find truly sad is your need to turn this into a competition.

John

Yep. Let's take a road trip.:D

Regarding American exceptionalism, I think it's both dangerous and ill-informed for the right wing to harp on this notion. I've lived overseas in several countries and have visited over 50 more countries, and all modern, developed countries have certain advantages and disadvantages with respect to the others. Exceptionalism, hyper-patriotism and nationalism are interrelated concepts in which people assert than their country is the best in the world simply because they were born there. (Credit: George Bernard Shaw, "Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it… " )

These notions cause their believers to accept the premise that their nation is the best in the world in all realms and improvements to their society are unneeded, unwanted and dangerous. It further hinders their ability to recognize where their country has made mistakes and to implement course corrections. Lastly, this self-righteousness has led to many a war.

"Jingoism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy".[1] In practice, it refers to the advocation of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what they perceive as their country's national interests, and colloquially to excessive bias in judging one's own country as superior to others – an extreme type of nationalism.

The term originated in Britain, expressing a pugnacious attitude towards Russia in the 1870s. During the 19th century in the United States, journalists called this attitude spread-eagleism. "Jingoism" did not enter the U.S. vernacular until near the turn of the 20th century. This nationalistic belligerence was intensified by the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana harbour that led to the Spanish-American War of 1898."

from Wikipedia.

From a British expression "By jingo" used to avoid saying "By Jesus":rolleyes:

600 mil in the last few years aint chump change.

No one here ever said it was, I was only noting that, frex, Norway and Denmark have populations of some 5 million people each. I have been on record in other fora that Americans are generous people (as you and Nancy well know) but that really should not be used as a club against other nations.

What's a half billion here and there, it's only money?

Regards,

D-Ray

Consider for a moment that by far the largest recipients of US foreign aid are Israel and Egypt. The largest portion of this aid goes for weapons procurement. You have to go down to the fifth on the list (Kenya) to find a country where our aid is humanitarian.

OUCH. :(

Regards,

D-Ray

I am all for helping others. Charity is something I have raised my kids to see as not optional but a necessity

However we must take care of our house too, and thats long be neglected.

Actually, I was completely butchering a paraphrase of some politician, something to the effect of "A billion here and a billion there - -pretty soon you're talking about real money."

Regards,

D-Ray

Yes, America is a great nation. Yes, I once took an oath to give my life for her, and I still would. Yes, we contributed the most to this effort in Haiti, and we prolly did the most for the Tsunami victims and of that we should all be very proud.

Each nation seems to have contributed according to their means.

Some have done nothing, (As King Asshole Limbaugh has suggested.) and that is shamefull.

But, NO, I don't think being self-critical is unpatriotic, nor do I think having humility and admitting mistakes is shamefull, quite the contrary. Arrogance and pigheadedness are shamefull. Unfortunately, these things seem to be a virtue to some.:rolleyes:

I pray for Haiti and hope that their suffering will soon become a thing of the past,

Dave

Indeed, money that should have cared for our own has been squandered on foolish wars. And in other cases it was spent foolishly, frex, giving aid to Africa but forbiding any of that money to be spent on family planning, i.e., condoms. They cannot feed the population they currently have, the last thing they need is to screw themselves out of a place at the dinner table.

Yet here children still go to bed hungry.

"Do ye hear the childrem weeping, oh my brothers, ere the sorrow begins."
E.B.Browning

Never once questioned your patriotism.

I will note that there seems to be an underwhelming response from the oil rich nations.

Not, sayin' you or anyone else did, Dave. Just expounding further upon a point Finnbow raised in Post#7.
And echoing sentiment from the OP.

Believe me, if you had questioned my patriotism, my love of country, you would have heard my anger loud and clear.:D

Have a great evening!

I am. Finally got that Revox TT up and running.
Spinning vinyl like a madman.:)

Dave

Lmao!!!

Hear hear!

And regarding help to developing nations, we'd have a darn sight more to give if we weren't keeping world shipping lanes open.

Pete

If we totally obliterated one of the Somali ports which harbours the pirates it might chage a few minds and the others would turn their backs on them.

Footnote: Apparently the ransom money for the tanker was dropped on the deck, the tanker was released, then the pirates started squbbling over its division, three dead, four wounded - makes my day.

Now some of the tribes in Pakistan have gotten totally pissed with the taliban and are taking up arms against them. Guess they are waking up to the fact that more muslims have been killed by al Quaeda and the taliban than any other cause.

They think bin Laden is hiding in the caves in the mountains along the border, so where are the B-52s and the bunker busters?

On 9/11 my wife was shopping and was all alone almost at the end of an aisle. This muslim man grabbed her shopping basket and pushed it and her all the way back down the aisle. I hope she never spots him again because I bought her a taser.

Why on earth did he do that?

Pete

No idea, just their snotty attitude toward women, then Florence being of Italian and Spanish extraction is (well was) dark haired and brown eyed, maybe he thought she was a muslim and should have been veiled, Or most likely he just wanted to pick on an American and did not have the cojones to take on a man.

Unfortunately I was still working then because if I had been with her it would have been different.