Originally Posted by lurkette

I appreciate the sentiment, and I do think we ought to provide for those in New Orleans and the gulf coast who will need assistance getting back on their feet after the disaster.

However, I don't think it's necessary to set up an "us vs. them" mentality in order to take care of "our own" and also take care of people in other nations who are just as much in need of the very basic necessities: food, clean water, shelter. It costs a lot less per person to provide these things in many developing nations, and many of the Americans displaced by the storm have other resources at hand: insurance, family, churches and other charities.

I don't think geography or frankly arbitrary geopolitical boundaries ought to define our capacity for compassion and generosity.