Helping those in need...where should the money go?

Sometimes I think and say things that most would consider politically incorrect. I thought something today that probably falls into that category or at least into the WOW she is mean folder. I was watching TV and another "would you donate money to this country overseas" commercial came on. This one was even more dramatic as it was dedicated to a small girl, who died at the age of 5 in the slums. "Of course it is too late to save her, but you can help others like her" is the catch line. And it left me thinking...no thanks.

Now don't get me wrong. I do not want kids dying from starvation overseas or entire villages being whipped out due to AIDS. I think that it is truly sad when horrible things happen overseas and in other countries. However, I think before we start handing out money to other nations, we need to improve our country first. We can't give aid to other places when right at home there are plenty of people to help here! There are countless homeless people in major cities. There are children who suffer in the foster care system and will most likely repeat the cycle of abuse if they are not given a chance in a loving home. A great deal of the population (author included) cannot afford BASIC health care, let alone if God forbid any major surgeries or cancer treatments. There are people living in horrible conditions in this country that need help. We cannot try to help other countries when we have problems at home. To me, that is both irresponsible and a little demeaning. We should be setting an example on how to run a great country, not giving out money when our own people are not taken care of. It is irresponsible considering how much debt this country is in already, how can we really be placing ourselves in greater fiscal danger?

I know many people will say it is the responsibility of well off nations to help those in need and I agree to an extent. But they should not help at the expense of their own citizens. Once the United States gets back out of debt (if that can ever happen at this rate) it can then start handing out aid to others. Handing out money we do not have will only hurt future generations of United State citizens. Our leaders need to be honest with other countries and let them know we would love to help, but American citizens come first and we are stretched too thin as it is.

So yes, I did feel bad when that commercial came on T.V. I am sad such a young girl had to die in such an awful place. But I also think it is sad that there are many children that suffer in my own country and need our support yet don't receive it. I believe we should focus on the problems in our own cities and streets before we go into debt to help others. In a perfect world, we would be able to help everyone, but this is not a perfect world. Maybe one day things will improve enough for us to help other nations, but that day will never come if we are in debt up to our eyeballs.