Do I have sympathy over the people killed on the plane United 93? Yes, I do, just as million of others. But not to be simplistic and naive here, one reason we do feel sad and devastated is that because this is something we easily relate oursleves to, something that could happen to ourselves.
How many people got killed during 911 compared with how many people who got killed everyday in Africa and other developing nations due to hunger, disease and war? That is an easy math. One of the reasons these people have long been ignored by the wealthy nations is that the people in those developed countries can't really relate themselves to them, it is something they don't really encounter in their lives, so they just don't feel the pain.
I believe all good natured human beings deserve love, security and prosperity. Those hijikers on United 93 should be condemned but don't forget when we spend a lot of resource and time on anti terrorists, there are million of others who desparately need help. Are we better off trying to help these people, so at least they get to enjoy a fraction of what we enjoy in life, or should we sit here mourning the dead and condemning the terrorists? For me, there is a clear answer.
How much do we know about the lives in those poor nations and how much do we know about war against terrorism? The media coverage can tell us quite a lot. It is so easy to say "the trouble in those countries is their own trouble, we should focus on our own people", but the reality is if the countries and people who have resource to help but not doing it, who else they can count on?
911 is a wake up call, but it seems that for a better world and a better earth, maybe we do need another wakeup call on other ongoing devastating issues. After all, even we are not born to be equal but we should try to give everyone equal opportunities.
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Oh dear oh dear. This is sad.
You ask for comments on your blog. You write about United 93. So you get comments on United 93. But somehow those comments are not good enough. The fact that the film was terribly moving suddenly does not matter. All is show to you is western insensitivity to global issues.
Before you write off so many of the good efforts of the west to try and solve Africa's (and others') problems you really need to do some research first. Your idealistic little bubble needs to be pricked.
You could read this:
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/trade/files/98-916.pdf
For some balance go here:
http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/USAid.asp
Then maybe wonder about a country like Swaziland with the world's lowest life expectancy and a ruling monarch of outrageous profligacy.
King Mswati III is often criticized for living so lavishly in a nation that is afflicted by the world's highest HIV infection rates. His fleet of luxury cars, and the millions spent towards refurbishing his numerous wives' luxury mansions, are at odds with the approximately 34 percent of the nation that stand unemployed, nearly 70 percent of which live on less than a dollar a day, and with around 39 percent of adults who are afflicted by HIV.
Some solutions have to start from within.
And lets not even start on Chinese policy towards Africa.
More facts and less holier than thou idealism please.
And if it matters so much to you - then go and do something about it.....
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