THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY

Most of my Thai, Indonesian, Indian, and Australian friends over here are in shock over what they saw in the news about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Not the damage caused, not the flooding or evacuation, not the heartbreaking stories of the survivors. They are in shock over the actions of a small percentage of New Orleans residents who took advantage of other people's suffering, and turned to violence and crime.

To them, especially those from developing nations like Thailand and Indonesia, the USA is the land of opportunity, the land of milk and honey, the proverbial pot o'gold at the end of the rainbow. To them America is as much a symbol as a place. They are used to seeing us as the cavalry coming to the rescue in WWI and WWII; internationally helping others; or within the U.S. helping each other through tragedies like 9/11. They never expected to see or hear about Americans raping and pillaging each other after such a tragedy. For myself, I'm not shocked but I am extremely disappointed and saddened by it.

The reactions of the politicians in Louisiana, and all the mass media finger-pointing is also disappointing, but I'll leave that for another blog on a different day.

One thing I find incredibly inspiring is the amount of support offered by other countries, especially by those nowhere near as wealthy as our nation. It's the first natural disaster in U.S. history where such significant outpouring of international support has occurred. Normally it's us supporting them.
• Pakistan pledged financial assistance
• Afghanistan pledged financial assistance
• Iraq pledged financial assistance
• Thailand pledged medical and other emergency supplies
• Even tiny Sri Lanka pledged US$25,000 despite their being devastated by the Tsunami.
This just to name a few.

For these nations to offer that support considering their own internal struggles is significant, and it shows us we are not alone. Just like any friends you may have, you may not always agree with each other, but you support each other in adversity.

This is what it means to be part of the international community. This is the good will America generates with its foreign aid and programs (medical, military, monetary, or otherwise), and this is why we can't always look inward and remove ourselves from the problems of the rest of the world. Admittedly, we must do better about policing our own backyard, and ensuring the safety and well-being of our own people as a priority, but we can't ignore what is happening outside on our doorsteps, across the street in our neighborhoods, or across the ocean in our friends homes either.