Do unto others?
Is it possible to have a foreign policy that follows the principle of "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you"?
I recently heard that 8 billion dollars is all it would take to give the entire world clean drinking water and a sanitary sewage system. Imagine the power of doing good to poorest of the poor throughout the world.
I've had enough with how the US government gives lip service to doing good for others but is really about just furthering our national interests. Quid pro quo seems to be the norm. For example, support us in Iraq and we'll give you x, y & z. Or, support our war on terror and we'll ignore the fact that you're a dictator.
What if we really started caring for other people instead of using them to suit our purposes? Perhaps that attitude in our foreign policy might be the best thing for our national interests.
I recently heard that 8 billion dollars is all it would take to give the entire world clean drinking water and a sanitary sewage system. Imagine the power of doing good to poorest of the poor throughout the world.
I've had enough with how the US government gives lip service to doing good for others but is really about just furthering our national interests. Quid pro quo seems to be the norm. For example, support us in Iraq and we'll give you x, y & z. Or, support our war on terror and we'll ignore the fact that you're a dictator.
What if we really started caring for other people instead of using them to suit our purposes? Perhaps that attitude in our foreign policy might be the best thing for our national interests.
posted by Kevmo at 7:32 PM
1 Comments:
I have no way to verify, but the $8 billion figure for clean water and working sewer systems throughout the world sounds exponentially short of the actual dollars that would be needed to accomplish this noble goal. I would check the source since it is common for folks with a certain agenda to float statistics that may make their cause sound better but have no basis in reality.
I invite readers who want to do more than just lament the world's problems to visit www.rotary.org. Rotary International is a great organization that I have recently become a part of. Rotary members give of their time, talents, and money to promote service projects throughout the world. These projects provide clean water to remote villages, medical care to those who wouldn't otherwise have access, and needed food or shelter. Rotary also uses both student and cultural exchanges to bring people of very different cultures and backgrounds together that we may understand and respect our differences. Instead of just bashing our government for not doing what we think they ought to do, we can give of our own time and money to try and make the world a better place. People helping people is a lot more effective and realistic way to make a real difference.
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